My First Week Back

After a few weeks in the UK seeing friends and family (which I very much enjoyed) it was good to be back in The Gambia. I managed to acquire quite a few spare parts for Mansa Konko - mainly hard disks & memory but also a 3G antenna for the office. This would improve our Internet connection and remove the need for the dongle to sit outside on an A/C unit. I hadn't read the product description properly when ordering it - I briefly wondered why it stated that "the antenna cannot be split into two parts". When the 5 FOOT "mast" arrived later in the post I soon realised why - this thing was going to pick up 3G signals from Senegal! I haven't installed it in the office yet - we're going to carry out tests in our compound first. At the moment you can only get a 3G signal when you're sat in the latrine area at the back of our houses! I also managed to bring back humanitarian aid from The Early Learning Centre - a Jolly Phonics CD and alphabet & small word picture cards. Volunteer aid in the form of Starbucks coffee, M&Ms, macaroni cheese, cup-a-soups were also air-freighted in.

The day after my return to Kombo VSO had arranged a two day workshop to re-launch their brand in The Gambia. This meant the majority of volunteers would be attending so I could catch-up with everyone. I would also have company on my return up-country to Soma - Lucy and new volunteer Ellie (who hasn't experienced a bad gelleh trip so far) would join me. Sure enough we got to Soma within 3 hours with no issues (and we sat at the front!) so Ellie is officially our travel mascot! As it was hovering around 45 degrees and my suitcase weighed +25 kilos I decided upon a donkey cart for my final 1 kilometre of travelling!

Donkey carts are very common up-country - mainly operated by teenagers, they are the "hot hatches" of Soma.

Before I left for the UK I had assisted fellow volunteer Tom setup a wireless Internet connection at a Methodist school in Banjul. Further work was required so we arranged to make an early exit from the VSO workshop and head over to Albion School in central Banjul. Alas Tom's motorbike suffered a puncture as we left Senegambia so we re-scheduled for Saturday morning. When we arrived early on Saturday we discovered the whole of the city was experiencing a power cut (which had began the previous evening). These frustrating situations are common place - we did manage to purchase 40 metres of network cable so the visit wasn't a complete waste. The Easter holidays are only a few weeks away so power and tyres permitting I should be able finish things off.

Albion School's mission statement & prayers

There are not many tourist destinations in our region - one of the few stops is the small village of Tendaba ("big wharf" in Mandinka) which is located on the Gambia river near to a one of the few hills in the country. The location is quite special with a tourist lodge located right on the river's edge. One of the Kombo based volunteer's Pete had arranged to met us here with a couple of friends from the UK. It's an hour's bike ride west from Soma - Lucy and Ellie would be working in the nearby village of Kwinella so we would all meet up in the evening and stop the night in the lodge. I would travel back with Ellie in the morning allowing Lucy to stay in the local area. Tendaba Camp also boasts a swimming pool, restaurant and well stocked bar!

Tendaba village from the lodge

The following morning we made the short journey to Tendaba Lower Basic School - located right on top of the hill. Lucy and Ellie would observe a few lessons and we agreed to a return journey over Easter to re-organise their library. The school was very colourful with paper "spelling" flags hanging above the classrooms and outside walls decorated with hand painted informative pictures.

We headed back home in mid-morning, I would be accompanying Ellie in case of an emergency. After 5km of jungle track we hit the main road, after another 10km of bone shattering bumps my steering became very wobbly and on closer inspection I could see I had a flat front tyre. So much for me providing assistance - I was the one needing help! I slowed down and pulled in off the dusty highway - I didn't think Ellie was going to stop as she whizzed passed. I had lent my mobile phone to Lucy earlier (so if she broke down she could make a call) so had no way of contacting Riders to arrange delivery of a spare wheel! I did see the reassuring sign of Ellie's brake lights as she stopped. An hour later (after delivery and fitting of a whole new wheel) we were back on our way. The fun was not yet finished - as I approached the next village of Kaiaf a man jumped out from under a tree and waved me down - his motorbike was "finished!" Could I take him to Soma? As the red hornet has a back box the passenger seat area is very limited - I would be sitting on a red hot fuel tank for the remainder of the journey!

Baby, Baby

1 & 2. Seedy with his wife and baby Fanding.



