A small taster to the feature article in Adventure Travel Magazine, UK, where Jones is interviewed about the journey. The hard copy March issue mag is on the shelves now at all reputable book stores. The full interview will be on their website in the next month or so.

Shepherd in the Forest, Makasutu, The Gambia

Image taken from Jason Florio’s book of stunning B&W portraits, taken over a period of 10 years, whilst visiting The Gambia (particularly Makasutu Culture Forest www.makasutu.com).

The book ‘Makasutu – mecca in the forest’ can be bought on-line from http://www.blurb.com/search/site_search?search=jason+florio&filter=all&commit=Search hardback and soft cover available

Image: Jason Florio www.floriophoto.com

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Fatou Dansu (Basse) - one of only 5 female Alkolo's in The Gambia

All images on the site and more are available -  exclusive, limited edition, prints from the expedition by award-winning photojournalist, Jason Florio (www.floriophoto.com).

If you would like to receive more information on purchasing prints then please email us: 700miles@floriophoto.com

Boy at well, Tuba Dabbo, The Gambia, W Africa 2009

Check out our most recent press from Adventure Travel Magazine

http://www.atmagazine.co.uk/content/view/1550/147/

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Chris Rowles (Gambia Experience), Don Murray (The Eden Project), Florio & Jones (A Short Walk....Expedition Leaders)

We have had the most amazing response to our fund-raising for Gardens for Life – an Eden Project, UK, based charity, to help raise money for Gambian school kids to build their gardens and we are eternally grateful for that. However, this is a on-going project and and we also thank The Eden Project, Gambia Experience, and Makasutu Wildlife Trust for their continued support in helping to push this cause even further – i.e. funds are still needed in abundance to help these kids realise their dream. And, to not only spread the word around the whole of The Gambia but also globally (GFL  have and continue to be set up in many different countries). Teach these kids to grow and they will pass on that knowledge to their families and communities.

Even though the expedition is over, raising awareness and funds is not. If you can help, with as little or as much as you can, please visit:

http://www.justgiving.com/gardensforlifegambia

A million and one thanks as always from A Short Walk In The Gambian Bush team

Jones, Florio, Janneh, Samba, Momadou & our faithful (albeit sometimes stubborn!) donkeys – Neil & (p)Hadley

PS check out our most recent press at

http://www.atmagazine.co.uk/content/view/1550/147/

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928.04km later!

(Image: Jones – The Gambia – 2009)

YOU helped us raise almost 3400GBP (5500USD)!!!

We have so many people to thank for helping us complete a very successful and fascinating walk around a small West African country and you helped us to spread the word, globally, about Gardens for Life in The Gambia. Every single one of you has played a part and we sincerely thank you for your amazing generosity.

The guys down at the Eden Project, in Cornwall, UK, are now in their think tank meetings to push the GFL charity fundraising even further for us and we have set up donations page that they will now oversee (they being experts at this charity stuff and who will ensure that any further donations go directly to the Gambian school kids and their gardens). So, please feel free to pass this link onto your family and friends as this is an on-going project http://www.justgiving.com/gardensforlifegambia

We will continue to promote Gardens for Life and our Short Walk in The Gambian Bush through the media, exhibitions, the web, gabbing about to anyone who will listen……wherever/whenever we can get exposure basically!!

Speaking of which, Florio is has just submitted a piece about the journey to The Independent, as per their request, here in the UK. I’ve had a sneak preview and it sums our adventure up very succinctly. We’ll post on here as and when. Yours truly has also recently been interviewed by Adventure Travel Magazine for their brand new section called ‘Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things’. Again, we’ll post a link once its on their site.

Mr 'oh so humble' Bah - the Marabout - a magical man, Tuba Dabbo

(Image: Jason Florio – The Gambia – 2009)

Florio and I are both off to NYC again next week where we will be working on putting on an small exhibition (once we find a venue! Any ideas any of you NY contingent?)……our journey through images and words. And then there’s the book……but thats another story…..

BIG love and a million and one thanks to everyone (family, friends, friends of friends etc) for their continuous support and encouragement.

Jones (’Boss Lady’), Florio (’Mappin it Out’), Janneh (’The Negotiator’), Samba (’Call me Mr Leigh’) and Momadou (’Jamtang’)

Samba Sowe, farmer, Felling Koto

Image: Jason Florio – The Gambia – 2009

PS Florio will be putting more exclusive images up from the journey on his website in the coming weeks so please go visit when you can www.floriophoto.com

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Jones, James Island on The Gambia River

Image: Jason Florio – The Gambia – 2009

www.floriophoto.com

The Short Walk team visited James Island on our walk back along the north bank of The Gambia. It is situated on the Gambia River about 2 miles off the main land near the villages of Juffereh and Albreda. After a 15 minute ride on a small colourful parogue, across the choppy waters of the Gambia River, we planted our feet firmly on this diminishing piece of  historical rocky ground.

