Weekending 31st July 2010

On Sunday we decided to go for a walk hoping if the tide was out to walk to Bakau to watch the boats come in. We walked to Leybato’s to see if we could get along the beach unfortunately it was high tide so we headed to Kotu point instead. We had a pleasant walk until we arrived at the outlet of Kotu stream. The outlet to the stream was very high, we made our way to an area which we thought would be shallow only to have a local say it was very deep there and we would be better crossing closer to the sea edge. Paul went first taking off his shorts and carrying Bradley on his shoulders. The water was passed his thighs so we were all going to get very wet. We waded through ending up with wet shorts and knickers in the process. We carried onto Palma Rima by this time we were starting to feel a bit dryer. At Palma Rima there were some men busy building a stage and erecting lights and speakers it looked as if there was going to be some sort of open air concert on. We made our way back home along the cycle track towards Kotu bridge from there we crossed over the fields to the road spotting a few birds on route. We were back home after midday having had a good morning walking and very tired. The rest off the afternoon was spent relaxing at home.

On Monday Paul went off to work early the college is now only running summer school classes so half of the teachers are up at Janjanbureh. Paul will only be working Monday to Wednesday with the occasional Thursday thrown in which is ideal whilst Dale is here. As for the rest of us we went shopping on the morning then on the afternoon we went for a walk on the beach. We walked first to Leybato’s and then along to Fajara craft market. Bradley was complaining about being tired so we sat under the banta bar for a while. Adama came over for a quick chat and I introduced him to Dale.

Bakau Fish Market

Late on Tuesday afternoon we decided to go for a walk to Bakau via the beach. The tide was out at Leybato’s so it would be easy going along the beach. We soon arrived at the very smelly fish market with the hustle and bustle of locals selling the recently caught fish from tables. I did try to do a deal for some lady fish but was unable to get a good enough price so gave up. A couple of boats had just pulled up to shore and the locals were wading out to get the fish with buckets on their heads.

On Wednesday Dale took the children off to Safari Garden to spend the afternoon in the pool. Bradley wanted to show off his swimming skills to Dale. He is much more confident and is now swimming through our legs underwater and able to swim a length of the pool. I followed shortly behind after I had prepared dinner for the evening. Paul even managed to get a quick dip in the pool as he arrived home just after 3 o’clock.

Arch 22

On Thursday we called at the VSO office and then made our way to Bakau to pick up a gelleh into Banjul. We had to go to the immigration office as I needed to get a new bio metric resident permit. We were in Banjul just after 11 o’clock managing to miss the morning traffic. We quickly found our way to the immigration office as Paul had had to get his permit done last month. We were sent upstairs to a small office where my paperwork which Ebrima had submitted was found then we had to go back downstairs. After a quick thumb print and photo we were told it would be ready to pick up tomorrow in total it took us just over an hour. When we came out we made our way to the market area whilst there we bought a meat pie from one of the stalls. It was filled with what the Gambians call corned beef however we know it as luncheon meat and onions this is then deep fried, it proved to be very tasty. From here we made our way along independence drive to Arch 22. The Arch was built to commemorate the coup in 1994 when president Yahya Jammeh came into power. Only the president is allowed to drive through the Arch other vehicles have to take a detour route around the arch to get onto Independance Drive. Once at the Arch we took the lift to the top after paying the extortionate 60 dalasi entrance fee. At the top there was a small shop, art gallery and museum. On display there were various costumes and juju’s, these are used to keep evil spirits away and are a big part of the Gambian culture. The roof top gave us an excellent view over the city as no other buildings are as tall and we welcomed the slight breeze. From the roof top we made our way to the terrace or half way point and then walked down the rest of the spiral staircase. Once outside in the bright sunlight we decided to make for home as we were very hot. We quickly found the gelleh station and were on our way home.

Arch 22

Independance Drive & Banjul Capitol City

View to Cape Point Bakau

Sanyang

On Friday we were up early to make our second attempt to go to Sanyang for a couple of days. We took a gelleh to Westfield and from there onto Brikama. Once at Brikama we were quickly shown to a gelleh leaving for Sanyang by now it hard started to rain. It took us about two hours travelling in total. Once in our room we sat on the porch whilst watching a heavy downpour of rain. We watched as the staff ran backwards and forwards filling the water tank with the collected rain water which is used for the showers etc, they were very wet by the time they were finished. By 2 o’clock the rain had all but stopped so we went for a walk along the beach and then managed to get a couple of hours sunbathing in before showering for dinner.

Saturday was a glorious day after the wet and rainy day yesterday. We spent the day on the beach sunbathing, reading and taking the regular dip in the sea to cool off. At midday we noticed a group of children and adults coming along the beach with a white lady as she got closer we realised it was Ann from the college. She is going back home to Canada on Thursday after having spent five years in the Gambia and this was her goodbye treat to some of the local children. By 3 o’clock we decided to make a move for home we showered and changed then quickly went along to see Ann at the next beach bar. We decided to take the coastal route so made our way back to Sanyang gelleh station luckily there was a gelleh just about to leave. This turned out to be a good decision as we only required two gelleh rides and in total it took about an hours travelling.

Elephant Pants