I am having fun.

  These past days, I’ve had fun doing a local art, sand painting.

   The artist (nom du gars) who comes twice a week sells his pieces and you can also make some with him. As I’m not the best drawer and that I wanted a local design, he drew the chosen drawing on a map of Africa in a few minutes. Then, the idea is simple as you have to paint some glue onto the areas of your choice and then tip some sand onto it. Drum your fingers underneath for a few seconds, flip the piece over and the surplus has gone. Slightly… quite a bit… the Mako flocking of my childhood so to say.

  The 1st time I only did the black outlines and let it dry. In the sun, drying takes about 1 hour so it’s easy to go for a dip then come back later to do another section.

  The most difficult part is dosing the glue which should be liquid enough so that: there isn’t too little or too much. I had a lot of fun and I now have my own creation for D300 (about €7/$9.50/£6).

  On the market, the smaller paintings start at D400 and you should negotiate which is sometimes a nuisance. Where is the cut-off point between getting conned and abusing the vendor? Cut the price in half and go up a bit is what I’ve been told… including by sellers. If anything they’re amusing. They also immediately say: “It’s the starting price” or “how much do you want to pay”?

  In the hotel, (nom du gars) has made many paintings which are used for decoration, be it in the restaurant or in the games room. Recently, he was even trying to make door panels (private, kitchen, cellar…) the final product of which looks very good.

  I very much like all these little scenes of life, even more as they totally reflect the present. Everywhere you can see wells, people who crush rice using their giant pestle or carrying faggots of wood. For huts, I think that we’ll have to dive deeper into the country.

A peculiar collar neck

    The Gambia also has a good number of non-venomous snakes; some are very small and some more imposing. What’s great is that if you have the desire/heart/courage (it depends on you), well you can hold them. So strange!  

  Whilst Europe freezes, on some occasions even more than Anton in Canada, and wraps a scarf or boa around its neck, we used a python! Be it baby or adult it’s interesting to discover the snake’s touch on you. It’s quite cool, dry and you can feel the scales’ undulations when he wants to move. It’s easy to show-off when you know that the 1m python has already had its fill and won’t be looking to choke you.

  The royal python (Python Regius - *) is 1 metre long and the female is often bigger (120cm) than the male (80cm). It’s the smallest in the python family. His scales were quite small and smooth, and around the mouth (top left) he has heat sensors that detect warm-blooded prey, even at night. Near its anus (middle left) he has 2 little spikes that remind you of feet. The African rock python (Python Sebae – bottom right) on the other hand is one of the larger specimens and can even reach 6m in length in some African countries. Here, he’s 4 m maximum. Even if it’s a rarity, he has the capacity of choking a human after reaching 3m in length. He can eat antelope-sized animals, even the occasional croc.

  The female python lays her eggs and, contrary to most species, monitors them up to about a year after birth. She sheds her skin few times per year (bottom centre).

  Fascinating!

  The striped sand snake (Psammophis Sibilans – top left) is the first that we saw and doesn’t reach beyond 1.40m in length. He produces venom but only to digest his prey, often rodents or batrachians as is the case for most snakes.

  I was allowed to manipulate the “African rock” baby python (python sebae – middle left) as the adults were a bit too imposing.

  The house snake (lamprophis fuliginosum – bottom left) which we would know as ‘couleuvre’ in our region is often mistaken for a young cobra. The latter is recognisable however by his white head when he’s a baby compared to the uniform ‘couleuvre’.

  The Central-African egg-eating snake (dasypeltis fasciata – middle bottom) is one of the 2 only groups that has adapted by only eating bird eggs. He can measure from 30 to 100 cm and is non-venomous. His head and jaw are hyper-flexible in order to swallow the egg, then he has "throat teeth" which crack it. He eats the contents before spitting out the crushed shell.

  The nicest one was the wolf snake (lycophidion albomacolatum – bottom right). We saw a baby, but its maximum size is around 50cm. The Mandika call it “farrabossa” which means ‘magic snake’ as when it dies, it opens it mouth wide and they think that it has magical powers.

  After having observed the sliders, we went on to other reptiles including this nice chameleon (Chameleos Senegalis). He has a long tail which he usually keeps rolled up and funny feet with one toe on one side and three on the other. He could be working with Mickey and Minnie!