The island has certainly gotten smaller since the last time I visited around 8 years ago. All that remains are a few weather-beaten baobab trees and the stone ruins of Fort James. The river is gradually reclaiming the land. This is perhaps not a bad thing in the light of what it represents -originally used as an important West African port for transferring the slaves to countries such as Europe and America.

We were taken over there by the Alkalo’s son, Karamo, and as we were leaving at dusk, Florio said what an amazing experience it would have been to set up our camp for that night on the island…..”but why didn’t you say……it is possible….my mother is the Alkalo”.  Mind you, I’m not too sure how well Neil and (p)Hadley would have taken to the small parogue on the river with their obstinate objection to being within even sniffing distance of water!  I think that we may well have unintentionally ended up swimming in it.

More images to come…….

Jones & Florio – now back in the snow (and cold!) of England

Harvest time in The Gambia - Boy collecting grasses, Tuba Dabbo

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Just three of around 35 stunning portraits that Florio took of the Alkalo’s – heads of the villages – whilst on the Short Walk expedition in The Gambia. If you want to see them in all their glory, then larger images will be available to view on his website shortly www.floriophoto.com

More to come so keep checking in for a images to feast your eyes on

Jones & Florio

Image: Jason Florio – The Gambia – 2009

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Gambian Kids and Neil, the donkey

Image: Jason Florio – The Gambia – 2009

A million thanks goes out to everyone who has donated so far. You have all helped so much. Even though we have successfully completed our walk around The Gambia, we will continuje to try and raise as much awareness and funds for the school kids and their Gardens for Life. We have handed over the fundraising reigns to the Eden Project Charity in the UK

http://www.edenproject.com/our-work/people/gardens-for-life/gardens-for-life-in-the-gambia.phpm

who are the experts at this kind of thing and they will ensure that all further funds get to Gambian schools. If you would like to help the ‘Short Walk In The Gambian Bush’ expedition members get more Gardens for Life up and running for Gambian school kids, then please visit our Just Giving page and see how even a small donation can make a big difference to these kids.

http://www.justgiving.com/gardensforlifegambia

Thanks from all the Short Walk team members: Jones, Florio, Janneh, Samba, Momadou, Neil & (p)Hadley (and Paddy!)

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Anyway……more stunning images from our resident road-hardy photographer, Jason Florio (and the odd one from yours truly), plus a few words on how the walk impacted on our lives.

Happy New Year! Jones, Florio, Janneh, Samba, Momadou and Neil & (p)Hadley) x

The road to Fatoto - the last village at the end of THe Gambia, before Koina

Image: Jones – The Gambia – 2009

Friday 18^th December 2009 – Mandina River Camp, Makasutu Culture Forest.

Its almost a week since we returned from our Short Walk In The Gambian Bush Expedition. It hasn’t been as laid back a week as we may have wished for, or needed, but there has still been time to reflect over the last 6 weeks on the road.

Firstly though, we bid a poignant farewell to Neil and (p)Hadley yesterday – who walked all around the country with us. They were picked up by Gibril and should be back at The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust in Sambel Kunda by now, ensconced in their familiar paddock and stables – home! We will truly miss those beautiful animals. They are amongst the most hard-working, loving and loyal creatures that you can come across. It’s almost like having a dog (they helped me not to miss Mr P, my dog back in London, too much anyway!).

Momadou will also be back in Sambel Kunda with his new wife – happy to have him home again no doubt. Janneh is taking a much-deserved week off, spending time with his two sons and continuing to build his house.  We look forward to seeing him back here at Makasutu on Sunday. Samba carried on his usual day job here at Makasutu when we got back but is now taking a couple of well-deserved days rest too with his two wives and seven kids!. However, we did have to drag both him and Janneh out last night to do the ‘Fatou Show’. She is like the Oprah of Gambia! It was a live show and we had about 5 minutes to plug Gardens For Life, The Balabu Conservation Area and Makasutu Wildlife Trust before an all-singing, all-dancing Senegalese group came on to mime their tribute to the president (Yahya Jammeh) and his family members! Interesting stuff, to say the least, is Gambian TV.