3. Myself & Fatoumata after a baby holding tutorial - 4. Adama, Fatoumata & Lucy.

5. Lucy with Fatoumata and mother - 6. Grandmother Cham with granddaughter.

This will be my final blog entry before heading home next week for a short break - six very enjoyable months in The Gambia. The low points have mainly been down to transport (or lack of) although I now have a more Gambian view on it and just chill. We'll get where we're going at some point I think. The highpoint has definitely been the amazingly friendly people I have met who will go out of their way to make to feel welcome in their country. Whenever we've visited colleague's homes we're always treated as special guests, introduced to every member of the family and usually invited to a food-bowl meal.

Lucy with the especially friendly Jammeh kids.


We've said goodbye to another member of our Mansa Konko VSO team this month. Terry, our advisor to the Director, returns to Portsmouth after six months too. Terry is a VSO legend - having first volunteered in the 1960s in The Philippines. Since then he has visited Mongolia, Pakistan & Uganda to name but a few - he has even spent time with Napoleon on St Helena - sorry Terry you're not that old! Friday afternoon visits to the Roadside Bar won't be the same without the lines "When I was in...".

Terry and myself working hard at the office - photo courtesy of Lynn.

In an attempt to improve my Mandinka, Lucy and I have decided to take language lessons from our neighbours - mostly from Mrs Jawneh. I get quite a bit of friendly banter from the ladies in the office. I think it's friendly - to be honest I can't understand a single thing that's going on - so I need to find out. The lessons are really just a relaxed chat sitting in their compound. Mr Jawneh is the caretaker for our compound so he's always there to help us out. He also runs the main bakery in Soma (also in his house) so the Tapalapa we have at meal time is thanks to him.

Since we missed our last naming ceremony at Seedy's house we jumped at the chance to visit Adama's home following the birth of his latest daughter, Fatoumata. Both Seedy and Adama are cluster monitors - it's their job to monitor schools (teachers, lessons etc.) in one of the six clusters that makes up Region Four. Six members of the office made the short bike ride to Messembe - twenty minutes back down the dusty South Road towards Kwinella. Mr Choi took the lead with Lamin riding pillion, then came Lucy & Isatoh, followed by yours-truly giving Eustace a lift on the red hornet. Our convoy of motorbikes didn't have to stop at the usual security checks as we had NGO number plates - to be fair my bike was the only one with a number plate! Navigating a bike through sand is quite tricky - especially with a wobbly passenger. Thankfully we all arrived safely and enjoyed a Benachin food-bowl. I held baby Fatoumata much to the amusement of everyone - spot who's not a father! We travelled back before it began to get dark. I was concerned that Mr Choi took the lead back - on the wrong side of the road! Fortunately we soon swapped over after a mile or so, you rarely meet traffic so it's not that scary.

Part of the Region Four Gang. From top left: Lucy, Seedy, Lamin, Isatoh, Omar, Adama Cham. From bottom left: Local lady, Mr Choi, Eustace and Mrs Cham with Fatoumata.

A blog entry wouldn't be the same without a trip to the Kombos - yes we went again for the new volunteers party (VSO has two recruitment cycles a year, one in February the other when I arrived in August). We planned to set off at 6.30am to catch the first gelleh. We were still at the compound at 7.45am as I had managed to lose Lucy's house keys. I had dropped them the night before and our neighbour had picked them up for safe keeping. I paid penance by carrying her bags for the whole weekend! On the upside we found that the big green bus was running again!! On the downside it broke down at Kalagi - air was leaking out of the engine. We eventually got going again and arrived in Kombo for 2.30pm.

It was only going to be a short visit to Kombo - we met Ellie and the other new volunteers and agreed she was a big improvement on Kate ;-) We headed back on the North Road on Sunday, surprisingly getting stuck this time at Yelitenda (the south side ferry port only five miles from our compound). We were the last to get off the ferry by which time all the gellehs and taxis had disappeared - the only ones left were charging exorbitant fares. Lucy suggested walking back home in the 35 degree heat - tempting - but in the end we cut a deal with a Senegalese guy heading to Casamance to share a taxi.

