Diary for Big World; Small Adventures


Gambia

2009-02-19 to 2009-02-26

An adventure to a truly amazing country - dusty and hot and with the warmest and most welcoming people I`ve ever met. 

 

Greeted at the airport by the Guesthouse manager Haruna; a calm and peaceful man with Rasta dreads, philisophical thoughts and a twinkle in his eye. The half hour drive to the Guestouse took me through bustling towns where the streets were alive with trade and chatter; women carried their wares balanced on their heads, children carried water, men and women alike plied their trade in ramshackle stalls and shops. While my eyes danced over the scene outside, Haruna flitted between banter with our taxi driver and discussing the economic downturn in the west with me. All the while our taxi rattled along the dusty roads tooting its horn to passers by.

 

At the Guesthouse I met my fellow guests - Clive and Fern: a charming couple of hippies from a 9 bedroomed grade 1 listed communal house in Yorkshire, staying in Gambia for 3 months; Claire: a voluntary teacher in a local school, also staying om Gambia for 3 months; and Tristan and Jenny: a fun, lovable, ultra friendly couple from rural Cantebury, sightseeing for a week like me.

 

We aquanted ourselves over a hearty and tasty dinner of fish balls and rice from Nyima, our cook then all went for drinks in town, starting at Mr Bass and moving on to Happy`s and finally Saffie`s to sample some local music.