October 21 to November 1 1999
On this page you will find a report of a trip we've made to The Gambia in 1999. Ciska, our daughter, was at the time about six months of age and she stayed at home with her grandparents. We wanted, after all we had experienced with her during the past six months, to be together for a while. Also we didn't want to expose Ciska to all kinds of injections and malaria tablets.
Preparations
In a holiday brochure that Hilleke took from the post office was a trip to The Gambia. She thought it would be nice if the two of us should go there without Ciska. There was a choice from several hotels and a photo of the 'Safari Garden' hotel attracted us. Normally such kinds of trips are always a multiple of one week. But we thought that one week would be too short and two weeks too long. So after some searching on the internet it turned out that Sabena, the former Belgian airlines, flew a number of times per week from Brussels to Banjul, the capital of The Gambia, with a stopover in Dakar, Senegal. We booked a flight at a travel agency and via e-mails and faxes we arranged a room at the 'Safari Garden' hotel, 3 nights at arrival and one more night before departure back home. We wanted to some more of The Gambia than just the coastal area and we were planning to arrange the other hotels locally.
Outward Journey
On the morning of the 21st of October we overslept the alarm three times, we woke up at 5 am. So we had to hurry because we had to be at the airport at 6 am and it's a one hour drive from our home to get there. Luckily it was very early, so less traffic on the roads, therefore we could speed up and arrived at a quarter past 6 at Schiphol. We started with a flight from Amsterdam to Brussels and from there on to Banjul as that was cheaper than only the flight from Brussels to Banjul. After a very short flight we arrived at Brussels airport, Zaventem. There we had to wait for about three hours before our flight to Banjul left. Just after 1 pm we left. At around 4.30 pm local time we arrived in Dakar. Most passengers left the plane here and after one hour we departed for Banjul. A flight even shorter than the flight from Amsterdam to Brussels. From the airport we took a taxi to our hotel were we arrived at around 7.30 pm.
Map of The Gambia
The Safari Garden Hotel
The room looked nice, not very large, but enough space and a spacious bathroom. Unfortunately there was no fan or air conditioning and it was oppressively warm, but at the reception we could get a fan. The hotel has about 20 rooms in a number of buildings around a pool. According the Lonely Planet Survival Kit the smallest but also cleanest pool in the whole of The Gambia. The next morning we met Geri, the owner of the hotel. A very nice English lady, she was also the woman with whom we exchanged the e-mails and faxes during the preparation of this journey. This second day we didn't do much, just relaxed around the pool, sit in the shade under some bamboo trees and now and then we took a dip in the pool. Two Gambian boys addressed us and asked if we wanted to go with them to a crocodile pool the next day. They said it was just a five minutes walk from the hotel. We arranged to meet them the next day at 10 pm. In the evening the hotel organized a BBQ and we had a very good dinner. It turned out that the hotel organizes such a BBQ every week.
Katchikally Crocodile Pool
At 10.15 pm the next day we left for our walk to the crocodile pool. We already suspected that the five minutes would be a bit too less, so we expected it to be around 15 to 20 minutes, but we really had no idea. Every time we asked the boys how long it would be, the answer always was: "Oh, only five minutes". At another time they said: "You see that tree over there, it' s behind that tree". And indeed, we had to pass by the tree, but still no crocodile pool. Finally it turned out to be a walk of around 50 minutes in the burning Gambian sun. When we arrived there at around 11 pm we first took a rest and a drink, sweat was running over the whole of our body. Next we saw the crocodiles. Also did we see the famous Old Charley, we even touched him! The skin of a crocodile feels like soft rubber. After visiting the pool we walked through Bakau, the village near the pool. Some people there do woodcarving and we bought some masks. We also visited the market and from there we went back to the hotel by taxi. Back at the hotel we gave the boys some money for their guiding and we said goodbye. The rest of the day we relaxed near the pool with some drinks and snacks.
