Image: Jason Florio 2009 – The Gambia
Friday 20th November 2009
Today we walked from Bakadargy Village to Basse Town. A shortish days walk as it was only around 24km’s (after yesterdays record-breaking 37km – breaking our own record that is – it was a breeze!). There is always something to be found to eat along the way. Here are some of the typical delights the roadside vendors hold for us each day:
Breakfast around 9am, eaten beneath the shade of a mango tree in the village of
The Short Walk team enjoying breakfast in Sutoma Sere
: freshly made, still warm, tapalapa (local baguette style bread) bought from a baker cycling by on his way to sell his bread in Basse (D4 per loaf) with sardines and mayonnaise from our cool box, with steaming glasses of PG Tips tea (hot water kindly provided by another local man).
Followed by: a square or two each of Green & Blacks rich dark chocolate (from our depressingly dwindling, precious store of special treats) – in celebration of having almost reached the 400km mark – and Nice biscuits (D3 per pack) to dip in our tea.
Our belly’s full of tapalapa, tea, chocolate and biscuits – a veritable feast of a breakfast – we get back on the hot road to Basse. However, there are more tasty treats to graze on along the way. Such as:
Ripe, juicy oranges (D10 for 4) – the best bit: biting off the skin, sucking out the luscious juice, spitting out the seeds on the roadside and lapping up the remainder of the juice from sticky fingers (blissfully ignoring any etiquette here on the road!).
A handful of almonds each – courtesy of Holland and Barrett (also from our ‘special treats’ store). Momadou and Samba’s first taste of almonds. Judging by the look of their faces when they were eating them, I’m not sure they will be so keen to have more!
Succulent sweet potatoes (D4 each) – cooked in the skin, which falls off to the touch, the flesh crumbling and melting in the mouth.
Freshly harvested groundnuts (generously donated by a farmer in a field we were passing – this happens all the time) – finding the ‘dimple’ in the shell and neatly popping it open to reveal two deliciously crunchy groundnuts (thanks to Janneh for that local tip).
Thirst-quenching, lipsmacking, melon (D40 for 2) when we reached Basse and the Alkalo’s compound, where we will spend the next two nights. Unashamedly spitting out the seeds onto the ground (etiquette? What etiquette?!).
Speaking of melons. We were pitching our tents today, when Janneh starting shouting (probably something rude in Mandinka!). We all turned around to see (P)Hadley digging into one of our melons on the cart (these donkeys love a melon!)! There goes one of them then, we thought. I put the remaining melon on the floor behind some of our bags by the tree and went on with putting up the tents. Minutes later, our usual audience of local kids, were shouting and pointing at the tree. We all looked round. It seemed now it was now Neil’s turn to take a chunk out of the other melon!! My fault completely as I should know by now that Neil and (P)Hadley can sniff out a melon out at a 100 metres!! The alkalo’s son was promptly sent out to by a replacement for us!
Treats missed and to look forward to on our return from West Africa (when you are walking along a dark, moonless, road at 5am, you start to torture yourself about what it is you could eat or drink right at that very minute!):
Freshly baked, warm and extremely rich, pain au chocolate, dipped in steaming frothy cappuccino (made only the way Claude or Pablo can make) – Claudes Pattisserie, W.4th Street, NYC!
More culinary delights from A Short Walk Team soon!
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