Gambia is the smallest and poorest of the African countries. Banjul is its capital with only 350,000 people. The country is very narrow, lying between Senegal on the north and south. The country is 90% Muslim. It got its independence in 1965. We took a ½ day tour of the city and surroundings. Like Dakar, tin shacks line the road but it seemed cleaner than Dakar. We even saw a man walking the streets with a cart, picking up trash, and a lady sweeping the sidewalk in front of her shack. We stopped in the town of Serre-Kunda, the most densely populated town in Gambia. There we saw a demonstration of how batik is made.Our bus then took us down a dirt road for about 10 blocks where the local market is set up. Most people have no refrigeration so they must go to market everyday to buy their food. It was quite a sight. We saw women carrying pails on their head loaded with fruit, vegetables and fish. Also standing by a well to get water. We were glad we were in a bus and not walking thru the market as there was a trench along some of the streets with waste water running through it. Amazingly, many of the shacks had satellite dishes on their roofs. And lots of children were running everywhere. In Gambia, it is legal for a Muslim man to have 4 wives so 10 children per family is the norm.

Our next stop was to the Catchically Crocodile Pool to visit and pet Charley, supposedly a famous crocodile featured in a British TV documentary. The best part of the stop was the walk through the jungle to get to the pool because it had some interesting plants and trees, including a giant Kapok tree.

When we got back to the ship, the pier was lined with vendors selling all the native handicrafts. It was much easier to maneuver through than the markets. Fred bought a shirt, Barb a caftan.

We now have 3 days at sea. Because of elections in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, there is expected to be some unrest and disruptions in the city. So the captain has decided to bypass that port. Just as well since we really didn't see any tours we wanted there anyway. We also noticed that in Senegal, 5 security guards were brought on-board, we think as extra precaution while sailing around this part of Africa.

To view more photos from Banjul, please go to Gambia Photo Gallery. To read about the next location visited, go to Takoradi, Ghana.

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