Blogs from Gambia, Africa - page 9

Winter sun these days tends to rank higher and higher on a tourist's wishlist, and the option of spending Christmas Day on a beach in the Gambia almost seemed like the greatest christmas present that was never intended for unwrapping. The long-established Senegambia Beach hotel, which lent its name to the Senegambia entertainment strip leading off from the hotel, is one of the country's prime properties, and its beachfront location suggests why its popularity in the context of the entire country will always have the stamp of permanence. This was the most authentically African country visited to date, and sufficient evidence to suggest that the country, in land mass terms 'a finger in the mouth of Senegal', literally thrives off its income generated from tourism. Excursions are adequate, at least for a week-long visit, and the ... read more

Here are a few shots to accompany the year end blog. These are from the Camel Safari and Tanji Fishing Village outside of Banjul. We went with my brother and family in July 2008.... read more

Here are a few shots taken around the Kiloli Beach Club... read more

One day I was hanging out at my friend Iris’s compound and a pathetic looking little street cat wondered in, looking for food and love. He was tiny, probably not more than 3 weeks old, scruffy, and terribly bug infested. I wanted to take him home and rehabilitate him, give him a bath and some food, and so I did. He hid under my kitchen counter for quite a long time. After my friends and I pulled him out we gave him a bit of a bath, it needed to be done or he would be horribly ill from all of the bugs he had. What we found under his puff of orange hair was nothing more than a few bones held together by some skin. He collapsed after we washed him, but was then brought ... read more

A few of my groupies and myself felt like taking a little weekend getaway up country, so I opened the travel book, flicked a page, and so we went. Bintang is a small little village, primarily Mandinka, on the south bank of Gambia. We all had a blast in our little bungalows on the bolong. I thought it might be a good idea to jump into the water straight from my porch, and it was a good idea, until I hit the oyster filled bottom with my bum. The water was deceptively high looking, which left me looking a bit like a battered woman in a swim suit. Apparently the water was safe to swim in, but I ended up getting some sort of parasite and a worm in my leg, go figure. We took ... read more

I live in the Tower of Babble. With multiple different local languages, mixed with some form of English, and a bit of French, it is a sure fire way to get lost in a sea of translation confusion. As Bill Murray and Scarlet Johnason were, I too am lost in translation. Take last week for example. I went to Sukuta (a village about half on hour from where I live) to visit friends. Most of them speak Mandinka (which I know only greetings and basic phrases in), Wolof (which I am SEMI proficient in), and “Gambian English”. When white, non-local speakers come into the mix, it can get a little messy. While trying to speak Wolof to the Mandinkas, the Mandinka speakers are trying to make me speak their language, and firing off what I am ... read more

It’s two o’clock in the morning, and instead of being in a sweet little slumber after a long day, I’m awake. Why you ask? At approximately 1:30am I jolted out of my bed after watching an episode of Roseanne, to a bitterly disturbing sound coming from my window. Previous to this incident, my friends and I were scared out of our minds when 1) my cat made the sound that incredibly resembled a human being and thus 2) made us think someone was in the house. After doing a once over, armed with a broom, we decided the coast was clear. I popped in some Roseanne to settle my nerves and give me a laugh, and was all ready to rest my sleepy eyes when BAM 1:30am rolls around. At this point in the evening, it ... read more