Bijilo Forest Park
Sunday the 24th of October we went to the Bijilo Forest
Park together with another Dutch couple, Joan and Robin. Geri advised
us to walk along the beach. The sea was very rough, it had been spring
tide the previous night and large parts of the beach were swept away.
Because of this we had to walk through the water several times. One time
there was a large wave that we couldn't avoid. We were wet up to our knees
and our walking shoes were filled with water. Further ahead we came across
another ford, but we didn't want to go through the water again. A boy showed
us a detour via a bridge. After a long walk we finally reached the park.
As it was very hot and we were very thirsty we first had a drink. After
that we started to explore the park. After a while a short little man joined
use, hoping he could earn some money by being our guide. He stayed with
us for the rest of our walk. Although we heard quite a number of birds,
we didn't see that any of them. But we did see some monkeys and our new
guide also showed us some spiders and termites.
Some of the termitaries even reached a height of about 2 meters. Our guide
also showed us a pond that should contain some iguanas, but they also did
a good job in hiding so we couldn't see them.
After an hour or see we'd seen enough of the park, it was too hot to wander
around, and we went for a drink in the Kairaba Club hotel opposite the
park. When we had finished our drinks we took a taxi back to the Safari
Garden Hotel were we put our shoes to dry in the sun as they were still
wet. The rest of the day we sat around the pool and did some swimming,
drinking and eating. In the evening we had dinner with the Joan and Robin,
it is their last evening in The Gambia, tomorrow they return home. And
because we like this hotel very much we decided to stay one more night
and leave for Georgetown and the rest of Gambia on Tuesday.
'la dolce far niente', lazy lounging
In the heat of The Gambia it is also very pleasant to stay the whole day at the hotel and do nothing else than relaxing around the pool. The previous days we only experienced this luxury after a tiresome and warm morning. This day we decided to do absolutely nothing. Just being idle around the pool. We left our dirty clothes at the reception so we could start our trip to the inland of The Gambia with some clean stuff to put on. Through the hotel we also arranged two nights in the 'Bird Safari Camp' in Georgetown. Unfortunately we couldn't book the hotel for three nights, they were already completely booked for the third night. So we will have to arrange another hotel for the last night when we are in Georgetown.
We also paid the bill for our first stay, in total around D 3250,= (€ 300,=). We wanted to pay by credit card, but they charge you with an extra 6% when using a credit card. That we found too much, so we just paid with Dutch guilders, those were also accepted. In the evening we packed for our inland trip. As we are only away for a few days we didn't pack our large backpacks, we only put some stuff in our small day backpacks.
Heading for Georgetown
On the morning of the 26th we took a taxi to go to the central bus station in Serekunda. The driver wondered why took the bus to Serekunda and not a taxi. The bus however offers a lot more comfort, especially when you take the 'Super Express', a bus with air conditioning and TV. A ticket from Serekunda to Georgetown costs around D 82,= pp plus an extra D 5,= per piece of luggage. In the bus we found our self a seat at the left side in the middle. At the left side to avoid the sun and in the middle to avoid the bumps in the roads as much as possible. The bus left at 8.30 am and first it went to Banjul, at around 9.30 we were back at the bus station in Serekunda. Geri advised us to take the early leave as it could be possible that the bus could be full the second time. This time it was not, but we couldn't know that in advance. The drive to Georgetown went quite fast, as it is an express bus in only stops in the larger towns and villages. Also the road conditions were not that bad, especially beyond Soma the road was quite good. Just before 4.00 pm we arrived at the ferry to Mc Carthy Island. While waiting for the ferry we bought some drinks at a stand close to the landing stage. The crossing with the ferry also went very fast. When we arrived at the island there was no one waiting for us as we had arranged, so we waited some time in the shade till someone from the hotel arrived with a car.
