Mar 17, 2013 - The Gambia

Just to say that all my pictures are now uploaded for Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia. I have also managed to upload 3 videos , and these are all in Mauritania, so if you click on the Mauritanian set you can view them, together with the comments.

Mar 16, 2013 - The Gambia

So after Dakar it was time to head on my southwards journey towards The Gambia. The husband of the family I stayed with said he would give me a lift to the "Gare Routiere" ( basically, the generic name for the place where bush taxis leave from) at 7.30 in the morning. So we got into his shiny new Toyota, and would you believe it, the battery was flat. After arranging further transport I arrived at the Gare Routiere at 8.30, which is actually quite late, as the taxis only leave when they are full, and anytime after 8 means you usually have...

Nov 3, 2012 - Homeward bound - Banjul

Got to Freetown Airport and was quizzed by about 4 people because I hadn't printed out my ticket! A bit difficult as I explained when most of their cafe don't have printing facilities and the connections are all crap - then did I have a visa for Gambia - no - don't need one...took about an hour but patience paid off and finally given a boarding slip..phew! Arik Air small but reasonable plane first come for seats which was OK as it was no where near full. Banjul Airport - no problem here except for the fact that as I suspected my onward...

Oct 8, 2012 - The Gambia

:-) Had to cross the river on a car ferry the queue for trucks to cross was about three days long so we became a 'bus' ' and got into the quick queue with that and a small note passing I to the right hand we were on and across in only about two hours but sitting in the truck waiting was not pleasant. Still hot! Through some interesting countryside to Tandaba on a river tributary. We were supposed to camp but the price of camping and a bed was the same so we opted for the beds pretty basic - electricity between 7.30pm and 3am and 5am and...

Feb 2, 2008 - The kindness of strangers

Up early, jumped the Shogun - it worked! Said our goodbyes to Michelle and Declan, they have been the most wonderful hosts. I left a beautiful big bright green first aid box and kit with them (Paul knows where it came from!! .. and I left the other one at the school). I also left my camping kit for them, well the tent was for Cherno actually, but there was allsorts of other bits too. Edrissa came with us initially as (remember Sett Settal from last week, which was cancelled?)well it has re-instated - today. This means that no-one is allowed...

Jan 30, 2008 - Banjul

Every time I think a trip can't be worse than the last ones I get one that proves me wrong, how can it possibly take 18 hours to travel just over 300km? Getting out early was recommended so I got up at 6am, out of the hotel by 7am and at the bus station and on the bus by 7:30. The bus looked a wreck but the first hour was surprisingly comfortable, the second hour was quite bearable, the third hour was tediously boring and in the forth hour I saw someone selling boxes of 100 paracetemol and was seriously tempted. In the fifth hour someone...

Jan 17, 2008 - Jaq and Ian the Beard arrive

Sarges is a bit of a dump, but a welcomed break. Phil came over with his mate Mark. Mark recently sold Dentons Fishing village but still lives here and does fishing. John, Ian and I went off with the two of them to find a mechanic. Phils mechanic couldnt get to us but then we found another one in a bar! I took the Shogun over to Petes garage and he confirmed that the alternator was naff. He will fix it free of charge (as far as the labour is concerned) cos it is for charity. Thank you Pete. Now comes the tricky bit, we will still take it to...

Nov 14, 2006 - Gambia - Tendaba

-Sumole! -Ebeye! -Kotanante! -Tanante! These towns we're visiting in central Gambia are difficult to reach for independent travellers, because they are five or seven kilometres off the main road. We had to ask the campament manager in Bintang to give us a lift to Sibanor in order to get a bush-taxi to Kwinella, from where we had to call the campenent in Tendaba to come and pick us up. It's not easy at all, but surprisingly everything works in the end and we are now in Tendaba, in a bungalow by the River Gambia, surrounded by the beautiful...

Nov 12, 2006 - Gambia - Bintang

-Sumole! -Ebeye! -Kotanante! -Tanante! We managed to cross the corrupt border to Gambian with no incidents. They registered absolutely everything we had on us, but it was done with a smile and more out of curiousity than anything else. The bush-taxi (Gambia's version of a Ndiaga Ndiaye) we took in Kafountine took us all the way to Brikama, a hectic Gambian city you just want to get out of the minute you enter it. We had to wait there for three long hours though for our next bush-taxi to part for Bintang (i.e. as long as it takes for the...

Nov 9, 2006 - Senegal - Casamance - Kafountine

-Kasumay! -Kasumay Lama! We endured the heat of Casamance in a Ndiaga Nidiaye from Elinkine to back to Ziginchor, spent another night in this city, and took another Ndiaga Ndiaye to Kafountine the following day and finally made it! Transport is definitely something else in Senegal, a real test to one's patience and endurance. Kafountine was great, a long strand of white sand with hardly any people whatsoever, the perfect place to chill-out and restore one's energy. We found a little bungalow by the beach and decided to take it easy for a...

Dec 10, 2005 - From Tumani Tenda to Serekunda

Start: Tumani Tenda End: Serekunda Weather: Overcast & Cool It was still dark when I awoke and the sun was yet to rise when I left after packing. Not wanting to stop to chat I silently slipped past the nightwatchman in the dining shelter and retraced my steps along the path through the village to the 'worst road in Africa'. Despite rising before dawn it already seemed unlikely that I would be able to get to the YMCA in Serekunda by the agreed time and the wait for a minibus ruled it out completely. The now familiar journey to Brikama and...

Dec 7, 2005 - From Tendaba to Tumani Tenda

Weather: Hot Woke early and worked on my journal until dawn. In the early morning I went for a walk in the direction of Kiang West National Park in the hope of seeing an animal or two. I didn't need to go far to see the usual suspects: monkeys, that were in trees near the camp; and, birds, which were everywhere. New birds included a small, black bird with red breast (that I was unable to photograph because it flew fast and stayed within foliage), black & white starlings, pelicans and green parrots. I turned back when the morning heated up...