The 'Short Walk' team are welcomed back to Makasutu by the Jola women dancers and Gambia TV

Image: Jones – The Gambia – 2009

Florio and I continue to work (and get some walking in too now that we are addicted to it!) – no rest for us but then when you have the Madina Balong and the mangroves as your back yard, and the scorching sun high up there into the bargain, we can hardly complain! Thank you to James and Lawrence – our trusty old mates and hosts (here at beautiful Makasutu Culture Forest). You guys are the business. Florio has a travel piece to write for The Indepedent, UK, and we both have to edit the gazillion images that we’ve taken to see what we want to do with them. We will put as many as possible up on the blog before we run out of space! After that, we’ll probably link a site of the rest of the images from his website (www.floriophoto.com).

Kerr Batch, Stone Circles, The Gambia, 2009

We also have to carry on pushing to raise more funds from the walk for Gardens For Life through http://www.justgiving.com/gardensforlifegambia which the expert fundraisers at The Eden Project in the UK will be taking care of for  us now. They will ensure that any further donations come here to the Gambian schools within the Balabu Conservation Area.

Aside from all of the above, we will also be looking at potential exhibitions in London, New York and The Gambia. Maybe even a book in the making……who knows……

We all feel richer from this journey in so many ways. By choosing to walk, we were able to see so much of The Gambia which has been fantastic. It was such a perfect time of year to walk here too as the rains had just finished so the country is alive – on the land, in the air and in the rivers and belongs. I have never seen so many shades of green in one place. Truly stunning, on the eye. Harvesting of groundnuts, cassava, melons, rice etc was all around us. This country is abundant in its agriculture. And, these Gambians work bloody hard!

Shopping for vegetables and dried fish, Chamen, The Gambia

Image: Jason Florio – The Gambia – 2009

On the walk, we  met interesting and inspirational people all along the way – from West-South-East-North. And, the multitude of kids that surrounded us everywhere we went (regardless of whether we wanted some peace or space at times!), they have to be the most unashamedly loving kids you can meet. Gambians have big families and they all tend to live together in one compound – virtually on top of each other. This means that the kids, from toddler-size upwards, are often left to their own devises, to roam around of their own free-will and pleasure, whilst the mums get on with a multitude of everyday chores that include washing, cooking, cleaning the compound and working in the fields with the men. However, the small kids every move will inevitably be watched by an eagle-eyed older sister (in most cases, it seemed the females played the carer role whilst the boys will……well….. be boys!) – even if it looks as if she isn’t paying attention half the time! I say older, but she may only be 2 or 3 years older than her younger sibling. Nonetheless, they take on the mantle of surrogate mother very early on and with apparent effortlessness and demand respect – which they get.

A tired Florio - (counting cows) - Camp for the night, Chamois Bunda, The Gambia

Image: Jones – The Gambia – 2009

It was so refreshing to see this community spirit. It reminded me of when I was a child and my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and sisters were always near by but then, as one gets older that inexorably changes; grandparents may pass, aunts, uncles, cousins move away and you may move on too. Conversely, this does not happen a great deal in the majority of Gambian families. A son or daughter may go off to find work or go to school in the bigger towns (or even another country) but this is so that they can help support their families back home. And, they often come home, back to The Gambia. There is a real sense of loyalty, commitment and, especially, respect within Gambian families that is a joy to behold. They stick together!

Jones, Momadou & Neil with our usual audience of curious Gambian kids

Image: Jason Florio – The Gambia – 2009

As mentioned, we found The Gambia to be culturally and agriculturally rich. We were truly enthused by how much we experienced as we traversed the dusty roads, sandy pathways and ventured deep into the Gambian bush.  It’s a beautiful country. Come see it for yourself. I doubt very much that you would be disappointed.

With love and thanks for stopping by to share our journey

Jones, Florio, Janneh, Samba, Momadou and Neil & (p)Hadley

PS we will continue to put up our walking images – each one has its own story to tell of the journey, The Gambia, the people and anything else that we may have forgotten to add! So, please keep checking in x

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Tendaba, The Gambia

Image: jason Florio – The Gambia – 2009

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A million thanks goes out to everyone who has donated so far. You have all helped so much. As we are now on the road – well and truly on our 700mile Odyssey around The Gambia – we are handing over the fundraising reigns to the Eden Project Charity in the UK who will ensure that all further funds get to Gambian school kids. If you would like to help the ‘Short Walk In The Gambian Bush’ expedition members get more Gardens for Life up and running for Gambian school kids, then please visit our Just Giving page and see how even a small donation can make a big difference to these kids.

http://www.justgiving.com/gardensforlifegambia

Kids want to grow gardens in their schools!

Image: Jones – The Gambia – 2009

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