Bird Safari Camp
First we went to the office of the Bird Safari Camp in Georgetown and from there we went on to the pier from were the boat of the BSC, the 'Safari Queen', took us to the hotel. After a short boat ride we arrived at the BSC that consists of a number of huts in a large, pleasant garden. We put our things in our hut, which was very dark and warm. Then we went to the jetty were we had a talk with Steve, the owner of the place. There is only power in the evening as it is generated locally and the generator is started at 7.00 pm. At 7.00 pm we went to our hut to take a shower and to turn on the fan. Together with us a Dutch film crew had arrived to make a TV program for Dutch television about the chimps at Baboon Island. Them and we were the only guests of the BSC. At 8.00 pm we were called for dinner, we had a great dinner in the cosy restaurant and after dinner we had some talking with all the other people present and then we went on to bed. Normally the power goes off at midnight, but we were in luck that the film crew wanted the power to be on all night and they paid Steve for the petrol for the generator. So also the fan in our room could stay on for the whole night. The BSC also organizes bird watching safaris and we arranged for such a safari for the next morning. We had to get up early for that, at around 6.30 am. The safari lasted from 7 to 8 and we saw quite a number of birds. Just after 8 am we were back at the BSC for breakfast. We had arranged with the film crew that we could drive with them in their bus to Georgetown. From there we would go from the BSC office with a taxi to the stone circles of Wasu. The taxi driver was the same as the one who had picked us up from the ferry yesterday.
Stone circles of Wasu
At around 10.00 am we left by taxi to the ferry that would take us to the north bank of the Gambia river. At that north bank the condition of the road was very bad, a lot of holes, some filled with water so it was impossible to see how deep they were. Mussa, our driver, said he hadn't been here for a long time and that, if he had known that the road was this bad, he wouldn't have gone. At around we 11.30 am we arrived at Wasu. Here there are no busses full of tourists, we were all alone and had the complete site to our self to explore. The stones are set up in circles and have probably served as graves. They date back from around 500 to 1000 AC. The precise origin and function of the stone circles is still not known. After walking around for an hour we went back. Mussa has had his rest as he had become very tired from the journey down here. And now he had to drive the same road back again. During the ride he kept on saying how tire he was and that he, when he would be back home, would go to sleep immediately. He dropped us at the BSC office.
Georgetown (Janjanbureh)
De rest of the afternoon we visited Georgetown, which is called Janjanbureh nowadays. We started with some food at a local restaurant. We had to wait a very long time for our Domodo, and when it arrived we both didn't like it very much. After our meal we walked up to the slave houses. A lot of the slaves used to be shipped from Georgetown to America. We also looked into the dungeons in which the most criminal ones of those slaves used to be locked in abominable circumstances. Next to that there is not much to do in Georgetown although watching the people busy with their day to day occupations can also give some excitement. When we were ready visiting Georgetown we walked back to the BSC, a walk of about one hour. Back at the BSC we took a shower and talked to the people of the film crew while we enjoyed some drinks.
Also this night the film crew paid for the petrol for the generator so we also had our fan running for all of the night.
To Basse Santa Su with the bush taxi
As we couldn't stay in the BSC for a third night we decided to stay that night in a hotel in Basse Santa Su. Driving there and back in one day might also be too much. So on Thursday the 28th we went on to Basse. Also this morning we were able to drive with the minibus of the film crew to Georgetown, this time even to the ferry on the south side of Mc Carthy Island. On the south bank of the Gambia river we took a bush taxi to Basse. A bush taxis is a minibus that will not leave until it is completely filled. Lucky for us there was already an almost completely filled bush taxi waiting. So when we arrived we could get in and it left immediately. After a number of stop in some very small villages we arrived in Bansang. Here we had to get out and take another bush taxi to Basse. At one moment such a bush taxi is completely crowded with people so you have to sit at each other's laps, at another time you're almost the only passenger. Some people take such a large amount of luggage that it must be packed on top of the bus. Luckily no one came aboard with a goat or something like that. Finally we arrived around 12 pm in Basse. When we arrived at the Jem hotel, which we had already booked from the BSC office, the owner greeted us. The room was spacious and clean with a shower and a toilet. After some rest we started our exploration of Basse.
