Banjul

The view back towards the Kombos area where I am staying





Phil, Kanti and I with Banjul as a backdrop


No digging equipment here - just plain hard work!!

On Thursday (one week since I arrived), after language training and a security briefing by the chief of police in the morning, we went on a trek to the capital of the Gambia, Banjul. The police chiefs briefing just before the trek didn’t really inspire a lot of safety in me – especially since the last person kidnapped in the Gambia was an Australian aid worker (luckily the kidnappers weren’t so clever and their plan was broken up after six hours), still a little scary.

The trip to Banjul was very interesting. We drove past a mangrove area which had some vegetable gardens planted in it – very neat rows, with women tending to them. We drove past a big factory with a conveyor belt going over the highway (the smell on the way back indicates it may be an abattoir) then past some huge motels, all run down and not in use. Someone told me that people come over, build these huge hotels, and then run out of the money to run them, so there are gorgeous hotels all around the place that aren’t in use.

In Banjul our driver showed us where to catch a taxi from Banjul to Bakau (the fare is 8 dalasi which is about 50c in Australia, transport is very cheap here. The drive from Banjul to Bakau is about 20 minutes – and petrol is 30 Dalasi per litre – the same price as petrol in Australia). After showing us where to catch the taxi we were dropped off at the Banjul post office, near the Banjul market.

Lucy, Phil, Kanti and I were the only volunteers from the group ready to take on Banjul, the others stayed behind to buy linen for our move to the Kanifeng house (I brought mine with me from Australia). We decided to brave the market to buy some laundry detergent to wash our clothes (I only brought 4 sets of clothes with me so washing clothes was high on my list of priorities).

The market was an experience!!!! It was packed full of stalls and laid out in a way that was designed to get you lost. The stall holders sold dresses, shoes, gimmicks, washing detergents and soaps, and African paintings and hand carved ornaments. They were very keen to get your attention – often quite rudely (i.e. oh I remember you… what aren’t you going to look at my stuff are you to good for us!). So we walked quite quickly, then we hit the fish sellers and walking quickly was an understatement – it was a revolting smell!!! So we found some detergent and got out of there very quickly.

I won’t rush back to the Banjul market as the markets in the Kombos area aren’t quite so bad, all you need to do is avoid the attention of the Bumpsters who try to become your best friend (or as one volunteer found want to offer you the full Gambian experience!). They also don’t smell quite so bad.

After the markets we went back to the taxi area and went to the Gambian museum. It was more like a museum that you would find in a smaller Australian town – but some of the artifacts were really interesting – some grass dresses for ceremonies to scare away evil spirits, and skulls and old tools that have been dug up. It is fascinating to read up on the Gambian history, as the basis of religion and even the ancestory of the people dates back to the empires of different warriors. For example once the Gambia was the land of the Fula people, but then it was invaded by the Mandinka people, so now the Gambia is mostly made up of Mandinka people, with a few Wolof who have come down from Senegal. There are a few Fula people (the president is of the Fula tribe), but they mostly inhabit the Casamance region of Southern Senegal.

My favourite part of the museum was the natural history bit which had a lovely story of a man and a crocodile. It is the best environmental story I have ever read, but very long so I will get a copy and bring it back with me.

After the museum we went to the Arch of Independence. It was built as an enterance to Banjul (the capital) after Gambia was made independent. Now all the traffic is deferred around the arch as the president made a law that only he is allowed to drive through it. The view from the arch is amazing it looks out over Banjul. We climbed to the top and took some photos. Inside was a mini museum which brought home how superstitious the people in Gambia are, they strongly believe in witchcraft and evil spirits. This unfortunately reflects in some cruel practices on children, which will affect some of the work I do.

We managed to get out of Banjul safely and negotiate the transport system successfully which we were very proud of!