Bradley at the Banana Plantation
Thursday 3 September 2009
Woken up after a poor nights sleep (too hot) by the lovely sound of birds chirping in the many trees and bamboo within the hotel grounds so we decided to get up for breakfast at this stage not realising it was only 6.30am, no wonder we got some funny looks from the hotel staff. Our breakfast consisted of bread; watermelon and paw paw along with the usual few cups of tea.
Decided to familiarize ourselves with the area so headed out in the direction of the beach, after ten minutes the sea came into view, a lovely long stretch of beach fringed by palm trees and the odd run down building. Had our first dip in the water which was very warm but murky from the pounding waves. It wasn’t long before we were met by our first bumster (Gambian hustler) introducing himself as Lamin which means first born in his tribe however he told us everyone knows him as Jonnie Walker. We were made aware of these types of guys usually offering to show you around and then asking for a small payment, however Mr Jonnie Walker ended up being a lovely guy chatting and joking with us and pointing out interesting facts along the way including the vultures which were around the American ambassador’s beach side home. Abigail interrupted us with crying and on looking about realised she had been stung by a very small jellyfish which had been washed up on the beach, to this Jonnie Walker ran off and came back with what smelt like vinegar and we put it on Abi’s leg, by the time we got back to the hotel the pain had gone.
Decided to familiarize ourselves with the area so headed out in the direction of the beach, after ten minutes the sea came into view, a lovely long stretch of beach fringed by palm trees and the odd run down building. Had our first dip in the water which was very warm but murky from the pounding waves. It wasn’t long before we were met by our first bumster (Gambian hustler) introducing himself as Lamin which means first born in his tribe however he told us everyone knows him as Jonnie Walker. We were made aware of these types of guys usually offering to show you around and then asking for a small payment, however Mr Jonnie Walker ended up being a lovely guy chatting and joking with us and pointing out interesting facts along the way including the vultures which were around the American ambassador’s beach side home. Abigail interrupted us with crying and on looking about realised she had been stung by a very small jellyfish which had been washed up on the beach, to this Jonnie Walker ran off and came back with what smelt like vinegar and we put it on Abi’s leg, by the time we got back to the hotel the pain had gone.
Leybato Beach
Had lunch at the hotel which was very good, then as this is the rainy season with August being the worst month the heavens opened and we got to witness our first Gambian tropical thunderstorm which lasted most of the afternoon, unlucky for Paul he had gone to some shops to pick up a few bits and ended up wading through water which was nearly knee deep. Ended the day with a very pleasant evening, dinner included, we were picked up by VSO and taken to the Senegambia Hotel to meet all the other existing volunteers, a mixed bunch of English, Australian, Philipino and Italian all very nice people who passed on some good advice to us.
Arrived bright and early at the airport to pick up our left luggage and meet up with Jenny, said our farewells to Mike and went through departures. The six hour flight went very smoothly with a little delay of 20 minutes, once on our way Abigail and Bradley were delighted with the two in flight films, Night at the Museum and Bolt both were kept quiet for four hours. The decent into Banjul Airport was quite spectacular as the plane banked we had an excellent view of The Gambia River and mangrove swamps which looked very green and lush with patches of red baked earth and the odd termite hill dotted here and there. Upon exiting the plane we were welcomed by a smiling line of Gambians, I found this very peculiar all that was missing was the shaking of hands as you would with dignitaries.
The air conditioned terminal was a welcome relief from the afternoon sun which was a very hot 32◦C, however once through customs we were met by the jostling of porters trying to help us with our luggage hoping to be rewarded with a tip. After a quick greeting with Nuha the VSO programme manager we were whisked away to our awaiting vehicle and set off on route to the hotel were we will be staying for the week whilst our accommodation is sorted. We had our first glimpse of Africa up close and personal, the main road into The Kombo region was tarmaced and covered in places with red earth from the many side streets which were untarmaced; this was lined with various run down looking shops and stalls selling fruit and veg, household wares, material and furniture to name just a few. Every where was very busy with Gambians walking or sitting chatting drinking tea and the odd donkey at the roadside or goat crossing the road for its next meal. The arrival was made perfect when I got my first glimpse of a monkey sat in a tree from the roadside.
Arrived at the hotel, I would have to say very very basic however a very friendly atmosphere, the pool was small but clean and a welcome relief after such a hot journey, we also met the other new volunteers who will be doing their In Country Training (ICT) with us. After such a tiring two days we decided an early night was called for so off to bed at 9.30pm, only to find out the next day Gambian time is an hour behind the UK so actually had a very early night especially for Paul on a Friday.
The air conditioned terminal was a welcome relief from the afternoon sun which was a very hot 32◦C, however once through customs we were met by the jostling of porters trying to help us with our luggage hoping to be rewarded with a tip. After a quick greeting with Nuha the VSO programme manager we were whisked away to our awaiting vehicle and set off on route to the hotel were we will be staying for the week whilst our accommodation is sorted. We had our first glimpse of Africa up close and personal, the main road into The Kombo region was tarmaced and covered in places with red earth from the many side streets which were untarmaced; this was lined with various run down looking shops and stalls selling fruit and veg, household wares, material and furniture to name just a few. Every where was very busy with Gambians walking or sitting chatting drinking tea and the odd donkey at the roadside or goat crossing the road for its next meal. The arrival was made perfect when I got my first glimpse of a monkey sat in a tree from the roadside.
Arrived at the hotel, I would have to say very very basic however a very friendly atmosphere, the pool was small but clean and a welcome relief after such a hot journey, we also met the other new volunteers who will be doing their In Country Training (ICT) with us. After such a tiring two days we decided an early night was called for so off to bed at 9.30pm, only to find out the next day Gambian time is an hour behind the UK so actually had a very early night especially for Paul on a Friday.
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