After a few days of peace and quiet at Janjanbureh, today was the day to leave and head west. Janjanbureh was at the extreme east of the country. As its not far away I did have an idea of heading back into Senegal to see more of southern Senegal before coming back into Gambia, but as Christmas was approaching, I thought I would head towards the west coast and civilisation.
I left the campsite early and rode west on the southern highway. The Gambia is around 200 miles long from east to west and at its widest point it is around 32 miles north to south. The River Gambia runs east to west through the middle of the country and because of this there is a single tarmac road which runs around the country in a ‘U’ shape, so today I took the southern highway to get to the west coast.
I arrived at Kartong on the south west coast of the Gambia, which is around 28 miles south of the capital, Banjul. The journey was around 185 miles and took about six hours, including two stops for tea. You honestly can’t go too fast to make up the miles here because there are just too many towns and villages where you have to really slow down because of the children and the animals which roam around freely.
On top of this are the speed bumps in every town and village – plus the checkpoints. Yes, the checkpoints. Today I have never been stopped so many times. I started counting but gave up. State police, local police and the military and there was a checkpoint at every village and town. Sometimes two checkpoints. You HAVE to stop and just wait in the queue until you are waved forward, and If you don’t, they’ll simply get you at the next town… At three of the Army checkpoints there was a really heavily armed contingent of troops and vehicles. I don’t know what was happening today. Whether it was nervousness because of the coup attempt in Sierra Leone or something else, I just don’t know. It was a long day that was made even longer.
At one Army checkpoint I was stopped and after giving me back my passport he saw my camelback in desert camouflage and said “That’s good. Give it to me”. I said no, and the next thing he levelled his rifle towards me and said “Give to me”. Now if he’d cocked his weapon maybe I would have approached it differently, but as he hadn’t I decided to give him a piece of my mind so I shouted back at him using several anglo-saxon phrases that questioned his parentage and his mental ability. More than anything, I think I was venting my frustration about the many checkpoints I had been through and he was just the catalyst. At that point another soldier came across, a Sergeant, who must have heard me shouting. When he got closer he saw the soldier holding his rifle at me and he also shouted at the soldier and then told me to go. So ‘go’ I certainly did.
The other frustration today was goats. Loads of the little blighters just wandering around, at the side of the road and also on the road. The problem with most animals, especially goats, is you never know what they’re going to do next. Most of today’s goats were small brown ones, and I’m sure that if I ever have an accident here, then I’m positive I’ll be a goat that’s responsible for my demise… I had a few near misses today, which was a bit too close for comfort.
When I was looking to camp on the west coast there are very few dedicated camp sites. It’s mostly lodges which allow some camping so when I was looking for somewhere to camp I suddenly thought that if I’m at Lodge then when why not actually stay at a lodge, so after a quick look at prices I booked myself into a lodge for three nights on Air B&B for £40. Yes, £40 for three nights… I’ve got a small lodge all to myself with a shower, toilet and breakfast every morning – plus – a beach just a few minutes’ walk. And what a stunning beach: it’s completely empty and I could even run around stark naked and upset no one. Not that I will. Especially at my age…
Tomorrow I’m going to spend the afternoon on the beach reading my kindle, staying in the shade (as I spontaneously combust in direct sunlight) and doing as little as possible. The following day I’m going to visit the reptile farm to see snakes, crocodiles and lots of other things with teeth, and then the following day I’m making the short ride north to Banjul, where I’ll be staying next.
Oh yes, I’ve also got a cold. In this climate..! A runny nose and a sore throat, and where I picked it up from I just do not know. It started yesterday so today I felt a lethargic and really couldn’t wait for the ride to end. Anyway, I’m here now so I can suffer in my own misery… on the beach…in the sunshine…
