A CHAOTIC RIVER CROSSING AND OUR LAST COUNTRY-SENEGAL

The border means more than a customs house, a passport officer, a man with a gun. Over there everything is going to be different; life is never going to be quite the same again after your passport has been stamped.
-Graham Greene-

We were leaving The Gambia today and heading back into Senegal for the second time and also the last country on the overland journey.  Helen and I were staying in a different block of rooms to the rest of the group and they were talking about small frogs in their rooms last night.  Well there were more frogs this morning and someone found 3 of them in their shoes, others in the room and someone else found one in their bag.  We didn’t see a single frog the whole time.  I am not a lover of frogs, but I could handle the small green ones if I had to, but we didn’t have to worry and I think we may have had the better spot for the rooms as the others had the afternoon sun shining on their building.  Either way, we were out of the oven they call The Gambia.  In saying that I think it was a lot cooler last night sleeping than the previous night and I think it may have a little to do with I had a shower just before bed, we turned the fan to the highest setting and maybe we are just getting used to the awful heat?  I didn’t hear the power go off at 5am, but I did hear it come back on at 7am which was good as we had a 7am wakeup anyway, an 8am breakfast and a 9am departure.  As we were only in the country for the day yesterday and there really was nothing to spend money on except the drinks we were consuming, Sam recommended that we didn’t need to change any money into the local currency (dalasi) and that the food was to go onto kitty and he would settle our drinks account and then we could pay him back in West African Francs which was a great idea.  So we stayed in a country where we spent no local money which is a little strange and it seemed that I would not be getting my mask or material from The Gambia which was a bummer.  There was a small on site shop at the camp, but there was nothing worth buying from it which was even a bigger shame.   

Even though the food that we have been eating the last 9 weeks has been relatively healthy, besides the French fries that is served as a main side I haven’t lost a lot of weight, well that I can tell anyway.  But I think I may have trimmed up a little and I can say that the weight has not come off and I contribute that to all the soft drink I have been consuming during the trip.  I am happy with the truck water and have been drinking it from the truck, but there is only so much water one can drink before needing a change, and it is not refrigerated, so a cold drink is always a treat.  They say that to drink a coke a day while travelling helps to keep the travel bugs at bay and a more healthy tummy while on the road, but I have been pushing that envelope a little and yesterday I had 4 small bottles of soft drink and I think it is just to drink something cold in such soaring heat and I do buy the occasional bottle of water to just have cold water for a change.  Because of the heat nothing stays cold for long, but those first precious few sips of cold liquid is just pre heaven.  So I may not be eating fried, fatty foods, but my sugar intake is quite high and I am starting to get a little sick of the sugary drinks.  I did buy some Tang on my first leg of the trip, but it was in the form of sachets and it got a little messy with the powder and I ditched that idea on week 2.  I found the sachets yesterday but with only 6 days to go, I see no reason to change my drinking habits now and I will stick to the cokes and Fanta for a little longer. 

It is hard to believe that we are onto the last 4 nights of the trip.  Day 66.  That is crazy town.  As much fun as I have had, amazing experiences and incredible friendships formed I am ready to go home.  I wonder if I would feel that way if I was just heading back to Nairobi which I am not.  I am only back in Nairobi for 6 nights and then I head to Australia for 5 weeks and then I am back in Nairobi for 2 nights and then I head to Mombasa with Katie for the first week in January.  So I have a lot of god stuff ahead and I am looking forward to ALL OF IT.  I have had messages from The Nest while I have been gone and it will be great to see the house mothers and all of the babies on Monday.  When I left in September there were 11 babies and now they have 17 babies and selfishly of me I am happy to hear that Lennie is still there and I wonder if he will remember me.  Being away this long from The Nest has just reinforced my reasons for moving away from friends and family and confirmed that I have done the right thing for me, and I am so thankful that I found my feet in Nairobi, thankful that I was accepted and I know that I will be spending a lot of time at The Nest for years to come.  

We hit the road jack and at 10.15am we hit what appeared to be the waiting queue for the ferry that we were required to take to get across the Gambia River that pretty much runs the whole length of the country.  We would have passed over 20 trucks to our right before we found the end of the ‘passenger’ queue where we parked up and even looking at the passenger queue which consisted of cars, bush taxis and local busses that line stretched as far as the eye could see.  Initially Sam had said that it would not take longer than an hour, even if the ferry was on the other side and he may just have misjudged that a little as it looked like we were going to be here for a few hours.  Sam went in search for some more information and Zoe stayed with the truck for the first 15 minutes and then also decided to go and check a few things out, so we were left with no drivers, which at the time looking at the queue you wouldn’t have thought would have been an issue.  Most of the gang had gotten off the truck to have a look around and the dusty road was dotted with sellers, stalls and the drivers from the trucks that were patiently waiting in the longest truck queue I have seen in a long time.  Sometimes if you are lucky business comes to you and after saying no thanks to some biscuit sellers, chemist supplies and sunnies, there was a vision walking towards the truck and it was a young girl with material on the top of her head!  Talk about luck.  So I called her over to the truck to inspect what patterns she had and before I knew it she had climbed up on the truck and was sitting in the stair well as Helen and I flipped through her fabric.  The first thing I did notice was that the material was not that great a quality, but this was going to be my only chance to get some material from The Gambia and when I enquired about the cost it was a lot cheaper, so I was getting what I paid for and I bought a 6m length for 6 bucks.  Even with the quality, it was cheap.  So I bought another one.  They would make nice pillows or I could get a starchy skirt out of it I rekon.   

