Yesterday I had a superb day. My taxi arrived at 7am and we got to the Bandia Animal Reserve about an hour later, and soon after that I went on a safari ride. It cost me about £20 and the ride on one of those flatbeds 4×4’s with tiered seating took around 90 minutes. I saw Giraffes, Gazelles, Rhino’s, Ostriches, Crocodiles and lots of brightly coloured birds. I’ve always wanted to visit somewhere like this and now I have. That’s one more thing off my bucket list…
My driver brought me back and just as we were getting into Somone we were pulled over by the police. The driver got out and I saw the ‘gift’ exchange, so when he got back to the Auberge I asked him how much and he told me 500 francs. His fare for the day was about 10eu so I gave him around 25eu for his troubles and he was really happy when he left.
This morning I left Somone and did a short ride south to Palmarin, which is at the end of a long coastal peninsula, with one side next to the sea and the other next to salt flats and marshes. The reason I came here is that I wanted to chill out for a few days next to the sea and hopefully catch some of those cooler offshore breezes.
The journey was around 70 miles but took about two and a half hours. You may laugh about how long it took but you can’t go anywhere fast in this part of the world…! The first half of the journey I went through a few towns and villages which were really busy and a bit congested, and then about half way through the journey the villages became less and the roads opened up – which meant I could get some of that wonderful breeze…
The biggest frustration today was speed bumps. I just can’t see any logic to them. I assumed they were about a kilometre apart on open roads but sometimes they arrive in twos or threes. Sometimes one before and one after a junction and sometimes there are rogue humps in the middle of nowhere to catch you out. What’s frustrating is that sometimes you go over one and then start going up in gears and by the time you reach third or fourth gear you get another speedbump and have to slow down again. Although they are really frustrating, I do understand why as without them I’m sure there would be complete carnage on all the roads with the way that the Senegalese men drive…
When I was having a break under a big tree, a moped came past and his back tyre blew. It was just a young lad so I went over, had a look and he had a nail in his rear tyre. I wonder if that nail could have been destined for me…?
Anyway, I asked if he wanted a tow and he said yes, so I got out my ratchet strap, tied one end around his headstock and the other around my rear rack and gave him a tow to the nearest village. I was kicking myself later as I never took a picture or started the video camera. Anyway, he was happy and my V-Strom didn’t seem to mind. Today’s good deed done…
It’s another hot one today, around 38 degrees and I got to the planned campsite around 2.30 but I didn’t like it so I went to my plan B – and you ALWAYS need a plan b – which was about a kilometre down the road. Camp Eden, and it’s perfect. I’ve got a spot under a large tree for shade about 50m from the beach, and there is a nice breeze – all for £6 a night. There’s no Wi-Fi though, and my simcard only gets a weak signal, but I’m sure I’ll manage with the internet.
On the way here I stopped at a village called Joal Fadiout, which connects to a village on an island made out of sea shells. Millions of shells over hundreds of years have gone to make the foundations of a large island. You have to cross by using a wooden bridge but they wouldn’t let me across on the bike, even though there were lots of heavily laden donkey carts and TukTuk’s going across. The bridge is about a kilometre across and I didn’t fancy yomping across in my riding gear so I left it and headed for the campsite. I’ll go and have a look at the island tomorrow.
Another faux-pax… yesterday I bought 5 litres of water and topped up my bottles. I thought nothing of it, until I got to the campsite and went to make a mug of tea – and it tasted weird. I had a drink from the bottle I’d just used – and it was sparkling water. Warm sparkling water tastes horrible, and using it to make tea is even worse. Thankfully I had two of litres of normal water so I’ll buy more water tomorrow.
A bit of chill-out while I’m here. I’ll go for a wander tomorrow, and then maybe get back on the road again in two or three-days time. I may head inland or I may head for Gambia. I’ll toss a coin when I’m ready to leave and see which direction I’m destined to go… Life kinda does that to you sometimes…
