James Island

After lunch and a rest we were taken by pirogue out to James Island with oversized life jackets for Bradley and Abigail. We were entertained by a drummer come singer who had us joining in asking us our Gambian names and then adding this into his lyrics as we all clapped along. On exiting the pirogue the island seemed quite small this we were later told was due to erosion and was much larger centuries ago, a small model was in place to show us this. Our tour guide briefed us on the history of James Island which was used as a prison for slaves before embarking on a long voyage over seas, of which the women were often raped as months later they were then sold with child. We had a walk around the ruins seeing dungeons where the stronger male slaves would have been shackled to prevent them from escaping, an area where the slaves were branded, and small rooms where up to 200 slaves would have been kept. Very thought evoking to think we used to trade in human life this way banishing them to different unknown countries never to see their families again.

The entertainer gave me a handful of small black, terracotta and blue beads which he had picked up of the beach saying these would have been necklaces worn by the slaves, I have kept these as a memento of our visit. We exited the Island by pirogue reflecting on our visit with the entertainer singing Bob Marley’s ‘No Women, No Cry’, quite funny, but good choice of song for the tourists. Had to climb up a pair of ladders from the pirogue to the jetty and I was again met by Maria ready and waiting to hold my hand. Back at the hotel we ate dinner and then I had an early night as didn’t sleep much the previous night as very, very hot also I could feel the mosquito’s biting so took shelter under my net.

Ferry across The River Gambia to Barra

We were at the VSO Office for 8.30am as we were being taken up country to the Roots site of Juffureh. We set off for Banjul ferry terminal and had a short wait of thirty minutes amongst the crowds of hustlers trying to sell us necklaces, clothes and food, they just wouldn’t give up. We watched the ferry docking and then cars, lorries and passengers on foot jostling off all loaded up with produce of all kinds. We got onto the ferry and took the stairway upstairs where we found some seats, and watched the hustle and bustle before departing the ferry terminal. The crossing across The River Gambia was short and steady taking about forty minutes, usually during November to January you can see dolphins jumping in front of the ferries, we only saw some jellyfish. Arrived at Barra terminal and had to walk off through a very wet road to our vehicle pick up point crossing over pools by way of standing on tyres and wooden planks.

Ferry dockin in at Banjul

Barra Ferry Terminal

Fort Bullen

We had a quick ride to Fort Bullen which was a British Fort built in the nineteenth century and used to help eradicate slavery in West Africa. Long after Britain stopped the slave trade the French and Portuguese still carried on their trading of slaves, also Fort Bullen was used during world war 11 when Senegal sided with France. A very run down building unfortunately we were unable to gain access to the inside of the Fort, so we just walked around the outside taking pictures. We had a very short walk on the nearby beach as we suddenly saw some cow horns, then skulls and some blood which had been picked over by the vultures looked like an abattoir. Sat under a baobab tree and had a snack whilst watching goats and pigs snuffling for food.

Visit to the Alkalo

After a short visit as not much to see at the Fort we headed off on route to Sittanunka Camp where we would be staying tonight. The tarmac road ended and we were jostled about on a mud track with water filled pot holes for the next hour and half. We were suddenly within a landscape of lush vegetation, palm and baobab trees, fresh water creeks and the occasional African village, plenty of wildlife egrets and an odd monkey walking along the roadside. As we passed homes small children ran out to greet us shouting ‘Hello’ ‘Hello’ or ‘Toubab’ ‘Toubab’ and ran alongside the vehicles all with smiling happy faces.

We first had to visit the district village chief or ‘alkalo’ to pay our respects, we were asked into his compound and were surrounded by children, we did manage to get some names from them before entering the chiefs house where he gave us a long talk about what his role is within the region. This resulted in Nadia, Emily and Georgia all falling a sleep. When he had finished he asked if we had any questions so Tony asked him how many Hospitals and Schools he had within his district expecting a quick answer not so he went into a long discussion yet again. Finally when this was over on behalf of the group Paul had to give him a vote of thanks as is the custom, and we then set off to leave. It was nearly 3.30pm and we still hadn’t eaten very hungry we gave the children a quick snack of biscuits and an apple.

Village Life