Mon 26th Oct 09
Nimbara nimbara (Mandinka greetings)
Africell, 'Pipeline' Serrekunda - showing the football on the biggest screen and the loudest (Mac 11!!) PA system you could ever hear!!!
As we may have mentioned, nothing happens very quickly in The Gambia and the sooner you accept that fact, the better. It can often take a whole day to achieve what one could achieve in half a day or less at home. However, there is something to be said about the laid back attitude…..unless ofcourse one is trying to get an expedition off the ground (or on the ground in our case!)!
A day spent driving around with Samba Leigh (our new expedition member) and Musa, the demon driver, trying to find a dongle, more driving, going to the local police station to ask the Chief of Police for permission to walk around the country only to find him laid flat out on the phone on a bare mattress in his office with an eye infection! But, we got his blessing and should we encounter any problems up country then we are to contact him. Very nice man. More driving, meeting with the Gambian Tourist Authority (GTA) re possible TV and radio here, more driving, haggling over groundnut hay and still ending up paying over the odds!! Oh well, at least our lovely donkeys, Neil and Padd,y will be well fed this evening.
Bi candita baci here (very hot!) so all the driving has, well, driven us to an early cold Julbrew before we have another meeting soon with the people from The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust who are coming down from Sambel Kunda today…..its a good days ride away – in the heat – so perhaps they will appreciate a cold Julbrew too once they get here?! Anyway…..we hope to be on the road by Friday, latest. A day or two earlier than we anticipated. That’s providing that we get the letter of endorsement from the Village Chief, Mr Boutang, in time. This letter wil ensure that whenever we meet any village chiefs on the way, that we will be welcomed hopefully with open arms (and a place to pitch the tents!) as they all these chiefs know each other. This is a small country and not only in size.
More soon from the ‘Smiling Coast’ where its ‘Nice to be nice’
M’bay jela nyatay
Jones & Florio
PS Amendment: we leave on Monday 2nd November now – a day later due to GMT! All good though!!
Image: Jones2009
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