It was time to do what I'm good at, the cultural stuff... Today, we ventured inland to follow the River Gambia passed Senegal and to the National Park to experience the literal length and breadth of what Gambia has to offer.
Our guide, Youssef, pictured below, took us on a magical mystery tour. Not only did I tick things off the UNESCO list, but I found out lots about Gambian life from him.
Tour guide Youssef on a boat on a boat on the River Gambia
The day started early, a 5am start to get to the port at Banjul to cross the river into Barra. A bustling, industrial port town. Where we met our driver (I know, I'm very posh but I don't like people or groups who just want selfies at landmarks).
He droves us down an incredibly bumpy road (ladies, you'll need a sports bra for it - no joke) to go to the riverside village of Albadarr where we go on a fishing boat to Kunta Kinteh Island aka Fort James. Then a quick pitstop at border town Ferafenni - a crossroads surrounded by markets. If you venture into the rabbit warren of shoebox market stalls off the main road, you'll be treated to a treasure trove of Chinese made shit, nuts (Gambia's biggest export), fruit, veg, baguettes and, dried and fresh fish.
The border town is what you'd expect; busy, polluted and industrial. The sights, sounds and smells all represent the hard work of people trying to get by and do better in life. A transient, broken windows town is punctuated with vibrant colours and bursts of energy.
Female travellers: it may feel unsafe, but it is. You won't get hustled but children will beg for money. Please don't give them anything - here, like anywhere, it's feeding a wider problem. As I'm yet to experience begger children anywhere else in the Gambia.
From there we went to an incredible hilltop restaurant, with spectacular views. The chef fed us the most immaculate rice mound with chicken, aubergine and potato in a delicious tomato sauce.
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From there, we went to the Wassu Stone Circle and the Gambia National Park.
What Youssef taught me, however, was far more valuable:
Gambia has free schools, but it's not compulsory, so a lot of children work to help support the family instead of going to school. If you're wealthy, there is also a private school system.
Healthcare is paid for, but it's very cheap. You pay 25D to see a doctor (which is affordable). Malaria drugs are largely unavailable, as are some other drugs.
America tried to drill for oil, but they wanted 60% of it and the ex-president said no. The oil is in Gambia, so Gambia should have the biggest stake.
The country is still recovering from the human rights abuses inflicted on them by the dictatorship - many fighters are voluntarily giving themselves up to the commission to face justice.
White people are referred to as Tbob - it comes from British colonial times when British people paid "two bob" to people for work.
Nelson Mandela is a hero and I'm told black South Africans are murdering black African migrant workers to go to SA.
Gambia and Senegal have a tight alliance in everything but football.
The last stop of the trip was a village. Square wooden huts with thatch roofs surrounding a well with chickens, goats and gaggle of children running around. We were told we were going to see "how people live" and "going to a village", I assumed we would go to a museum or mooch around a village. What we were actually doing was going to look at poor people like exhibits in a zoo.
As much as I want to see/experience how other people live - from the richest to the poorest, I refuse to partake in poverty porn. I won't take photos of these people and post them on social media like a judgemental 'gap-yarr' student or middle-class white saviour. I politely said this to Youssef, but it was too late, we were surrounded by several women and all the children.
One by one the children shook our hands. One girl, about 11 years old, stood next to me beaming from ear to ear. The women, huge personalities, laughed and joked with us. One asked our guide if I could Wolof (the west African language). I gave them 200 dalasis, which they were thrilled with and off we went.
Our meeting was brief and joyous. I'm glad I met them as equals, standing side-by-side, and not be watching them wash their clothes on a makeshift washboard or taking photos of their homes. Of course, I wouldn't be giving them money if we were genuinely equals, but we came into their space, interrupted their lives, ready to point, sneer and exploit - I would want some form of payment too.
Please don't go to countries with rampant poverty and audaciously wave your privilege around. And absolutely don't go into people's home like they owe you or you're entitled.
I have to say, outside of the cities, Gambia is exactly how Africa is depicted in the media. It's easy for white privildge Westerners to dismiss their way of life as primitive. And in a lot of ways, it is. But everyone works, everyone is clean, there is huge sense of community and pride. Don't take that away from them.
First published on13/09/2019 10:49