So after my purchases had been made and the material girl was on her way we heard some cars start up and it seemed the queue was on the move and we had NO DRIVERS!!!!  It seems you sink or swim here and as the cars moved up a few spaces and we were stationary the cars behind us over took us and then parked in front of us!  In a western world we see this as pushing in, but I think in this instance if we didn’t have a driver and we are not moving they were smart in taking the spare spots and if they didn’t people behind them would have.  As wrong as it felt there was not a damn thing we could do and then the line settled and we were now 2 cars behind from where we started.  It was a little frustrating, but I did know that Sam and Zoe would not have been sitting around, where ever they were, but it was a little funny all the same.  20 minutes later the cars started again and the queue moved again and this time it was about 10 cars that over took us and then someone noticed Sam running like a marathon runner down the dusty road as the chaos of the cars pushing in was well under way.  It wasn’t only just passing around us, but there were people making a bolt for any open space that seems to be game on if there is a spot.  By the time Sam fluffed with his key for the lock and the ignition, all the cars had settled and the queue sat in a dusty silence again.  By now Sam was worked up, so he jumped out of the truck, said some words to the security guy, Zoe was heading back oblivious to the shenanigans and then Sam was back, he started the engines and stormed the truck to where we should have been placed to only be told by the security guy to move back to the end of the line!!!!  I must say as foreign people, it looked like we were pushing in, and I KNOW that we were just trying to get back to our rightful spot, but other people didn’t and I felt a little embarrassed.  Sam did as he was directed and we reversed back to the end of the line, which basically put us around 15 cars back from where we had started when we arrived an hour ago.

In the meantime Zoe had been negotiating with the ferry people.  I am not sure how many people were involved in the process, but a few minutes later we had the go ahead to drive to the head of the queue, the passenger and truck queue and we would be popped on the next available ferry for the journey across.  When I enquired with some of the gang Sam and Zoe has basically told the ferry people that we had passengers that needed to get to the airport for some flights tonight, which I think a white lie here or there is acceptable, but just to soften the story a little more, someone had to get back home to attend a wedding of a family member!  It makes me laugh, the ferry people have probably heard all the excuses under the sun for people trying to queue jump and I am not sure the story won through and for the first time on the ENTIRE trip we paid some money for us to move to the start of the line and as I felt bad as we passed local busses and bush taxis with them knowing that we paid money to get in front of them, I don’t think we won any tourism awards for our efforts today.  In saying that, I am not judging the decision.  If we had not done what we did by creating the story and paying what ended up being 40EUR total for the privilege to move to the front of the line, I worked out that we would more than likely have been sitting there for at least 5-7 hours.  There are usually 3 ferries that run the crossing, but one of the bigger ferries was out of commission, so they had a smaller ferry and a larger one doing the runs back and forth.  So with our move to the front, we were reversed parked in to wait for the larger ferry to take us across the river.  This gave us a better view of the chaos of the market, the cars that came off the ferries as they docked, the surge of people, mass material ladies who captured more of our business, with myself included (I think I have a material buying problem) and the smell and mass of people around the main section of the ‘port’ which was basically a road that ran to the water.  There seemed to be a lot of ‘official’ people around but they were all telling people different things and I am not sure if anyone there really knew what was happening.

We missed the first big ferry, but it was back 4 minutes later and with Madge all started we were ready to board.  We had done all the right things, paid our money and we were ready to rock and roll.  Well the port guy that Zoe and Sam had dealt with seemed to be missing in action and as the ferry loaded it seemed that we would not get a spot on this crossing either.  Then the guy appeared and there were a few tense minutes of Zoe trying to talk to 3 men, all of which were not looking at Zoe while she spoke to them and finally as she was about to lose it, literally with a tear about to pop out, they waivered and told us to move in line after the next truck.  By this time the ferry was packed and I didn’t think that we would fit on with the space that they had left, we were the last vehicle to load, but with Sam’s expert driving, at times with only a few centimeters in it to spare, we maneuvered onto the ferry and with some of the trucks and vehicles in front told to inch forward so that we could tuck Madge’s arse onto the ferry, we were ready to depart.  What chaos, and I wonder if we had of arrived earlier would it have made any difference to where we were in the queue at all? And I guess the broken ferry didn’t help and just added to the chaos of the crossing.  I feel sorry for the truck drivers as I would assume that they would have been sitting there for at least a whole day, if not longer waiting for their turn to board the ferry.  Maybe it is a good thing for them as they get to rest up legitimately. 