  The eternal question surfaced again: “Does it change colour?” Well not really, at least not by passing from a red piece of paper to a blue one. He has the usual colour as you can see in the top left picture. That being said, if he gets angry or stressed, he changes. You may be saying “what about our yellow-throated chameleon? Is he stressed or angry?” A bit of both captain, as the poor guy had just been in an involuntary mishap. As he was too close to the grilles to be taken pictures of, the guardian agreed to turn him around so that we could see better… and then… what was going to happen happened, he went too close to the edge and took a dive (middle right… no more Mr Chameleon ☹). In its misfortune and our sadness to think that he may have been hurt, he got out his stressed/angry outfit with a magnificent yellow that we could admire on the ground this time. Poverino, he seems to be scratching his chin!

  The Gambia also has several species of turtles.

  The fresh water African helmeted turtle (Pelomedusa Subrufa) is a small creature (20cm max) who lives in small basins or stagnant pools. As she digs earth, she has often been used to dig wells. You must still remove the soil she churns out regularly though. The anterior part of her plastron is mobile, and when she is scared, she closes the lid, completely protecting her head.

  The terrestrial Bell’s hinge back tortoise (Kinixys Belliana – top right) also has a mobile section which is at the back of the shell which she closes to protect her rear legs as well as her tail. It was funny as when you would press lightly on the rear, the head would come out! With my surprise at this ‘legs in, head out’ defence mechanism, Luc explained that if we move the shell ourselves, she doesn’t have enough space to bring everything in, but if she does it of her own accord, she empties her lungs and can hide all of her parts in her shell. How clever! Nature is well made.

  We also saw the giant African spurred tortoise (Geochelone Sulcata) which is the 3^rd biggest of its species in the world and 1^st on a mainland continent as the others are islands (Aldabra-Seychelles and Galapagos). Their adult weight can reach 90kgs for 90cm and they live about 30 to 50 years.

  We also saw terrestrial crabs, the crocodile (Crocodylus Suchus) which resembles his cousin from the Nile but is different and named West African crocodile. Same for those in Kachikally, a correction to note. It’s quite placid apart from when the female protects her eggs and young. We also saw big monitor lizards, those kind of evil-looking reptiles.

  And there you have it, we’re now well informed and all that’s left is that we discover all of this in the wild.

  Luc organises crocodile discovery excursions for D2000 (About €41/£34/$54) with information viewings and manipulations of small crocs in the late afternoon. This is followed by an evening by the river facing Senegal with a barbecued diner, then in the mangrove on a boat, tracking and finding these brave creatures. I hope that we’ll have the opportunity to go there one day. 

  He also organises expeditions over a few days (5-6) upstream of the river Gambia in order to count crocodiles. The fees are very limited (hardly more than the evening only) as it helps research and there is pretty much only a spreading of costs. But this allows people to see all sorts of other animals in the wild, particularly birds, the occasional manatee and, why not, hippos. An experience that needs a good group of about 8 people (minimum). Fingers crossed that there will be the opportunity to go as such an experience attracts me a lot. He does it only 2 to 3 times a year though.

"Pas touche minouche!"

  At the southern point of the country, a few kilometres from the border before Kartung, and nestled in the forest can be found a rather particular farm. Luc, a Frenchman who arrived a long time ago in Gambia and who is passionate about snakes, created a reptile information collection centre: The Gambian Reptile Farm.

  From Banjul, it takes about an hour to drive the 62 kms. Many rapid police control stops, but all is in order and we have a local with us… “Once burnt, twice shy….” We took the map with us but the nice marked road that we saw and were looking for the other day, well we didn’t miss it, it just doesn’t exist. It’s just a project from the past which had never come to fruition other than on road maps. We tried to do a Google Earth, but the font size problems arising made it difficult to read town names so it’s not simple, on top of the fact that small roads don’t even show. A correct map must exist, the search for it continues.

  Sunday 12^th, we looked for Dog Island and after having done quite a bit of driving and going through villages that must see cars 3 times a year, we found, in Lamin, a tarmaced road. “Cool, this must be it, let’s go.” Actually, there were several kilometres of perfectly normal tarmaced road… which serves the purpose of accessing the petrol port. It was quite funny actually as they had put speed bumps which were completely worn down on one half. Why?… Pascal found the answer: on one side, the tanker truck is full and compacts down the road, and on the other, they come back empty. On that day, and on our own, we drew a blank; no Dog Island, no riverside lunch. Conclusion: Going off on an adventure is not our forte and we need to organise ourselves a little better.

