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Welcome to my travel log! You will find here a lot more than in the travel reports, stripped from political correctness. Enjoy! 
Dec 16, 2010 09:00 PM The Gambia - Day 7 - hookers
Beach day. On the last day, I had some business to do with the locals. Soon, it became terribly obvious that to business in Africa one has to have good contacts, a lot of money to spare and loads and loads and loads and loads and loads of patience. My appointment was at 3:30pm, the guy came at 4:30pm, the meeting started at 5:00pm and before I finished with the meeting, I was almost two hours late for my other meeting scheduled for 4:30pm!
In the evening, Bakau was the place. The Happy Corner, to be exact. The live band at the Bass's played excellently mixing popular and reggae tunes with the West African flavour. It was superb. I helped them mix the levels a little as they keyboards were too loud, killing the drums and the bongo (jembe).
Then, as it was my last night (at least as per the original schedule) it was Totties Nite Club at Senegambia, where for the first time I noticed elderly ladies boogeying with young Gambian lads trying to make most of their second, erm... fifth or sixth youth. The hookers were going wild as well. If I went with every single one, which whispered in my ear, I would have used the Boots' entire shelf of condoms. In the end, at about 2:45am, I said to my friends: "ok, three more hookers talk to me and we leave". Then, my friend said: "hehe, I can see them! They are literally standing in line right behind you." So, we left immediately.
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Dec 15, 2010 09:00 PM The Gambia - Day 6 - Beach Day
Beach day. Four different beaches, actually. Fajara Beach, Kotu Beach, Palmarima Beach, and Senegambia Beach. It was not a beachy, sunny day, though. The sun was covered with patchy layers of cloud and dust brought by the Harmattan wind. Hiking along the beach was the main activity. Not too much of teasing the local vendors. Self-appointed escorts kept me company, who kept the other bumpsters and hustlers at bay. These were not terribly stimulating conversations, to be honest.
A quick hop just outside Fajara, on the outskirts of Serekunda, for lunch to Le Palais restaurant serving decent pizzas (GMD150), a range of pastries and soft drinks (GMD25), only to pick up email. The place had free wifi Internet access, but one had to ask for the password, which, as I understood, was changed every now and then.
The Palmarima beach was the most lively of all of the beaches that I frequented in the country. On Sundays, it turned into a massive local party. Like other beaches it attracted locals guys to play football, run, wrestle and exercise (mainly push-ups and press-ups), and gals to linger and take a dip in the ocean. But unlike other beaches, it was also used as a dancefloor. Lads would bring stereos and music would be played loud for everyone's benefit. I did not experience that, but one of my 'new friends' told me.
In the evening, I was again invited to the drumming and dancing session by the local fishermen. I went. It turned out, again that some of the fishermen were jolly good drummers and excellent dancers. And some could not tap the bongo to save their lives. And could not hop either. Not properly, anyway.
Then, again Senegambia. I refused to go to Ali Baba's yet again. So, we went to JoJo's. An excellent restaurant and bar playing fantastic live music. It was like a fusion of creole, West African, Capeverdean and Jazz! Simply incredible. And the bar had JulBrew draft beer! The restaurant had a mix of dishes, again mainly fusion - e.g. udon noodles with prawns and squid in Thai Red Curry sauce for GMD350 or grilled captain fish with baked potatoes and hot chilly sauce for GMD295.
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Dec 14, 2010 09:00 PM The Gambia - Day 5 - the beach !!
Beach day. Mixed weather. Mostly sunny. Breezy. Clouds on the horizon. Somewhat cooler. Today, the locals' beach seemed deserted. Only in the afternoon did the residents appear. This time, for some reason, there were many more Gambian girls, who came with their brothers to play in the ocean and exercise. It seemed that many more came also for football. The evening was very animated indeed.
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Dec 13, 2010 09:00 PM The Gambia - Day 4 - the beach
Beach day. More walking and more talking. Today, for the first time, a grown up taking a dip in the see asked me to take their photo. There were two of them, actually. Two young lads, 22 and 19. It had taken them three months to conquer the fear of the risk of getting arrested and come to the beach. The younger one had one of the best smiles I have seen. I snapped a few shots for them and then we strolled and chatted. I asked them if they were hungry. They told me. I paid for lunch.
Today was a hot day. Fortunately, the breeze made life more bearable. In the afternoon, one of the local fishermen from Kotu Beach took me to Bakau to see the fishing centre - a small port with dilapidated pier. We walked from Kotu to Bakau, which is a nice 2.5 miles hike. The centre was busy, crowded, noisy, colourful and very, very smelly.
Ali Baba Garden was again the venue for the evening meal. Same deal - live music: poor reggae, terrible pop and excellent West African tunes.
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Dec 12, 2010 09:00 PM The Gambia - Day 3 - the beach
Beach day. Strolling, strolling, strolling. And yet more people to chat to. Everyone is so inquisitive, if not somewhat nosy. "Where from?" "What country?" "How long?" "Name?" (or if one's lucky - "what is your nice name?") "Come with wife or girlfriend?" "What hotel?" That's right - they did not even use full sentences to make sure that they could pack as many questions with one breath as possible. Sort of speak.