On the following Monday evening we headed over to Seedy's compound in Sankwia to visit his family and new son, Fanding. We'd missed his naming ceremony due to gelleh problems a couple of weeks ago. We again enjoyed a good chat with his family, shared a food-bowl and went through his photo collection. Working out who's who in a Gambian family can be tricky so seeing a few photos certainly helps. I was using Kate's old bike as the red hornet had suffered a puncture the previous week. It wasn't a good week for bikes as Lucy's new bike broke down a couple of times on Monday, she then used Kate's which also developed a puncture (I think I caused it before handing it over). I did manage to get Terry's old bike going after swapping the spark plug twice, checking the spark, ensuring fuel was getting into the cylinder and then trying to bump start it with help from Alpha on the compound - all in the afternoon heat. It has "chopper style" handlebars, so feels quite cool - but really is a rusty old bag of nails. Hopefully when I return in six weeks I'll still have access to a bike - some are due for scrap soon so the red hornet may not make it!

Cream Cake

The cake management committee, Yasally in red, Maimuna in yellow and Mr Choi with his hat on because it's winter here!

Thank you all for the generous Christmas parcels - all have been safely received (and consumed) with only one minor casualty (ant attack on the salami). I believe the ants to be a local gang as the package had been opened by Gambian customs. The accompanying Christmas card stated it was "a test package to see what would get through". I'm currently under surveillance by CSI Mansa Konko! The second Pebworth packaging (excellent Cabernet Merlot) was so good that we also had a game of pass the parcel!

My remaining compound VSO celebrated her birthday recently and I arranged for her to receive a surprise birthday cake. Our local Lebanese mini-market had long since run out of anything resembling a cake - I had considered assembling a "kit-kat" cake but thought I could do better through my local contacts. After a short discussion with Mr Choi at the office the ball began rolling to get a cake "transported" the 200 kilometres from Kombo in a gelleh-gelleh (bush taxi). When I found out it was going to be a cream cake I became rather concerned for it's safety. I shouldn't have worried as Maimuna's mother delivered an awesome cake decorated with peaches & cherries! Terry managed to get hold of four candles - nothing to do with forks! The number of candles is in no way related to decades - all I'll say is that Lucy's age now ends with a four!

Lucy quickly blows out the candles and thinks "all for me". Isatoh has other ideas!

Another trip to Kombo was required last week (I think I've averaged one every three weeks!) to get my alien identity card renewed. All Gambian IDs, licences etc. expire at the end of the year so January becomes a busy month for paperwork. I will also need a new biometric card but this can will be produced automatically without my attendance. I also took the opportunity to purchase some much needed computer spares, build another British High Commission PC for a worthy cause in Brikama and fix a laptop at the VSO office. The trip from Soma went without a hitch (by gelleh-gelleh) although we no longer have a "big green bus" service as it has been withdrawn due to high fuel costs. As it hasn't rained here since the middle of October the roads are covered in red dust. If you sit anywhere near the back of the gelleh you end up a looking like you have a fake tan! We were due to leave Kombo on the Saturday morning so that we could get back in time for a local naming ceremony - the celebration of a new member of the Jammeh family. Unfortunately our travel plans didn't run at all smoothly. We arrived a Bundung Garage (bus station) at 9am and had to wait until 1pm for the gelleh to fill (on the plus side it was a spacious gelleh - on the downside they take much longer to fill). I now have a rule that states that if a gelleh won't start by itself and has to be "bump" started then get off it as soon as you can! You won't forgive yourself when it packs up in the middle of nowhere in 30 degree heat on a dusty road. After three or four bump starts in the first half an hour we unanimously decided to abort the trip. Sadly we would miss Seedy's party but we couldn't face the uncertainty of our transport situation anymore. We ended up staying in Kombo until Monday morning when we took the north road (it has tarmac all the way to Farafenni). There's more connections to make as we have to get the ferry from Banjul to Barra, get a "sept place" taxi and then get another ferry back across to the south bank - but at least you rarely breakdown and the journey takes only two-three hours.

I'm now in possession of my provisional Gambian motorbike licence - one hundred Dalasi very well spent. This is part of my extended work to fix computers in the wider lower river region (see previous blog). My trusty steed can be seen below - it's a rather ancient Yamaha AG100 with 26,000 kilometres on the clock. It goes like a "bat out of hell" - not. Whilst we're talking about bats I had an alarming situation with my pit latrine. Yes you guessed it a bat flew out moments before the unmentionable happened. I had forgotten to put the cover back on it the previous night - lesson learnt.