  The snake farm has been a great success. Not the easiest place to find due to the weathered sign on the side which required us to keep our eyes open at all times. Note that virtually opposite it, is the hotel Sandele sign.

  Take that turn into the small lane and when you spot a blue gate, you will have arrived.

  This farm is open to the public which allows it to survive, but what’s most extraordinary about it is that it serves as a centre of education for the Gambians. Seeing as there are many snakes in that country, Luc raises awareness for the locals on the usefulness of living in harmony with the snakes and other reptiles as at the end of the day, everything and everyone has its use for the balance of life.

  The snakes, that are quite discreet in winter during the dry season with many hiding away, are very useful in summer, season of rain and of bountiful cultures, as they control the rodent population. A lack of snakes would signify a resurgence of these rodents and a subsequent lack of harvest eaten by these small creatures.

  This information-broadcasting job is long, the game is never won, but each evolution of the audience’s mentality is a victory in itself. One day, some footballers had called Luc as a big snake was on their pitch. They perhaps missed 1 hour of football, but they had remembered what he had taught them.

  On the farm, there are venomous snakes that are in big concrete “pits/vats” that we will watch with our eyes. This puff adder (Bitis Arietans – left) can measure up to 2 metres and is very dangerous even if she only attacks if threatened. Generally, she gives off imminent attack signs such as whistles or sudden head movements. What makes her dangerous is the fact that she can be very well camouflaged (bottom right) so you risk accidentally stepping on her.

    The farm also has a black-necked spitting cobra (Naja Nigricollis) but this one’s kept in a terrarium and the photos weren’t that clear through the window. A nocturnal animal, it can spit its venom at over one metre. If she spits at your face and the venom reaches your eyes… you never know… one thing to do is to get someone to urinate on you. Not a very tempting course of affairs, but efficient according to the expert.

  The viper (Causus Maculatus – West African night adder) is, contrary to the previous specimen, very small (70cm max). Terrestrial, she is quite slow and can rarely be seen in the dry season where she stays underground for months on end. On the photo you can see her white eggs (above “adder”). She feeds primarily on batrachians. Generally speaking, her bite is painful but not deadly and the symptoms disappear after 2 to 3 days (an anti-venom has yet to be developed). Have courage, we haven’t finished our tour of these nice little critters☺.

  I didn’t see the mamba, nor the white-lipped cobra indicated on the sign seen in Bijilo Forest, but another stripy cobra (a baby Elipsoidea Semiannulata Moebieusi) as well as a crotal (Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia). What to say? It doesn’t inject venom with its bite 9 times out of 10, but is that reassuring? Don’t be so sure!

  Well there you go, we’ve met some of the venomous species on offer in Gambia with the hope that… well… maybe not… we’ll see one in the wildlife. No intrepid exploration like in Mauritius; here, we’re going to play it safe.

A week of "festivities"

   For Valentine, each hotel has its special evening and it was the case for us. An excellent meal by the pool with floating lights and hearts on the plates (bottom left)...

  Close to 21h, the activities team danced to several songs. During the preparation, I saw a young man with tattered clothes go past and seeing as we’re in Africa, I thought that it would be a dance with as its subject a lion who is trying to eat the guy. Nope, ‘Michael’ arrived on scene with a lady, Thriller began and zombies came out from every corner and went around the table before dancing together. Tip Top!

  At the end, there were some magnificent “Chinese” lanterns which make our eyes sparkle and light the sky. Due to the outside temperature (23˚), they didn’t rise as quickly as on New Year’s Day in the middle of the Vercors snow at 0˚ but they managed nonetheless… and my was it beautiful! 

   2^nd celebration of the week, the 47^th anniversary of independence on 22^nd of July Square. That is also where the cricket team practises.

  We were warned that on time is not always on time and that things are always late. Well they were right. Guests were asked to arrive at 08h, but we had been warned so we followed the lines of diplomats (08h20 – 08h40) to scrape some time off. Well it was really a small scrape of time as ministers and other dignitaries arrived sporadically as the minutes wore on… hours should I say. On paper, the mayor’s 08h55 arrival (bottom left) happened at… wait for it… 11h. 2h20 we had been waiting there, and still, we were part of the privileged in the shade of the official gallery… Normal, we were sat on our seats LOL. Thankfully I had brought my magazine and time seemed shorter☺

  The military personnel were already at work from 9h and among the pieces of music played, there were even some bagpipes. A griot (bottom centre) spoke and seemed to apostrophise the crowd. We don’t know what he was saying but it made our neighbours laugh. Then, it was him who spoke during the ceremony between the dignitaries (religious, military, mayor). 