I am not even sure how many people I spoke to. Mainly guys. Women kept much lower profile on the beach. The only ones there were the extremely annoying kind, either selling massively overpriced fruit salads or awful 'massages'. One of the guys, in his early twenties, was hoping to meet a girl from Europe. He claimed, and that was a popular opinion, I must say, that the Gambian girls had no idea how to keep their man. The Senegalese girls, just across he border, enjoyed much more flattering reputation. So, he said that he had a profile on facebook, and that I should look him up. He kept checking my camera. I asked him if he had any good pictures on his facebook to raise an interest in his almost perfect six pack abs. But he said that he had not, as it was hard for him to load the photos at the Internet cafes. I offered then to take some nice pictures of him and to put them on his wall. Now, I wonder if this will help him at all. It might. One of my friends in the UK has been with a girl for over a year now, and they had met via the Internet.
At night, my friend and I went to Ali Baba Garden for a meal. It is a popular and long established venue. It is owned by a Lebanese guy, who sorted himself out in the country very well. They play live music every night and it is very popular with visitors and well off locals.
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Dec 11, 2010 09:00 PM The Gambia - Day 2 - the beach
A beach day. Not lying down but walking about and chatting to people. Many Gambians recognised me instantly and remembered that it had been 3.5 years since my last visit. I put sunscreen on, F25, but still managed to burn my forehead.
Snap, snap, snap. There were so many people to photograph. It was Sunday, so many came to the beach to relax, train and tone their bodies, take a dip in the ocean or just sit down and watch the waves. Many guys came to play football, as well.
Weather was better than yesterday but still haze and overcast dominated. By the evening, the sun disappeared behind clouds completely, still about an hour and a half before sunset.
The night was reserved for the Duplex nightclub. But it was too quiet and decision was made to give it a miss. It was the Cotton Club, next door, instead but for drinks only. They played mainly reggae.
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Dec 10, 2010 09:00 PM The Gambia - Day 1 - Arrival
Six hours and 25 minutes after departing Manchester airport, the Thomas Cook's Boeing 767 landed roughly at the Banjul International Airport. Soon after that, or should I say - an hour later - my second checked bag coming on the belt as the penultimate of all luggage reminded me why I learnt to travel with hand luggage only. Repeating to myself that I was making a good deed by bringing two bags of clothes to my African friends kept me somewhat sane. Just as well. The crowd elbowing their way closer to the belt was rough.
My mood improved dramatically after stepping onto the familiar beach. The sun was hiding behind a strange looking layer of clouds and the breeze from the sea felt unfamiliar. Yet, this was Africa. My favourite continent ever.
I surprised my friend and called him. He hadn't known that I was coming on that day. I had originally planned to call him the following day, but I could not wait to hand over the goods. He came and could not be happier.
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Dec 09, 2010 09:00 PM On the road... on my way to The Gambia!
Well, I have been on the road since the 10th of August. It has been fascinating to see, again, how seasons changed in Warsaw. How the 40C+ temperatures of August dropped to the minus 23C in December!
Anyway, I'm on the Virgin Train from London Euston (landed from Warsaw this morning!) to Manchester Piccadilly. Tomorrow, I will board the Banjul airplane at about 9 o'clock in the morning. I strategically, I chose to stay at the airport, at one of the hotels there, so I would not need to worry about getting too early. As ThomasCook require to check in by 7 o'clock. And I should have no issues with traffic either.
Virgin Trains offer free wifi Internet until the end of February 2011, which is quite neat. The trip from London takes 127 minutes. Just enough for one film to watch. Well, for some strange reason, it has stopped at the moment, so it might take longer than according to the timetable.
I am carrying three bags. One for me - the hand luggage I am taking inside the cabin, and two bags full of clothes to give away, which I would need to check in. The goodie bags contain mainly t-shirts, men shirts, ladies shirts, boy pants, girls trousers, blouses, sports shoes, belts and .... condoms! I wanted to take some AIDS medicine as well, but I could not get it on the day.
Travelling with so many bags is not me, but on the way to West Africa, I always looked like a fully loaded camel. Then, on the way back, I am back to my own self, with a single little bag, which contains mainly my camera and batteries.
It's been three years since I had seen my friends in The Gambia... It will be great to see them.
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Nov 26, 2010 09:00 PM Any chance for Christmas or New Year's Eve trip?
With the way my project is going in Warsaw, this year could be a third year in row that I'd have no Christmas or New Year's Eve break. Yet, the project is unpredictable enough for a short escapade. Be it within Poland, or a warmer place somewhere closer to the equator.
One of rather feasible options is Grenada. I could stay at my friend's who's going to be visiting his family there, so I would only need a return air ticket. Now, hopefully this is not going to be too prohibitive price-wise. If it is, then a search for alternatives would be need to be considered...
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Nov 24, 2010 09:00 PM Finally a trip for a break. The Gambia. Again!
As Warsaw, and the rest of northern Europe in fact, falls into a cold winter mood, a trip to a hot African land is always a good idea. Even if it is only for a week. Given the project I have been working on since late summer, securing a trip right in the middle of it, was going to be a challenge, somewhat. Yet, all my holiday entitlement this year had to be taken, otherwise it was going to be lost. As soon as I agreed that I was allowed to have a break, a decision where to go for a week had to be done quick.
I considered a number of destinations, which have been on my wish list for a while: Jordan, Syria, Brazil and Oman. I was not prepared to spend too much for flights for such a short trip.
Then, two African countries, The Gambia and Ghana, where I have friends and children I sponsor, and which I have not visited for over 3 years, were an alternative. Ghana would probably be my preferred choice, but the flights were also expensive and, what's more important, I was not going to have enough time to obtain a visa. I was not going to be in London long enough to visit the embassy, and Ghana has no diplomatic representation in Warsaw. So, The Gambia won!
I browsed through gambia.co.uk and picked a special offer. There were plenty of those there, with flights for as little as £200. But I will have to depart from Manchester, which is not ideal, but do-able...
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