The crossing itself was peaceful and only took 15 minutes.  The crew on the ferry seemed to know there stuff and people were guided off the ferry once we arrived.  The whole thing felt safe and there has to be something said about travelling on a truck on a ferry on the water.  It was cool.  We were last on and we were also last off and back on terra firma the whole process from when we stopped in the queue this morning to arriving across the other side of the river took a total of 2.5 hours which is not so bad considering just how bad it could have been if we had of waited our turn.  We then passed what seemed an endless line of trucks that were waiting on this side of the river to cross and that queue would have gone on for at least 2km, maybe longer, and would have had at least 50 trucks waiting and again it would probably be days until they got to the other side.  Their goods seemed mostly to be made up of onions and gravel, truck after truck of onions and gravel.  20 minutes later we found ourselves at the border town of Farafenni where we were officially stamped out of The Gambia and a 3 minute drive on got us to the Senegal border for the last time.  It was nearly 1pm by now, so it was decided we would do a truck lunch on the border while Sam and Zoe processed the passports for us and it was literally made on the truck as there were a lot of children around and there is something wrong with making sandwiches and pulling out all our things around people that struggle to make ends meet.  While we were waiting we also got the opportunity to get our photos taken with the border signs.  Zoe had asked for permission for us to do it and we were able to get a double banger and get Senegal, even though it was wonky as it had been hit by a truck and the other side had The Gambia.  I was now a happy camper after missing the other The Gambia sign the other day.  It is a great claim to fame the border signs and I don’t care how dorky or touristy it looks, I will always try and get a photo with one if I can. 

We were finally all stamped out and back to Senegal’s roads just after 2pm.  We then travelled on a very dusty and bumpy road for the next 1.5 hours before we found bitumen again.  It was also at this time that the scenery changed, the heat changed and it was like we had entered a different world.  It was dry, as dry as a desert and even though once we hit the tarmac road and Madge could hit all cylinders, the breeze that normally would be cool and keep us comfortable was warm and sticky and it felt like we had been slammed into a small sauna.  The breeze was hot and after talking to Suzanne she said it was the                

Harmattan winds.  The Harmattan is a dry and dusty West African trade wind. This northeasterly wind blows from the Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea between the end of November and the middle of March (winter).  On its passage over the desert it picks up fine dust particles (between 0.5 and 10 micrometers) and in some countries in West Africa, the heavy amount of dust in the air can severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days which is comparable to a heavy fog. It can even break the trunk of the pine trees, growing in that region, through their dryness. The effect caused by the dust and sand stirred by these winds is known as the Harmattan haze, which costs airlines millions of dollars in cancelled and diverted flights each year,  and risks public health by increasing meningitis cases.  The interaction of the Harmattan with monsoon winds can cause tornadoes.  Humidity drops to as low as 15 percent and can result in spontaneous nosebleeds for some and the wind can cause severe crop damage.  It certainly wasn’t that bad for us today, but it explained the vegetation, the lack of it, as well as the dryness and the damn heat.

We had to stop at the coastal town of Kaolack for a food stop and also Sam needed to raid an ATM for the last remaining days.  Even though we passed what seemed to be salt flats, and flamingos, the temperature did not change a lot as you would think being on the water and we drove through what was a very large town, not really set up for tourists as such and we stuck out like a sore thumb.  Kaolack is a town of 172,305 people (2002 census) on the north bank of the Saloum River and the N1 road in Senegal.  Kaolack is an important regional market town and is Senegal's main peanut trading and processing center. As the center of Ibrahimiyya branch of the Tijaniyyah Sufi order founded by Ibrayima Ñas, it is also a major center of Islamic education.  We took a street that ended up being a market street and as colorful as it was, we didn’t seem to be too welcomed and after we scrapped through some of the shops that were directly street front we parked out the front of one of the banks while Sam did a money dash.  Karl got off to get some cold drinks and I did a random scan to get Wi-Fi and imagine my surprise when I found an unsecured network and I jumped on the briefly update my status on Facebook before telling the others there was an unsecured network.  For some reason I do have a tendency to have the luck of the connection when other people can’t seem to find the network or jump on and today was no different and people were that keen to jump on line that they were sticking their devices on my trying to channel my inner Wi-Fi!  I must admit I am the first to search for signals when I arrive somewhere and people just check with me when we get somewhere and I am okay with that title.  Yes I love the internet, I love Facebook and I LOVE hearing from people and sharing my stories via the medium.  Needless to say the Wi-Fi didn’t cope with us all on it and then nobody could get on and before we knew it San was back and we were back on the road for our final push to Touboukouta where we would be spending 2 nights. 

