Oh Yes "The Gambia"

After three wonderful days at sea we docked in Banjul, The Gambia, along the west coast of Africa. We can now cross The Gambia off our bucket list (for sure). We arrived about 9 AM and disembarked around 10 for a quick walk around Banjul before our tour departed at 12:45. The photo below is of the main street in Banjul.

Now you know why I said a quick walk around the capital city of The Gambia. I don't think recycling is big in The Gambia. Cindy and I are always open for a new adventure and we sure did jump into one here. If you study the photo you will see a pack of dogs in it. Well there were loads of dogs, goats, sheep, cows, and buzzards all over this country. Unfortunately we didn't see any of the monkeys that this area is noted for.

Let me give you a few facts about The Gambia. This is the smallest country on the continent of Africa. (About twice the size of Delaware.) The median age is 17.9 years. It is the home of Alex Hailey's Kunta Kinte in the book Roots. Kunta Kinte's tribe, the Mandinka, is the largest of several tribes that occupy The Gambia. Tourism is on the upswing! (?) I bet the cruise ships are just lining up to get into this port. Our tour was called Bush and Beach and it was one of those tours that you're glad you did it but you wouldn't do it again . . .

As Bill implied, our tour was a real eye-opener. We were lucky enough to see many areas of this country, including rural villages (straight out of National Geographic), small towns, and 'the bush' in addition to Banjul. We happened to be here on a MUslim holy day, so there were many people out and about dressed in their holiday best. We were warned that itis not polite to take pictures of people unless you ask first, and them they often want maney or a token (hat, sunglasses, etc) so we snapped pictures as we were driving along and didn't get any 'posed' shots. The family in the photo below is typical. They were walking along the road in a rural area, possibly on their way to join others to celebrate the day.

The infrastructure was extremely basic, with very few paved roads. The outlying villages had limited running water and electricity, but there were surprising instances of technology in the towns and city. For example, we saw many satellite dishes, and quite a few people on cell phones.

During our tour, which was in an open-air bus, we had literally hundreds of children come running alongside the bus, waving and greeting us. We had a mixed reaction from the adults: some waving and smiling, some looking at us almost resentfully, and some just ignoring us. It was, at times, a hunbling experience and certainly made us aware of how fortunate we are in our lives.

Today (12/10) -- don't pay attention to the date on the photos above; I set the wrong date on the camera -- is the first of 6 days crossing the Atlantic, the longest amount of time we've ever been between ports. The seas are calm and the temperature is in the low 80's. In a few days, we will update you with a post on life at sea.