    Finally, near 11h20, the parades began. Military followed by schools (Albion top left) and groups of all shapes and sizes such as scouts or fish smokers. The most bizarre was probably the orange “disco truck” (bottom left). It seemed slightly out of place amidst all this decorum. There were also characters of … erm … actually I’m not too sure, let’s say of their traditions and beliefs

  It was past 13h when we finally went home. A very interesting discovery but a bit long especially because after such a long time, you get a pressing need and there is nothing around … only people ☺.

  We celebrated Mauritius’s independence and now we have done The Gambia’s. Cool no? We’re proud and honoured to have been invited.

"The flour is orange..."

 I repeat: "the flour is orange.”

   At this time of year, it doesn’t rain, but this doesn’t mean that the sun will shine down every day. Actually, near 5pm, the sky is often covered with a slight veil, which improves the poolside reading conditions. I’m always asking myself how these people go about just sitting and roasting in the sun. It heats and burns! Staying tanned in winter I can understand, and looking healthy is good, but to walk around in your boxers, at work or at family dinners, to show off the tan, I can’t imagine.

We’re above the Sahara … broadly speaking, and in this winter season, and more particularly February, there occurs the occasional sandstorm which hits us in the face … and in the mouth for that matter. It’s incredible, we wake up one morning, the wind is blowing and the sun has disappeared though with no clouds in sight… Yeah actually without anything in sight, not even the coast in front of us, Barra which we normally see so well and is only a few kilometres away.

  I took these two photos at two days interval but at about the same time (around 10am). At a short distance, the atmosphere is clear, but at only 50 meters, we see this orange veil which covers all and which invades all as well. The guys have a large task cleaning as everything is covered in orange flour. I had to close the windows of the suite for the first time as the anti-mosquito grilles are not flour-proof. It’s best to avoid large efforts as we find ourselves eating some as well! Luckily, it lasts no more than 2 or 3 days and in the middle of the day, the sun pierces through to keep the holidaymakers happy.

"oh ! ... a frenchman"

I’ve been here for a month now and I still haven’t talked about the town where I live… nor about Gambia for that matter, but the country will wait.

  The Laico Atlantic hotel is in Banjul, Gambia’s capital city, home to over 40,000 people. The city is on St. Marie island and was called Bathurst up until 1973. Serrekunda, more to the South, has a larger population but it’s here that the king’s palace and the administrators are. From the hotel, you can walk to the city-centre in about 20-30 minutes and if you’re tired, you must hail a yellow-with-green-stripes taxi which offers very good fares. From the hotel to the market it’s D 7/pers. (€0.20) and only takes 5 minutes. Of course you mustn’t expect the taxi to be exclusively yours: These taxis are shared and if there’s still some place, they will stop and pick up or drop off others. It’s The public transport method with the mini-vans but the foreigner is welcome should they wish. No bus service here!

The city is vast and has some tarmaced and rather flat roads, some “who have seen the world go by”, and – like in the towns and villages – a majority of sand roads. This means that there is a lot of dust and you don’t need to leave your car unattended for 6 months for it to be covered in this orangey sand. Only a few hours are needed on windy days!

  Works are not always indicated so you must be aware of holes, people, other vehicles but also of the goats! We even saw a truck with a petrol-tank from… Allaman? Well no, as the volume it would occupy on a boat would make it far too expensive. It’s a local company who make them. There must be an international colour code which makes these also orange.

  The French population in Banjul has, I’m proud to announce, skyrocketed this last month thanks to the arrival of 2 French people. It’s gone from 0 to … you guessed it … 2 ! ! ! My Pascal and me, as you’ve understood.

   In the week following my arrival, we went to the French Embassy. Lucky people, we were in an actual embassy rather than just a consulate! The access road had suffered as the summer rains had been devastating!   

