Villages, Gorillas, Elephants, The Delta and the Unknown

Despite the lack of sleep I arrived at OR Tambo airport, Johannesburg feeling full of the joys of spring but not looking forward to my five hour layover.  Immigration was a breeze, my bag came off quickly, I got myself organised and went to transfer to the check in counter for my trip to Namibia. “Sorry lady but they are having a training exercise so you cant get there within the building and need to go outside and walk down, then take the lift. Someone will help you down there” I am told.  So off I trot, dragging my suitcase behind me. I am met by a security guard who escorts me to the departure area to find it in lockdown and anyway I can’t check in for another three hours. There are no food outlets here so I drag my stuff back to the other terminal, down the lovely clean and organised terminal till I come to the first food outlet.  I’m in raptures. There are toasted sandwiches on the menu and better still bacon and egg toasted sandwiches. Oh oh oh. I order one with a double espresso

What can I say!  I learned little, saw lots of countryside and did a few fun things but I dont feel as though I have really got a grasp for either country. Despite being on the road for ten days I have not experienced either of them and have learned nothing of their culture or traditions.  I have sampled a bit of Senegalese food but most was 100% French and in general delicious. I’ve had seafood of some sort most every day and have loved it. French wine helped digestion and local beer went down a treat as did copious quantities of coke to ward off dehydration in the heat.  My waistline has increased due to excess intake but mainly through lack of exercise but on the otherhand my bum is smaller due to the thrashing it has had on the bumpy road and the bus seats.  My tan has improved but sadly my brain has not been stimulated in the slightest.  When I come back to West Africa I would like to see Senegal as I think it is probably a lovely place with some grand stories to tell. Its a shame

Well our two days in The Gambia are over. In the bus we crossed over the river on the ferry, a short trip spent people watching.  From there made our way to the border. Not a long trip but long enough for a quick snooze.  Getting out of The Gambia was easy enough and we were stamped out in a flash. Getting back into Senegal more complicated as other than myself no one had needed a visa and I had a multi entry one, but for the first time we were asked for our Yellow Fever certificates!!!  Go figure!  Anyway we got through within about 30 minutes and piled yet again into the bus, happy to get away from the touts trying to sell stuff and happy to say farewell to the unnecessary bureaucracy.  Despite checking with our guide each day about the length of each bus trip today’s trek was well in excess of the four hours they promised would be the max. We stopped in the beach resort of Saly for an edible but totally chaotic lunch about 2:30pm and then continued to the Saly Fish Market for a dose

Oh at last a sensible time to start and breakfast done we left at 9:30am for a quick trip to the 22 Arch. It looked nice and the ‘local guide’ (we have local guides at some places to give us the important info) I am sure gave everyone lots of information but I didn’t hear a word as it was so noisy around us. There were lots of nice kids tho. The others followed the guide up the circular staircase to a small museum in the arch but not having any idea what it was all about I went and sat in the comfort of the bus.  Our next stop was a wee National Museum of Gambia which gave us lots of interesting information about Gambia.  There was a lovely wee garden out the front with amazing statues; no idea what half of them signified but if they were smaller I could have taken some home.  The Albert Market was our next stop and the idea was that we would all follow the local guide as he headed round the stalls. Ever tried to get 16 diverse adults to follow the leader through a market?  Not happeni

We left the uninspiring Kaolack just as the sun was rising and in time to strike the ‘traffic jams’. Sad to be saying goodbye to the hotel but happy to be on our way to The Gambia, the place that bought me to this part of the world.  The drive was uninspiring to say the least with main item of interest being the piles of rubbish on the sides of the road.  Arriving at the Gambia/Senegal border we quickly got stamped out of Senegal, drove for a bit then stopped to give our passports to The Gambia immigration officials housed in tiny offices off the main square. Mine went into the no visa required pile, as a Citizen of a Commonwealth country kiwis are visa exempt (and also visa fee exempt) or so their website says.  It wasn’t long before I was summonsed to pay the fee to be able to get my visa. I argued that I didn’t need one (as per the website) and was told that the website was hacked and it was wrong. The official showed me the words New Zealand listed in the section that said visas we

The rest of the group went to a bird sanctuary yesterday. I lay in bed till it was too late for breakfast, went for a walk, found a cafe, sampled their ware, wandered a bit and spent a few hours chilling in my room. Full stop, end of story. I had a great time and enjoyed some time off the bus and had the albility to switch off.  Of course I was wide awake and ready to go by dinner time so followed the leader to a place called ‘La Kora’ which was great. My filet of capitane fish with a wee salsa and pickled veg atop a mound of rice was delicious. The fish was perfectly cooked, so fresh I could taste the sea, and falling apart. It was amazingly good. The wee salsa of capsicum, tomato, onion and cucumber marinated in oil and lime gave a crunch and some zing to the fish. I didn’t eat the rice but those veges were delicious, crunchy, slightly pickled and sweet just finished off a divine meal and a lovely day.  Today was an early 6:30am breakfast start. We piled into the bus and drove off he