The Red Hornet: A Yamaha AG100 in Ferrari red - that's the only thing in common!

I don't think I've mentioned my cooking skills so here's a sample of the menu at Chez Alkali (my local name is Alkali Jawneh):

Veggie Risotto, Veggie Curry, Hot dog Tapalapa with onions & chips, Veggie Sweet & Sour, Butternut Squash Bolognese, Corned-Beef Bolognese, Veggie Noddle Extravaganza, Full English (with Beef Luncheon meat shaped as sausages), Hotdog Bangers & Mash with onion gravy, Cheesy Mash, Potato Rosti, Fried Egg & Mash (on a bit of a potato roll that week), Spam & Sweetcorn Bolognese (bit of a disaster that one), Lentil Curry, Lentil Bolognese, Egg & Tuna Salad, Omelette, Tuna Bolognese, Egg Fried Rice, and Couscous Soma Style (as in not very much).

Spam (chicken or beef) is our main source of meat - I'm trying to disguise it when cooking by various means - frying, mashing, shaping etc. - I still have to try grated spam (frozen then set upon with a cheese grater!) You never know it may catch on - I got the idea from a potato rosti.

I've also managed to get a few African shirts made - using Mr Choi's Senegalese tailor. The garments are made from the finest Malian tie-dye woven cotton. I did experience a small problem when I couldn't get my head through the top - even with the Velcro open! I wear the shirt to the office once a week on a Friday - this is when most Gambians dress up for their trip to the Mosque, it's always a very colourful day. Brothers - you can be assured when you receive your belated Christmas presents you won't have a similar problem.

No jokes about being a big head - I think my shirt needs an adjustment.

The New Year

One of the amazing Gambian Beaches - good for a Christmas Day walk.

Happy New Year! I'm back in the office at Mansa Konko with quite a bit of work on my hands. I'm slowly getting through the British High Commission PCs (N be a kan doman doman!) - adding the spare parts when I can get my hands on them (thanks Pakalinding). So far two machines are fully up and running - one with our PEO and the second has just been shipped to Kerewan for use within VSOs disability programme. Lamin was so keen to get his hands on the computer that he made his own way to our office with a rucksack!

I spent Christmas Day at a favourite destination of mine - Coco Ocean. The weather was amazing as we went off for a good beach walk - low 30s with a pleasant sea breeze. As I walked along the beach I was reminded of my trip to Barbados last January. The Gambia is at the same latitude - just 3,000 miles of Atlantic ocean separating the two. Very different countries but with surprisingly quite a bit in common. I'll be reading "Roots" soon which follows the story of Kunta Kinte from Juffure (not far from Kerewan) who was taken into slavery in the 1760s.

Coco Ocean pool-side restaurant.

The plan for the rest of the day was to play board games by the pool and then splash out on a fancy meal. The food was very good - I decided not to go for the 1,800 Dalasi Turkey special though. I couldn't really get my head around it being Christmas Day although I did have a Mr Kipling mince pie!

Christmas Day evening meal - thanks to Berni for the photo (I'm on the left).

After all this excess it was good to get back to Soma in the comfort of our own pickup truck - this didn't stop us getting a puncture in Bwiam though. The jack was located under the back seat, so to the surprise of quite a few kids I had to unload all the computers, monitors etc. outside their house. I think they thought it was Christmas again. Life on my compound is very quite at the moment - I'm the only VSO at the moment. The other trainee nurses are all out on in-county training for the next few weeks. Lucy will be back tomorrow so things are looking up. We also get a new VSO in February - hello Eleanor!

We had a momentous occasion yesterday - as mentioned in previous posts I've also been looking after the computers at Pakalinding Upper Basic school. During my first series of visits we managed to clock-up over 20,000 virus infections! All 20+ machines passed this month's scan without a single virus being found! (OK it's a big deal for me). Not sure if it's a coincidence but the BBC had an interesting story today:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12126880

I've also booked my flight home for a mid-placement break. I'll be back in Blighty (or should that be Brummy) in February - fully braced for the Arctic conditions!

Christmas Day sunset.

