"Come back and give some to us" wasn't said as an instruction, or even a joke, merely a comment. The chap who'd just stamped me into The Gambia was finishing his reply to my question about the whereabouts of a bank. I thanked him and slunk off.
The border was a breeze. Out of Senegal in two minutes. In to Gambia in ten. No proof of onward travel, yellow fever jab or funds, and no bag search. Just a question as to how long I intended to stay, which should be irrelevant as 90 days is the default, but I only needed three weeks, so the month given sufficed.
I changed 100 US dollars to 4,600 dalasi (4,750 in Banjul, opposite Apollo Hotel, near the ferry terminal), and was away. Thirty km, dalasi, and minutes, later our minibus arrived at Barra, the small ferry port across the river from Banjul, Gambia's capital.
Most Gambians speak English. It achieved independence from Britain on February 18, 1965, and I'd arrived on the eve of the 53rd anniversary. The country has just re-joined the Commonwealth after leaving under discredited leader, Yahya Jammeh, who fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea last year.
Gambia is the smallest country in Africa, forming a thin band for about 30-40 km either side of the Gambia River, surrounded by Senegal except on the coast.
'Bumsters' are men who befriend tourists for financial gain. My first one held out his hand and said "Call me Mike". Shaking hands with total strangers is common in Gambia, even by young kids.
Mike said he'd get commission if he took me to a hotel, so I played along and insisted on a "discount" rate of 400 dalasi for a simple room at Mandela Guest House. No WiFi, sporadic electricity and a large bucket of water for a shower, but clean and secure.
Barra has 6,000 people, a mixture of Serer, Wolof, Mandinka and Fulani people. It is traditionally known as Niumi, or 'the coast'.
The town has a few basic 'video clubs', often showing European football. They have two or more large TV screens, often showing different channels, in front of rows of benches. For ten dalasi I watched Huddersfield v Man Utd in the FA Cup, whilst a Senegalese chanting ceremony played on another TV.
Earlier that day, the creaking old ferry had taken around 35 minutes from Barra to Banjul, with some cars, a horse and cart, and a few hundred people. It was colourful, crowded and cost 25 dalasi, about 40p. When both ferries are running, one leaves every couple of hours during daylight hours. Coming back in the afternoon we had armoured personnel carriers for company, the Independence Day parade having finished in Banjul.
Barra has a World Heritage Site at Fort Bullen, built by the British in 1826 to enforce the ban on the slave trade, replete with cannons. It was abandoned in 1870, but was manned again when Senegal was ruled by the Vichy Government during WW2. Today there is a gantry within the fort, acting as a lighthouse.
The town of Jufureh lies a few km upriver, from where Alex Haley's slave ancestor Kunta Kinteh originated in the 18th century.
Barra and Banjul attempt to keep their main beaches clean, noticeable after Senegal. There are a few Senegalese living in Gambia, and in Barra many have come south to use the mahogany for building their larger pirogues, which can be seen taking shape on the beach.
A km north of Barra, on the Atlantic coast, the Niji Bolon river flows past mangroves and enters the sea, a nice spot to see sandpipers, whimbrels and terns.
I sailed across to Banjul a second time, and put up at the Carlton Hotel, not quite the Ritz but a relative oasis, with large en-suite rooms from 500 dalasi. Slow WiFi is available at the beachside Laica Atlantic Hotel. One hundred metres away a bunch of vultures feasted on the rotting remains of a leatherback turtle.
Africa isn't known for it's architecture, but Banjul does have one quirky building. At the top of Independence Drive is 'Arch22', built in 1996 to mark the coup d'etat that brought Jammeh to power on July 22, 1994. The road goes under the arch, and it's possible to climb the stairs inside one of the eight fat pillars, but the viewing platform is no higher than the Carlton roof, 150 metres away.
Banjul has about 40,000 inhabitants, limited by the island it is situated on. It's separated from Gambia's largest city, Serrakunda, by a mangrove wetland.
Serrakunda is a sprawling mess of over 300,000 people, hard to avoid when accessing the airport or the southern beaches of so-called Senegambia (now referring to a region rather than the short-lived confederation that was set up between Senegal and Gambia in the 1980s).
Minibuses are cheap but usually crowded. One day I went south to Sanyang, taking six there and back, and the total price of all was 73 dalasi, about £1.15. I found Sanyang to be an average beach with overpriced accommodation; a few white bodies on sun-loungers surrounded by a run-down village of poor Gambians. I didn't stay long.
With ten days till the end of my trip, I hit a wall. Out of energy, with my first stomach bug of the trip, it was time to relax and recover. Whilst this natural detox runs it's course, there are things to do.
The Carlton has Premier- and Champions League football in the lobby. The nearby Laica Atlantic has very slow WiFi and a book-swap. There is a decrepit Internet Cafe nearby. The corner shop, between the mosque and the "Look Good Barbing Salon", sells cold 'Julbrew' beer.
The museum of Gambia sounds interesting. I'll get a haircut. I may go for a swim, as the crocodiles are limited to the freshwater. The beach makes a nice walk.
Banjul is actually a quiet refuge compared to sprawling Serrakunda and it's suburbs.
In hindsight, my timing was off. Entering my last country with 18 days to go pre-supposed I'd find enough to occupy my time, rather than find I'm suffering from trip-fatigue.
My timing was better than my packing, though. Why did I pack a brolly to cross the Sahara?
Gambia is a poor country with limited infrastructure. There is a big chasm between what most locals have and what visiting tourists can afford. Internet availability is rare, decent accommodation sparse and generally overpriced, and cooked food bland and, in my experience, dodgy.
I don't plan to return, but never say never. I noticed that the cheapest Thomas Cook flights were in the weeks before Christmas. The amiability and inquisitiveness of Gambians is undeniable, it being hard to go for a quiet walk without at least one interrogation.
If I've learned one thing on this trip, it's that baobab has two 'a's rather than two 'o's.
Cheers
Toubab Taurus
