From Basse to Georgetown - Dec 3, 2005

Weather: Hot

Woke before dawn and packed by sunrise. It was a short walk to the garage and I followed in the steps of the Dane who emerged from a shop until I caught him at the garage. He introduced himself as Michel (not sure of the spelling - translates to Michael in English) and we shared a breakfast of coffee & bread then a bowl of rice. I changed 20,000CFA for D1,000 (~Oz$50), which was the only exchange rate offered and neither Michel nor myself could find someone who would change to a better rate.

The trip to Jangjangbureh (formerly Georgetown and I would say both names to ensure my destination was understood) in a minibus cost D40 (~Oz$2) plus D15 for my backpack and went fast because it was a good road and II had a long chat with Michel, who I discovered was a volunteer in Senegal and as a result was able to tell me about local customs). There were frequent police checkpoints that required us to show our passports, but these were merely short distractions.

We were dropped at a ferry crossing and while we were waiting for our bags to be unloaded the ferry left, which I thought was inconsiderate as we were in clear view. We Fortunately, there was only a short wait as the ferry returned as soon as a vehicle arrived that wanted to cross, but we had attracted the attention of a couple of bumsters (The Gambian term for people make a living by imposing their 'services' on tourists) and they wouldn't leave our side.

The short ferry crossing cost D1 (~Oz$0.05) and the minibus to Jangjangbureh cost D5 (Oz$0.25), plus D2 for my backpack, for the only slightly longer trip to the other side of the island.

Michel & I both had a limited supply of Dalasi, so we opted to be dropped at the cheapest accommodation in town, Alka-Bung Camp. There was no electricity (in Jangjangbureh) and no running water, but we were offered separate rooms with bathroom (bucket water) in pleasant bungalows for only D100 (~Oz$5) for each room, so we stayed. I then discovered that my room hadn't been cleaned, and that the toilet hadn't been flushed since its last use, but things improved when I complained.

Once settled we ditched the bumsters and walked through town to find food & drink. Before we had found either, Michel had to return to camp, so I checked other accommodation until he was able to return. Dreambird Camp wasn't operational, but the caretaker said that Jangjangbureh Camp was D200 per person. Baobalong Camp was a step up in quality, clean with running water, and price (D300 single, D400 twin), so I was able to confirm that we were staying at the cheapest placed.

One of the bumsters found me before Michel returned and begged for money, but I became quite irate and said that he didn't provide any service that we couldn't have provided for ourselves and that he needed to be upfront in offering his services for money if he wanted to get money out of tourists.

I had ditched the bumster by the time Michel returned and our fruitless search for food & drink continued. There was no street food and no real restaurants, so we settled for a drink at a bar with good view of the ferry crossing to the other side of the river. The barman helped find food, but we then had a long wait before being served and unsatisfactory & overpriced meal by a local woman. The barman then asked for a tip, so I gave him D10 because he had actually been helpful even though the meal was mediocre.

We bought water from shop a shop (D20 ~Oz$1 for 1.5L) then returned to camp. A student jewelry seller approached our table and, after making it clear we weren't going to buy anything, we chatted while he worked. When Michel & I decided on a walk, he asked to join us and, despite Michel continually stating that there would be no tip, gave directions along the way.

Bush followed agricultural land and both proved to be good for spotting birds, often perched on top of trees and shrubs. We only went a little way into the bush after clarifying that the student's warning about being 'raped' was actually a warning about being 'robbed'. Despite the perceived threat, it was a good walk, but hot in direct sunlight even at this late time of day.

That night, after a beer at camp, Michel & I walked through town in search of a meal, since street food was more common in the evening, but found nothing. A man approached us to tell us that the celebration had been relocated, then when we said we weren't heading to a celebration, he invited us back to his office, where he manned a telephone for a bird safari camp outside town, to share his meal. In gratitude I offered to buy him a soft drink. He accepted and insisted that Michel & I eat his tasty rice with a meat sauce, while he went back into the centre of town to procure the cold drinks. When we had finished dinner, we gave him a gift of D45 (~Oz$2.25).

Back at camp I hit the sack early only to discover that it was too hot to sleep, and then once I had fallen asleep, whenever I awoke during the night, the heat made it difficult to get back to sleep. Once again I longed for electricity and a fan.