A Good Year

Kate's leaving-do with the Jawnehs


Work has been progressing at a steady pace - I experienced probably one of the busiest days just before I was due to leave Soma for our annual VSO educational conference. I must point out that I remain very busy - some of the previous posts may have given the illusion that a volunteers life is just parties and trips to Kombo - not true Justin! With only an hour's warning I was informed by our Director that we would be holding a workshop for the new GABENTRY & WASSCE software. Gambians love acronyms - WASSCE has something to do with the West African Examination Board - I work for MoBSE, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education. All our cluster monitors and a selection of school principals descended upon our offices with Dell laptops in-tow. This is the time when we have to be on full guard as the spread of viruses could wipe-out all of the last few months good work. The customary procedure for workshops involves holding prayers/making greetings at the beginning of the day followed by breakfast at 10am (usually beef/chicken luncheon meat or Sardines with onions, potatoes and mayonnaise. This is usually accompanied by an incredibly sweet cup of tea (I make my own). A very lively debate ensues on whether mobile phones should be switched on or off and what should be the protocol should you miss a call! I took the opportunity to scan all the laptops and flash drives while breakfast was consumed - good job I did! Some people (no names mentioned) had even removed the anti-virus software I had installed as it was "making too much noise every time it detected a virus"! The rest of the afternoon (and I was trying to make an early exit) was spent assisting in the installation of the software and fixing rogue laptops.

The following morning I awoke at 6am to get the 7am "big green bus" to Kombo. Some weeks before Terry (advisor to the Director) and myself had "volunteered" to facilitate the educational conference. Terry does an excellent job in Mansa Konko and believe it or not his wife baby-sat me when she was studying at university quite a few years ago! Talk about a small world but my father taught her at Keele! By all accounts I was very well behaved! For some reason the big bus wasn't operating today and we made do with a gelleh-gelleh ride. I suspected either a lack of tyres or the road works between Sibanor and Kalagi (they're upgrading the road to asphalt!) Compared to previous journeys this was one of the best - Soma to Kombo in three and half hours.

I would be staying in Kanifing House during my stay in Kombo - this was the house that we originally used when we arrived in The Gambia. My choice of accommodation was based on the fact it had recently been "upgraded". I think VSO use Kanifing House so that volunteers can be acclimatised from hotel conditions to those up-country! Say no more! Our conference went very smoothly largely down to Terry's facilitating skills and the sausage and egg rolls we had for breakfast! It was held at the offices of TANGO - a very good acronym - The Association of Non Governmental Organisations.

During the end of week I had been made an "offer I can't refuse". If I could visit the Safari Garden Hotel and fix their computers I would be offered a couple of nights stay at their five star eco-retreat in Sandele (Winner of The Guardian/Observer Travel Award). When the owner Geri heard I was staying at Kanifing she immediately offered me a room for the duration of my work. As with many a case the work went smoothly apart from one PC - this of course had to be the main machine. Removing viruses is a complex job of ensuring both the PC continues to function and that as many of it programs and data aren't lost. Add the fact that many viruses will employ tactics to stop you from removing them and you're looking at quite a lengthy bit of work. Things quite often get to the point where you have to wipe the PC completely and start afresh. Fortunately after many a scan (and hour) I got to the point where I could sign off the PC as having a full bill of health.

You may remember that a few weeks back I had a meeting with the Deputy High Commissioner - the purpose was to find a home for some unwanted IT equipment. While at the High Commission party a few weeks ago I arranged another meeting to do the deal. I arranged this after the conference and to my surprise the amount of equipment increased and I was allowed to pick it up the following day. I'll need to do some work with the hardware but each region of The Gambia should get a PC! I also managed to get a vehicle from our region to head to Kombo to pick myself and the hardware up. This is a good food re-stocking opportunity as you can't easily take a box of groceries etc. on a gelleh. For security reasons the majority of the PCs have had their hard disks and memory removed - I'll need to replace these and then rebuild the machine (i.e. put the software back on).

While in Kombo I also took the opportunity to get a haircut - again things didn't go too smoothly. The friendly barber didn't mention that he had only previously cut local hair. My concerns were raised when he began to "line" my hair - this is when the perimeter of your hair-line is shaved. It was only by a few millimetres but as my hair grows quickly I already have "head-stubble" all around my head! Lesson learnt.

