The drama in Sierra Leone continues and there is now no fuel in Guinea – unless you are prepared to buy it off the black market – which means petrol in old plastic bottles at the side of the road. Because of this I have decided to go back into Senegal. The Gambia is starting to get on my nerves as wherever you go you get a lot of hassle from people trying to sell you things or actually sell themselves. Yes, you do get some hassle in Senegal, but not on the same scale as you do in The Gambia. I’m going to head back into Senegal and:
- A. If things improve in Guinea and Sierra Leone I’ll head south again.
- B. If not, then I’ll head north and back to Mauritania.
LEAVING
This morning I had the bike packed early and I was at the Banjul Ferry Terminal for 8.30 – just in time to catch the 1130 ferry… When I arrived at the ticket office (which cost about £1) I asked the ticket clerk what time the ferry was leaving – and she said “Soon” – which in Africa-speak means ‘Sometime Today’.
About 11 am they opened the barriers and I was waved forwards, together with two mopeds. Being told to wait near the ramp we waited while lots of vehicles started to load. When the ferry seemed half-full we were waved forward and told where to park and not to get off the bike. Then more vehicles were brought forward – and I ended up being sandwiched between a truck and a coach. It was so tight that I couldn’t get my side-stand down and ended up leaning my bike against the coach.
Once they get all the vehicles onboard they open the gates to foot passengers and as soon as they do that a tidal wave of humanity rushed onto the ferry to fill every spare inch of space, including between the vehicles. I have never seen so many people packed into a ferry.
It takes about 35 mins for the ferry crossing and for the whole journey I was stood next to my bike as I was completely hemmed in. Getting off the ferry was also difficult as besides all the vehicles, you’ve also got the zillions of passengers – with everyone trying to get off at the same time. The ferry men don’t do any directing. Once we arrived they just dropped the ramp, opened the gates and disappeared. It was every man (or woman) for themselves. I managed to get off but with hundreds of people walking in the road I just had to crawl along next to many brightly dressed women carrying large bundles on their heads – all the time worrying that my bike may start overheating.
When you get to the exit/entry gate there isn’t any order or system so when you’re told to stop by the ticket collector you’ve got a crush of people trying to enter as well as exit. Pandemonium. I eventually got out and onto the open road but by that time it was midday and it was now 40 degrees and I was welcoming the breeze, even though it was a hot breeze.
Once I got onto the open road I went to turn on my intercom to listen to music – and there was no intercom. The module had completely gone…! I left my helmet near the bike on the ferry and at one stage I saw someone looking at my helmet and thought nothing of it. Obviously, someone fancied it, but without the rest of the module it’s going to be completely useless. Mauritania is going to be a very boring ride without music…! Fortunately I had taken my GoPro off the helmet as I had wanted to capture some footage. I was so glad I’d done that.
THE BORDER
I did the short ride of 10 miles to the Gambia/Senegal border, where there was more fun to be had. They wouldn’t let me park near the border post and kept telling me to move my bike. After moving my bike a few times and then several heated words I ended up parking where I first wanted to park.
At the Gambia Immigration Office I was directed to an office, carrying my helmet under my arm. As soon as the policeman saw my helmet – and the GoPro – he stood and shouted at me and angrily told me to take the helmet outside. I took it outside, removed the GoPro and locked it onto the bike. Coming back to the office he made me sit on a chair outside for about 15 minutes, and just opposite there was a large cell – like you see in Western movies – with two sorry-looking men inside the cell. I think his reaction is down to Itchyboots recently outing the two policemen in Nigeria. The policemen now seem very aware of GoPro’s, and even though I always turn it off at a checkpoint, I think the policemen now assume you are recording and trying to catch them out – especially when they intend to ask you for a bribe.
When the policeman called me into the Office he told me to close the door (always a good sign), took my passport and refused to stamp me out, saying there was something wrong with my entry stamp. Oh, here we go… Of course, this could be fixed with a fine and he wanted a 50eu fine. I said no, 10eu. So he said 40eu. At this point I knew I had to give him something as all I wanted was to get away and get on the road so I said 20eu – and he stamped my passport.
After leaving the policeman with his immaculately ironed uniform, highly polished brogue shoes, gold watch and gold rings – I rode the 500m to the Senegal border. The re-entry to Senegal was easy, quick, painless, friendly and took about twenty five minutes. Hooray…!
With the temperature gauge saying it was now 41 degrees, it’s actually cooler to keep riding rather than finding some shade to take a break – so I rode… and rode north to the town of Foundiougne, which is next to an estuary with a large bridge heading north. They are building a new road to Foundiougne so I had to ride along a diversion, which was about 17 miles of plain dirt road, fortunately with very little sand. By the time I got to the Auberge I was utterly exhausted – with the heat, the time spent standing on the ferry with little shade, the faffing about at the border, and then the 17 miles of rough dirt road. Getting into the shower, even though it was cold, was utter bliss.
AUBERGE
There is no campsite here so I booked into an Auberge, the Campement Baobab sur Mer, and got a lovely en-suite room with breakfast for 12000 francs (or £15 in old money) which is immensely good value as it’s clean, cool and has a superb shower – which I stood under for about 10 mins to cool down and rehydrate.
I’m also having an evening meal here as I can’t be bothered to go shopping for food. I just nodded and when she asked what I wanted to eat I couldn’t understand what it was she was explaining – so I just said ‘Oui’ and smiled. The evening meal will be a surprise to me, and hopefully not a shock…
Well, that was a long, hot, sweaty and frustrating day, and I’ve only covered around 80 miles. More mileage tomorrow, about 150 miles, as I’m heading for the Zebrabar near St Louis. I’m heading for the Zebrabar because it’s only an hour ride to the Mauritania border – plus there’s hot showers, good food, lots of shade – and a lovely beach so I may spend two or three nights there. Also, I’m really feeling some beach-time coming on…