Ian and I both noticed all day today, well after we left The Gambia that the Senegalese people are certainly not a very friendly bunch.  Our waves fall on blank stares from people, I got the ‘bird’ from a kid earlier this afternoon and one later after we left Kaolack along with a funny face from an older child and some unfriendly arm waves from older people.  What is their problem?  We have not been treated like this on the whole trip.  We may get an unfriendly village, a few people that for some reason don’t like white people waving at them and that is all okay, but ALL DAY we have been treated rudely and I just would like to know what the chip on their shoulder is all about.  Ian and I stopped waving at one point as it is pretty disheartening waving to people and getting rude gestures in return.  We made a pact that we would be happy to wave if they issued the first wave and it didn’t happen much this afternoon at all.  It also went against our grain, we haven’t stopped waving for the last 7 weeks and to all of a sudden today stop was just a weird feeling, but we did get an occasional wave, but we are talking single digits and from small children who haven’t been influenced either way.  S9me of the older kids waved, but they looked for the adult’s approval as they did so, so there is an undercurrent vibe with foreign people for whatever reason. 

The landscape all afternoon has been one of flatness, dry and small trees.  It also didn’t help with the temperature that there was not a single cloud in the sky all day, so no clouds floating over to help give some shade.  I can see why there is not a lot of productive things that happen in the middle of the day here and in villages every piece of shade was being used by either people in chairs to get out of the heat or animals also doing the right thing.  Could the heat be contributed to the waving?  Is it too hot?  I would nearly pay that as it takes a lot of energy, but I don’t think it cuts the mustard as an excuse at the end of the day.  It finally started to cool down around 6.30pm at the same time that Sam pulled over for us to get a photo of the dropping sun on another travel day.  We got to the town of Touboukouta at 7pm and after overshooting the turn off, we paid a local motor taxi to take us to the hotel and I am glad we did as there was a lot of turns on sandy roads and I am not sure we would have found it by ourselves in the dark.  We arrived at 7.15pm and after a mix up of rooms again, Helen and I were going to share with Zoe for the next 2 nights which I am totally okay with, but it irritates me that it is always the singles that get the raw prawn with accommodation when things go wrong.  Why should we be the ones to be accommodating all the time?  Lord Byron was popped into the hotel across the road due to availability which had air-con and Wi-Fi and we were asked to share a triple room and not given an option at all.  It just frustrates me at times but in saying that there was nothing wrong with the bungalow rooms we were given and we had a fan and 24 hour electricity, but air-con sounded delicious after the oven of a travel day that we had endured today.

It was Ready Steady Cocks time to shine for dinner tonight.  We were having a truck dinner to keep the kitty costs low and it was also the only time that we would get to cook for the group.  After we had checked in the kitchen was set up in the courtyard of the hotel and we went to work as the others sat around having a yarn with a cold beer in the hand as we prepared dinner.  As a team motto we said that ‘no-one would go hungry on a night that we cooked’ so we made sure we had plenty of food and if it meant that we had to cook it all in 2 shifts then we would.  Sam had bought some falafel mix during the week and we decided to use that as a vegetarian mix in a pasta dish and as we had also made another r motto that ‘we would not make a vegetarian meal’ we also threw in a few tins of friend luncheon and onion, 2 tins of mixed vegetables and enough pasta to sink a battle ship.  Keeping with the theme of the group, once dinner was all ready to be dished up, we pulled out the speaker and my IPod and had my Australian playlist I had made during the week ready to play.  So we announced dinner was ready, asked the Aussies to be up standing with the playing of the national anthem which we all sang brilliantly dinner was served and there was enough to feed 20 people.  Yep that is how Ready Steady Cock roll and the meal went over a treat.  We even had leftovers and after it had cooler we used the hotels fridge to store it for us and it could be a lunch option for people tomorrow. 

It was hot here as well, but certainly not as hot as The Gambia and after dinner was concluded and the kitchen packed up I was off to our room for a shower to cool off and then to blog.  When Zoe and Helen came to bed I logged off and read my book until my eyes could stay open no more and with the fan on full ball and not sighting to many mosquitos I decided to not sleep under the mosquito net tonight and after applying bug repellant to the bottom of my feet, my ankles and my legs I felt that that would help keep the blighters at bay should there be any in the room.  There were good screens and a bit of a breeze, so I was confident I would have a good night’s sleep tonight.