It'll be Christmas in two days - my first outside the UK. It's strange to be in a tropical country this time of year especially with the weather conditions back home. Many volunteers and family have been affected by flight delays caused by the snow. Thanks for the food parcels received - I'll enjoy those treats over the next few days. One of the amazing things that hits you about The Gambia is the incredible religious tolerance - I guess it's hardly a surprise when you consider how friendly people are. Even though the population is 90% Muslim - Christmas will still be observed with two public holidays next Monday and Tuesday. I'll be sharing this period with VSO friends before heading back to Soma on Monday.

Reception at the British High Commission

The evening was also in honour of the Gibraltar Regiment

As we draw closer to Christmas quite a few of the friends I've made over the last few months are heading home (that's my charisma!). Some are just popping back home for a few weeks while others are heading back for good. Ashley who painted a map of our region headed back a few weeks ago, north-sider Priya (based in Farafenni) headed back to Norway last Sunday and fellow compound in-mate Kate heads back to Blighty the week after next. I would definitely have started getting a complex about things had Lucy (my other neighbour) not told me she would be returning in January.

I have decided to extend my placement for another six months taking me through to July 2011. My IT officer (a local chap called Lamin who I'm training) is proposing that we trek to every school in the region to extend our IT services. This of course will require the use of a motorbike to tackle all those dusty jungle paths! Our region contains the Maniama Forest which is one of the largest areas of unspoilt jungle in The Gambia. Sightings of leopards and hyena (which I heard the other night from Soma) have been known! I've yet to see a VSO motorbike do more than 50kph so the odds aren't that good if I need to make a quick getaway.

I will have a break in February/March to squeeze in a bit of skiing - the difference in temperatures from The Gambia to Canada/France will be a major shock to the system. Evenings/early mornings here are now a very pleasant 18-20 degrees Celsius, the temperature still manages to get to the high 30s by mid-afternoon though. All those pictures of the heavy snow in the UK made me feel quite jealous - well OK for perhaps 10 minutes!

We had a small fire in the compound last week with one of the best excuses. As it hasn't rained for almost two months the vegetation is tinder dry, so perhaps not the best time to try and clear it with a fire. A young lad in a nearby compound had found a six foot snake is his living room and decided he'd make sure there weren't any bushes for further snakes to live in. The result was a singed latrine (we thought Mr Fatti was still inside!) and the rest of the compound having a distinct volcanic look. On the plus side we're only 5 minutes from Soma fire station so we weren't overly worried.

Our rather charred compound following the capture of a 6 foot snake

During the middle of last week I received an email from our VSO programme office informing us that as new volunteers we had been invited to a reception at the British High Commission. It would be a shared function between us and the Gibraltar Regiment - nibbles and a free bar would be provided. As it was short notice and a week before our educational conference in Kombo many volunteers couldn't make it. It's a four/five hour trip from Soma so I needed a long hard think about it. When a free lift in an air-conditioned VSO vehicle turned up I jumped at the chance. We had celebrated "International Volunteers Day" in Soma that Sunday so dignitaries/volunteers for across the country had attended. I was actually on the planning committee for the celebrations - things must have gone so well at the initial meeting they didn't need me for any more! The reception was held the following Monday at the High Commissioner's residence high on the cliffs above Cape St Mary. Getting the chance to drink proper G&Ts and red wine was a real luxury - and all courtesy of HM Government! We ended the evening with a ride home in what appeared to be either a diplomatic or special army SUV. With discretely hidden strobe lights all of a sudden we didn't have to worry about traffic lights or road-blocks, we were coming straight through! It definitely wasn't a five-five taxi trip!

Our VSO pickup vehicle leading the International Volunteers Day parade


Benachin (or "one pot") food-bowl following the celebrations

Tobaski or Eid-al-Adha

Ashley, Lucy and Max - under a Mandarin tree.

We left Soma early on Saturday morning for Kombo - again I would get the big green bus. As we waited for the bus to depart the last few Tobaski rams were loaded onto the roof. We then departed 45 minutes early (or maybe we were 45 late last time?) and I thought "excellent we'll get there for lunch". As the bus hit full speed you began to feel sorry for the poor rams bouncing on the roof above. We soon learnt to keep the windows shut as the rain and hail wasn't coming from the sky! I then heard a huge bang a couple of feet in front of me - one of back tyres had just exploded! The bus slowed to a stop, stranded on the dusty south road without a spare. The driver informed us that he had given his spare to another bus the day before and that we shouldn't have to wait much longer as the 6am bus from Banjul would pass us within the hour. Three hours and three green buses later (some slowing down just to look at our plight) we were beginning to get concerned. Stoke City were due to play Liverpool that afternoon so we had to get to Fransisco's in Fajara to watch the match. Luckily a truck with a spare finally did arrive and we ended up in Kombo only four hours late with plenty of time before the match. The bus driver was very apologetic and took us almost to our hotel door (well a junction called "Traffic Lights" - named because they were the first in The Gambia).

