Will's Thanksgiving Visit

Thanksgiving week was one of the best we have had in Gambia. Our good friend Will  traveled all the way from DC to stay with us for 7 nights (although after his 10 hour delay in Dakar it was more like 6). He was our very first visitor and  I think we were more excited than Will. Unfortunately Zack had to work but I had managed to get all my work done the week before so I was completely free to show him around. The week was pretty jam packed with activities so I’ll just share with you the highlights. 

Since Will arrived at 5am on Monday morning, half of the first day was spent sleeping. When he had recovered in the afternoon we walked along the beach to my favourite place - where else but Coco Ocean! Walking on the beach has improved significantly since the resorts have cleaned up all the rubbish for the tourists and the bumsters are less persistent now they have more people to hassle. We met Zack after work and went to watch the fishermen bring in their daily catch. There is a small guesthouse where you can sit and watch the market below before braving the crowd to haggle over the fresh fish. 

One of the popular places for both tourists and locals to visit in the Kombos is the crocodile park. Locals go because crocodiles are meant to bring good luck in fertility (or something like that) and tourists go because where else can you get so close to hundreds of 6 foot crocs! Now I come from Australia where the crocs are merciless, they grab you, drag you under the water and roll on you before devouring you whole… so I think I’m justified in feeling a bit nervous when there is nothing between me and a giant croc. Lamin was nearly in hysterics when he saw how scared I was patting the sleeping croc, but in my defence Will also looked quite worried. Especially when a particularly large one started walking right towards us. 

The highlight of the week would have to be Thanksgiving day. The new ambassador hosted a wonderful dinner  (I even ate celery a real rarity here!) at her lovely residence overlooking the ocean. However, the really great part was taking the embassy speed boat out on the river. That morning Zack, Will and I met the  driver at the dock where we piled onto the boat with a large cooler of drinks. I never thought much of boats because I get seasick but this was awesome! We zoomed through the small winding rivers boarded by mangroves before entering the open water of the River Gambia, which is more than 3 miles across at the mouth. We were heading up to James Island and Juffure village where there is an old British fort and the previous heart of the Gambian slave trade. I have just finished Roots (a wonderful book which I highly recommend) and this is where much of the book is set. The island and museum was interesting and heartbreaking but set up for tourists, at one point there is an old food storage room which has obviously had fake bars attached to make it look like a slave dungeon.  We were alone on the small island so we were free to explore all the old ruins, which includes many large cannons. Although it has the sad slave history, the area was first “discovered” by the Portuguese and then the fort was used to guard the British ships and colonies from the French and many battles were fought there. How lucky we are not to live in those times. As we sped back down the river the sun was shining and the water was glistening - good friends and cold beer what else could you want!

Saturday, Will’s second last day, bought warm sunny weather, of course that’s all there ever is this time of year! We drove down the coast to have lunch on the beach near the boarder with Senegal. The beach down here is clean and empty and we spent a lovely afternoon body surfing in the waves and relaxing in the shade. Some days in Gambia can be slow and (to be honest) kind of boring but it is weeks like this that remind me of all the great things we get to do living here. Sure there are no cinemas or cocktail lounges, things move sooooo slowly it is frustrating and it is often too hot to do anything but there are also many great aspects too. Will keeps thanking us for a great week in Gambia but I need to thank Will for reminding me how much fun we have here. So in the week of Thanksgiving I am thankful for how lucky I am to have such an exiting life that I get to share it with great friends like Will and my wonderful husband Zack.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!