Culture

Having been decidedly lazy on Saturday we decide to get out and see the area. We head up-to the botanical gardens and have a look round. From there it doesn’t look far to the croc pool and rather than trying to drive to it we decide to walk. After stopping a couple of times for directions we end up with a couple of children as guides. They know where to go and will probably not try to sell us anything. As we head into and through a residential area it’s another moment of just going with the flow. Our guides get us to the croc pool and wait for us to come out just before the police as they aren’t allowed past.

The pool has a museum area attached and we learn about the history of Gambia and the people. Its interesting and something more cultural than sitting on the beach which was plan b. We head out to see the Croc’s and I am convinced that we have been stiffed and they are models right up till one moves.

We pick up our guides again and head out, in payment for their services we agree to get them a football and they are football mad here. They take us to a shop that has a range of balls but they are rather pricy and Adrian asks them if there are any more shops nearby. They lead us into the market which is great as I would never have had the bottle to amble down here unless I was with people. The stalls are closely packed together and the odours are heavy. As it is afternoon it looks like we have missed lots of the traders but are taken to a shop with footballs. After the purchase we get back out onto the main road and give the guides the football. They are really impressed and scamper off to play. This means we become like a beacon for children asking for footballs, doh.

We dive of down to the beach to see the locals fishing and take some more pictures. De curiously asks what’s in a tin that one of the children that is now following us is holding. He is holding this tin like it contains the crown jewels and reluctantly shows us his prized possession. As he peals back the lid a smell like no other hits us and it looks like massive fat maggots or Chickens livers. I have no intention of looking closer and both Dee and I feel ours stomachs turning. Getting up wind we start back towards the car at which point the kid drops the tin by accident in front of Dee and it opens up again. I am so pleased I was a few feet away this time as the last smell was very much “curiosity killed the cat”.

When we get back to the cars an ingenious local has put a chair up next to them and tries to charge us for watching the cars. You have to laugh and we soon move off to find a nature reserve that was recommended to us.

We find the reserve and walk round, I find the paths relaxing and quiet and try desperately to fix the image in my mind for when I get back home. We managed to see loads of animals and get some good shots. They looked good till I saw Dee’s pics which made the animals look like they had been told to pose for them. Adrian gets a shock and nearly jumps out of his skin as Stephan pokes him with a stick. Adrian thought it was a snake as he had been paying close attention looking for them making sure he was no where near them.

We head back to the hotel and decide to go for a curry down at the strip. The curry is brilliant and beer is served by the pint so it’s “all good all of the time”. Achim and Stephan aren’t to sure about the food as they haven’t had Indian before. This is soon remedied and they are tucking into onion bargee’s and balti’s. Feeling fat dumb and happy we head back to the Jazz bar and meet up with some of the other teams.

They have loads to tell and we find out more about the teams that lost their cars in the dessert as well as the ambulance that rolled. The place is really quiet and we must have been keeping the bar open single handedly chatting, drink and watching the world go by. We are all looking forward to tomorrow and the group splits up as people head off to get a good night’s sleep.