We stop for a break in Pakali Ba.
We arrive safely in Janjangbureh with no punctures (miracle)!
Proof I can't dance! Thank you Lucy for volunteering me.
VSO volunteers are spread throughout the whole of The Gambia. From Basse in the east, through Janjangbureh, Soma (us lot!), Kerewan, Brikama and finally the coastal Kombos area. So far I've only travelled west to Farafenni, Kerewan, Brikama and my tri-weekly trips to Kombo. It was time to head east in to the interior where the temperatures get even hotter! With a weekend spare of any workshops Lucy and I decided to head the 130km up-country to visit Pat, Phil & Cath in JJB (Georgetown or Janjangbureh as it's now known). We'd take a motorbike each - Lucy had the best option, a new Yamaha 125. I'd take the red hornet, an aging Yamaha AG 100. We sat off early on Saturday morning to try and avoid too much of the midday heat. I was pleasantly surprised to find the road completely sealed (asphalt) all the way. There was hardly any traffic - we probably passed four or five cars on the whole two and a half hour trip! What we actually had to keep our eyes out for would be the local wildlife. I've worked out a scale of intelligence for the domestic animals - which ones to keep an eye on:
1. Cattle - unbelievably thick. Easily the biggest risk to safety on Gambian roads. The only saving grace is that they're so slow.
2. Donkeys - quick and stupid, a dangerous combination. You quite often have to avoid droves of over-amorous donkeys with their minds on things other than road
We arrive safely in Janjangbureh with no punctures (miracle)!
Proof I can't dance! Thank you Lucy for volunteering me.
VSO volunteers are spread throughout the whole of The Gambia. From Basse in the east, through Janjangbureh, Soma (us lot!), Kerewan, Brikama and finally the coastal Kombos area. So far I've only travelled west to Farafenni, Kerewan, Brikama and my tri-weekly trips to Kombo. It was time to head east in to the interior where the temperatures get even hotter! With a weekend spare of any workshops Lucy and I decided to head the 130km up-country to visit Pat, Phil & Cath in JJB (Georgetown or Janjangbureh as it's now known). We'd take a motorbike each - Lucy had the best option, a new Yamaha 125. I'd take the red hornet, an aging Yamaha AG 100. We sat off early on Saturday morning to try and avoid too much of the midday heat. I was pleasantly surprised to find the road completely sealed (asphalt) all the way. There was hardly any traffic - we probably passed four or five cars on the whole two and a half hour trip! What we actually had to keep our eyes out for would be the local wildlife. I've worked out a scale of intelligence for the domestic animals - which ones to keep an eye on:
1. Cattle - unbelievably thick. Easily the biggest risk to safety on Gambian roads. The only saving grace is that they're so slow.
2. Donkeys - quick and stupid, a dangerous combination. You quite often have to avoid droves of over-amorous donkeys with their minds on things other than road
3. Sheep - moderate risk, can be easily panicked - a bit sheepish maybe?
4. Goats - occasional issues with young kids darting after their parents.
5. Dogs - pretty smart and pose minor avoidance issues.
We made it to JJB by elevenses - a cup of coffee at Pat's. No breakdowns, punctures or other incidents. We'd kept a steady 70kph for most of the way. When we spotted at down hill stretch (there's only a few here) near Medina Umfalley I did manage to get the bike up to 85kph (a speedy 53mph)! We stayed for two nights at the educational offices lodge (really nice). The local VSOs did a really good job of looking after us - we had Chicken Yassa to eat the first night (admittedly with some rather dodgy palm wine) and then on Sunday we were ferried (privately) across the Gambia river to a restaurant serving an amazing prawn curry - they had opened just for us! The following morning we left at the crack of dawn - we thought we could be in the office for 9am! Again no major problems - just flanges of baboons to steer around! Vultures are also large enough to be "best avoided". With the wind in our backs and a higher average speed of 80kph we knocked 15 minutes off the return time!
Before we left for JJB Ellie had headed back to Kombo suffering with flu like symptoms. Sensibly she took a malaria test as these are often the first signs - fortunately the results were negative. Lucy would also head to Kombo a couple of days later with a reaction to her anti-malarial tablets. I could have easily developed a complex at this point! I didn't know it at the time but I would be on my own for nearly two weeks! My cooking skills would be put to a serious test. In the end I had to visit Kombo (like I need an excuse!) to help my malingering colleagues find their way back up country.
I'd managed to build a file server for the office with ALL my spare time - also sorting out a few wiring issues at the same time. We didn't actually have a central data depository - files were being kept all over the place, on local PCs, flash drives etc.
4. Goats - occasional issues with young kids darting after their parents.
5. Dogs - pretty smart and pose minor avoidance issues.
We made it to JJB by elevenses - a cup of coffee at Pat's. No breakdowns, punctures or other incidents. We'd kept a steady 70kph for most of the way. When we spotted at down hill stretch (there's only a few here) near Medina Umfalley I did manage to get the bike up to 85kph (a speedy 53mph)! We stayed for two nights at the educational offices lodge (really nice). The local VSOs did a really good job of looking after us - we had Chicken Yassa to eat the first night (admittedly with some rather dodgy palm wine) and then on Sunday we were ferried (privately) across the Gambia river to a restaurant serving an amazing prawn curry - they had opened just for us! The following morning we left at the crack of dawn - we thought we could be in the office for 9am! Again no major problems - just flanges of baboons to steer around! Vultures are also large enough to be "best avoided". With the wind in our backs and a higher average speed of 80kph we knocked 15 minutes off the return time!
Before we left for JJB Ellie had headed back to Kombo suffering with flu like symptoms. Sensibly she took a malaria test as these are often the first signs - fortunately the results were negative. Lucy would also head to Kombo a couple of days later with a reaction to her anti-malarial tablets. I could have easily developed a complex at this point! I didn't know it at the time but I would be on my own for nearly two weeks! My cooking skills would be put to a serious test. In the end I had to visit Kombo (like I need an excuse!) to help my malingering colleagues find their way back up country.
I'd managed to build a file server for the office with ALL my spare time - also sorting out a few wiring issues at the same time. We didn't actually have a central data depository - files were being kept all over the place, on local PCs, flash drives etc.