Basse Santa Su
We first walked to 'Traditions'. This is an old colonial warehouse that has been converted into a restaurant, bookstore, museum and a cultural centre. This building is at the waterfront and you can sit in the shade with a cooling breeze and observe all activity in and along the river while enjoying something to eat and to drink.
The market of Basse was our following destination. According the Lonely Planet guide the market is most fascinating at Thursday, but the market couldn't appeal us that much. Hilleke was able to buy some material after some haggling from a tradesman from Senegal who was only able to speak French. After walking around for about an hour with regular stops to get something to drink we walked back to Traditions. In our opinion that's the best place to stay a while when visiting Basse.
We sat on the upper terrace of Traditions and again we enjoyed the surroundings and the cooling breeze. In the shop Hilleke bought herself a silver bracelet and a smaller one for Ciska. After we had something to eat and drink we walked back to our hotel were we reserved for dinner at 7.30 pm. Back in our room we started with a shower, no warm water but that was no problem as the cold water is almost warm due to the outside temperatures. Until we had dinner we stayed on our room and did some reading about Basse and it surroundings. For dinner it turned out that we were the only people in the restaurant. Enormous amounts of insects were flying around each light. The lamp above our table was switched off, but still those insects were quite irritating. The food was nothing special, chicken, French fries and some vegetables. After dinner we went straight back to our room as we both didn't have the urge to explore Basse by night. Because of the rain that had fallen in the past days a lot of streets were transformed into muddy paths and we both didn't feel attracted to the idea of an unexpected mud bath. This also as we had seen a truck being stuck into the mud this afternoon and then Hilleke had also slipped because of the mud.
Back to Fajara
After a bad night sleep we took a shower and packed our things. Also breakfast was nothing special, some bread with marmalade. After breakfast we said goodbye to the owner and walked to the bus stop. We wanted to take the 'Super Express' all the way back to Serekunda. The bus was already there and it was bound to leave at 9.30 am so we had another hour to walk around. At a shop we bought some cheese and something to drink during the ride. Back at the bus we found our self a seat, now at the right side in the middle. Just after 9.30 am we left, we made good progress, the roads really aren't as bad as we expected. After 1.5 hours we were already at the ferry to Mc Carthy Island and from there on we went to Soma for the long stop. The bus has a TV and a VCR, During the ride some movies are being shown, a few Hollywood movies in English so we can understand. But also some Gambian soap series in a for use incomprehensible language. The other passengers however sometimes laughed their heart out while we didn't have the faintest idea were it was all about. When we arrived at the bus station in Soma there were a lot of vultures, all waiting for some garbage of the travellers. There was one tree that had dozens of them. When walking outside the bus you had to watch out not to be picked by any of these birds. There were also goats and sheep on the ground. From Soma onwards the road conditions were much worse. One might expect that in the western, more touristic, part of The Gambia the roads would be much better than in the eastern part of the country. Somewhere in Serekunda we were dropped off the bus, not at the same place as we got on last Tuesday. We took a taxi from the bus station back to the Safari Garden hotel were we were welcomed by the hotel staff. After we brought our stuff in the room we we just went for a dip in the pool and relaxed.
Tanji
Saturday, the 30th of October we wanted to get up early, around 7.30 am, to visit Tanji. But we actually came out of bed at 9 am. After breakfast we walked to the Fajara hotel to take a taxi from there to Tanji. The staff in our hotel had advised us to ask for a taxi driver named Bacari. But he wasn't there, so we took another one. The road to Tanji is also in a horrible condition, so after a very bumpy and warm ride we arrived in Tanji. At first we wanted to visit the 'Tanji Village Museum', but our driver didn't have any idea were to find it. He had to ask several times and finally we arrived at the museum. We started with a drink at the terrace. The museum has a main building which has for instances some medicines, dyes, insects etc. on display. Outside the main building there is a wide variety of Gambian huts, those that you also may find within a traditional Gambian compound. The huts you can find here are for instance that of the head of the family, and a females hut. There are also a dog kennel and a chicken house. On the grounds you can also find some of those huts that you can rent to stay for one or more nights for the 'Real Gambia experience'. Next to that there is also a nature trail that you can walk. You walk along several plants and trees and which each of these some explanation is given. After we've seen everything we had another drink and then we went back to the village of Tanji. It is a fishing village and everywhere you could smell the fish. We did some walking along the beach and we observed everyday life of a Gambian fishing family. Immediately we were 'attacked' by a horde of small children asking for money and candy. After the visit to Tanji we drove back to Fajara.