I think we need a new tyre?

Whilst watching the game I also decided to indulge myself with the finest British cuisine - fish and chips. Fransisco's is a watering-hole for many expats and has a good selection of pies etc. - they even do a Sunday roast! Stoke ended up comfortably beating Liverpool 2-0 with goals from Fuller & Jones. I don't think Liverpool had a shot on target (you can correct me Keith) - a fine end to a long day.

Tobaski celebrations were held on the following Tuesday - we were invited to the compound of a Filipino VSO's friend, Max (we have VSO volunteers from Uganda, UK, Holland and The Philippines). By the time we arrived the ram had been slaughtered (phew) - most of it's carcass had been butchered with just it's head left to be put in a soup the following day. In true westerner style I have to admit that my appetite suddenly dropped when I saw the kids cleaning out the intestines near where we were going to eat. One of the top honours is for the head of the compound to eat the fresh liver - this was shared with us, fried with spices and onions (very tasty). We then ate various "bits of meat" before having the main shared food-bowl meal. The slaughter of the ram is carried out in commemoration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son to God, who at the last minute exchanges Abraham’s son for a ram.

The remainder of the week we spent relaxing at various hotels in the Kombo area - I also managed to fit in a good beach/cliff walk from Fajara (near St Paul's church) to Cape Point. We were joined on the outward part of the journey by a chap who we suspected to be a "bumster" (tourist pest). At first he didn't ask for money and we began to wonder if he was just a very friendly local (he walked a good 5 miles of the route!). We managed to shake him off for the return leg but as we approached our hotel we could hear Jimmy the Fixer (the name was in hindsight a big clue) calling out our Gambian names (I'm also known as Alkali Jawneh - which means village leader, a sensible choice I think made by the head of our neighbouring compound). He now wanted a 200 dalasi donation to his reggae band! Bumsters usually disappear pretty quick when we mention we're volunteers or use a bit of Mandinka - Jimmy got the message that we wouldn't be fixing his bands financial problems anytime soon!

All good things come to an end - we had to head back to Soma at the end of the week. I decided to use the south road (the same way we had arrived) but this time to save on an early morning start we'd use "gelleh-gellehs" (shared mini-buses similar to collectivos). The first part of our trip to Brikama went without incident - we then had to change gellehs. As we had started the journey later in the day we also had the problem of a longer wait for the vehicle to fill. Eventually we started (although the vehicle needed a bump start - always a bad sign) and quickly got to the point where the tarmac ends and the road turns into a dusty, pot-holed track. On these roads vehicles don't really stick to the left or right (The Gambia drives in the right) - instead drivers pick the route with least holes. This often leads to chaos and the occasional crash! Soon after our start we had to pull in as we seemed to lose something off the vehicle - the gelleh boy was sent back down the road to find the fan belt (I think it was this anyway). We then carried on before again stopping as the front wheel was making a funny noise. This seemed more serious as the 12 year gelleh boy now turned mechanic needed to rebuild the brake mechanism! We also noticed oil dripping on to the real wheel from the axle - I was beginning to have major doubts as to the vehicles MOT status (yeah right)! When we stopped ten minutes later the twenty or so passengers decided enough was enough and we undertook a gelleh mutiny! Seemingly out of nowhere an empty minibus (with proper seats) appeared and a deal was done to carry on the journey. The unpaved roads are unbelievably tough out here - drivers still try and get up to 40-50mph though which puts a huge stress on the suspension and wheels. Our new driver was no different and guess what - after thirty minutes one of our rear wheels started to fall off! This time we got as far as Kalagi, just into our Lower River Region. We're not entirely sure what happened next but another empty gelleh arrived to complete our journey - luckily just before it got dark. Total time for return journey eight hours - the same as the outward journey the previous Saturday! Record for the north road, less than three!

Kate leaves the mutiny behind her!


Kate inspects gelleh number two!


Inside our final gelleh - great travelling companions!