For me, it's been a busy and intense few months... Year, actually. Between renovating the house, job changes, weddings, gigs, catching up with friends and family, attempting to be more active in the Green Party, issues in my private life and get ahead of the reading for my masters starting in October, I needed some chill-out time.
Don't get me wrong, I've loved every bit of it. I'm incredibly fortunate to have such incredible friendships in my life and pleased that they actually want to spend with me. I've been to some amazing places, experienced some incredible things and created so many memories, I wish Charlie Brooker's vision of being able to store your consciousness existed I don't forget one nano-second.
But it's time to decompress, digest and dissect. Yes, it's my old friend, the existential crisis.
So what better way to spend the day than on the sunny, sandy and almost deserted Coco Beach.
The beach is stunning. The ocean not so much. It's warm waters lick your ankles as it comes in to play, but the swell is rough and I'm not a strong enough swimmer to defy its course.
The hotel is empty. Bliss. No screaming kids. No loutish British tourist. No inconsiderate, arrogant Chinese ones (they don't like black people apparently, so Africa might be my only holiday spot). However, you are a victim to the local waiting staff you are eager to take you out and organise you a taxi via their friend...
But quickly, some facts about the Gambia:
1. It is one of two countries with a determiner. The other being The Bahamas (stay safe, people). The reason is in 1964, the Prime Minister applied to the UK-based Permanent Committee of Geographical Names (PCGN) to ask if they could be called The Gambia to avoid confusion with the newly formed Zambia.
2. It's a young population: 45% are under the age of 14. It's a poor population, 60% live in poverty. It's a Muslim population, 98% in fact.
3. There are men called Bumsters who like chatting up women. It's an annoyance and flattering, but mostly harmless. However, they have been known to be sticky-fingered... Not in a good way.
4. Cash is king. Don't come here with your new fangled iPay or contactless cards, you won't get anywhere, even in the swankiest of places. Cash points are prevalent and as well as the dalasi, they like hard currency like GBP or USD.
5. Everyone - and I mean everyone - will say hello and ask how you are.
6. It's not great for veggies and even worse for vegans, but there are a few places - so be prepared for a diet of bread, chips and salad.
I'll no doubt add to this as I spend more time here and get some deeper insight into the people, culture and lifestyle.
After a couple of bottles of the local beer, Julbrew, the heavens opened.
We had two hours of torrential rain that flooded the beach bar and gave us an impressive aural show. To see more, follow my stories on Instagram @helen_andreou
The skies dulled and we spent the rest of the day in the thalasso pool and sauna. See, sometimes staying in a nice hotel pays off. Tomorrow, planning where to visit in and around the natural walkway that gave Gambia its name.
First published on10/09/2019 10:37