Banjul
The capital of The Gambia is Banjul and we still hadn't paid
it a visit yet. So on Sunday, the last day of our holiday, we went to Banjul.
We also went there by taxi. Mister Bacari was now present at the Fajara
hotel and he felt very sorry to hear that we were looking for him yesterday
while he wasn't there. Well this day we went with him to Banjul. His taxi
looked very clean and well taken care of. This in contrast with to how
most cars look like. Cast-off, disapproved, cars from Europe. Sometimes
you even saw a car with a european license plate. In Banjul we started
with a visit to Arch 22, this is a large gate build in remembrance of the
military coup of July 22nd of 1994. You can also go to the top of the arch,
stairs or elevator, and from the top you have a great view over Banjul
and its surroundings. There is also a bar and a restaurant where you can
have a drink while enjoying the view. A visit to the lively Albert market
was the next destination.
It is very nice to wander around over this market and observe all the hassling.
Hilleke still wanted to buy one of those larger wooden giraffes, but the
very large ones, almost 2 meters in height were very expensive and we also
could imagine us taking such a large souvenir with us back home. Finally
we bought a smaller one of about half a meter in height. We also bought
some other wood-carvings. There a lot of nice souvenirs to buy in The Gambia
and if you don't take care you will spent a fortune on buying them. Bacari,
our driver, took everything to the car so we didn't have to carry it all
along with us. After we had another drink we drove back to the hotel. We
arranged with Bacari that he would pick us up this evening to take us to
the airport. Back at the hotel we did some swimming, took a shower and
packed our things. While Arjan was taking a shower the power dropped, meaning
that also the water pump stopped, so there he was completely covered with
soap and no water to wash it off. So he thought: 'Well if it doesn't
come back quickly I will jump into the pool to get all the soap off'.
But luckily the generator was started so the water was back again. After
we had another dinner we paid the bill and went to the airport.
Back home
At the check-in counter at the airport we asked if we could take our giraffe, well wrapped in a newspaper, as cabin luggage. At first they didn't agree, but we insisted on taking it with us and finally they agreed. After customs we had a drink at a bar. The airport of Banjul looks very modern. It is also one of the escape airports for the Space Shuttle if it, for what reason, can not land in the USA. We started again with a short flight to Dakar, there most people came aboard. Just across the aisle there was a boy who had obviously never flown before. When the food was served he had no idea what to do with most of the things. He was, for example, eating the coffee milk with a spoon out of the cup. Around 4.30 am we had touchdown in Brussels where we had to wait for a long time for our connecting flight to Amsterdam. When the shop opened, Hilleke wanted to buy something and after that we walked to customs. It turned out they had a work-to-rules action so it all went very slowly. Even for inhabitants of a so-called Schengen country, like us, they didn't make exceptions. Some people that were at the back end of the row suddenly passed the row while excusing themselves with the words: 'Sorry, I want to pass as I have to catch my plane'. The other people in the queue responded, quite irritated, with 'And why do you think that we are in this line?'. And this caused them to walk back to the end of the queue. Luckily we were able to catch our flight, the doors were closed as soon as we got on the plane. It was almost empty, at most 20 passengers in a B737. After another short flight we were back in Holland, the end of a short but very nice vacation in West Africa.