  We were very well greeted by the attaché in charge to whom we spoke. "Welcome, I’m very happy to see some new arrivals "."The pleasure is ours " Right, down to the important matters: Where are our future friends? Ok, we’re not going to be so direct eh? It’ll therefore be "So how many French people are there around here?". "Proper expatriates, there must be… about 30" Waow, can you imagine? And if we consider that children are included, that must make a grand total of 10 couples!!! Most live more to the South on the coast, 15/25 kilometers from Banjul

  We were lucky to have a very nice dancing meal at the Kairaba Hotel and was already acquainted with almost a quarter of the expat population ! ! ! Ok, it’s said that it’s quality over quantity. No let-down on that part, very friendly first contact, excellent evening in excellent company. We can only ask for more.

A dollar in the pocket

   Finally, finally I managed to go for a walk on my own and it did me well as I made quite the discovery. Of course I still had to kindly — but firmly — deny all “bumpers”. That’s what they call the people who accost you for something. In Mauritius, the beach-vendors were called “hawkers”. Always nice little names!

Top right photo – "Where is my clypeaster?"

   For the 3 weeks I’ve been here, I’ve noticed some strange little shells. I thought that they just wore down strangely, but as the ground is low ☺and that I had always been “accompanied”, I hadn’t given it a second thought. This morning, my eye halted on this perfect shell with a star shape in its heart, which made my own beat with joy. Hurray, victory, I thought of you Nathalie and Alain. Did you feel this long-distance connection on this morning of the 1^st of February?

   I had just found a charming sand dollar. An urchin, like the ones in Mauritius, though this one didn’t need lots of scouring with a snorkel as it’s washed up from the sea. It also has a different shape seeing as it’s crenulated on one side. Is this the beginning of the wheel of fortune?

   I picked 1 up, then 2, then 3, then… in the end there were so many that my hands were full. What small wonders these clypeasters are. My lipstick is a good point of reference for the scale. Classic sand dollars are more within the range of 6-7cm diameter.  

He opened my hand with kindness

  In Senegambia, 18km South of Banjul, there is the Bijilo National Park. 51.3 hectares and according to ‘Lonely Planet’, Gambia’s 7^th out of 25 attractions not to be missed. Wow, I wonder what the others are because if there are 25 for our 104 weeks here, there will be some revisiting … and probably some re-revisiting. ☺ Looks like we’ll have to overlap into other the neighbouring countries.

 

  This forest was opened as a national park in 1991. Before this, she had to be ‘renovated’ due to a heavy deforestation for Borassus aethiopum palm trees whose fruits and young roots can be eaten and whose wood is used in construction for its anti-termite properties. She is home to over 100 species of birds and 4 species of primates (patas, green vervet, red colobus and galagos) and sees approximately 23,000 visitors per year.

   Personally, we had only heard of and seen two types of monkeys. The red-furred one, who stays up on high and doesn’t approach humans, is the red colobus (Procolobus badius). We only spotted two near the entrance to the park, but we only stayed 1 hour 30 in the area and only discovered a small quarter of the forest. You can find this monkey, who weighs about 8kg in adulthood, in central and western Africa. In the chimpanzee zones, he’s chased away. Here, he can live in peace.

  He feeds on tender leaves, flowers, and unripe, green fruit. Occasionally, they look for charcoal which allows them to combat certain plants’ toxins.

     Our guide Alex — the same guy than for the crocs, as it was the same day — had bought a packet of peanuts and gave it to us once we were in the park. That’s how we became acquainted with the ‘green vervet’ (Chlorocebus sabaeus), a small monkey weighing in at 4 - 5 kg as an adult. He eats fruit, leaves, roots, and, on occasion, reptile or bird eggs. Here however, he likes to see what some visitors have brought.

  As in Malaysia, the monkeys came to open our hands and help themselves. If we showed them a closed hand, they remained to the side; otherwise, they would try to take as many fruit as possible if we were offering it to them with our hand out.

  Pascal took the role of teacher and it was funny to watch the monkey patiently waiting.

  Not all came to see us, some stayed in their trees sleeping soundly or one against the other. They really have a nice colour with their vivid tails and the ‘highlighted’ top of their heads. So cute!

  Alex told us to go close to a tree and put the peanuts at shoulder height. As soon as this was done, a monkey jumped on Pascal.

    I loved the sensation of having this small hand like ours but so soft which tried to open my hand with great kindness. The bigger ones would try to chase off the younger ones, but when they had finished, they let the others have their share without any aggressiveness. And if we went past and pretended that we had nothing to give, they would just passively watch us go by… though without staying too far away, just in case!  

   The subject of my grimace!   

  The cockatoo on the shoulder, in the ‘wild’ in a common in Sydney, had been a memorable moment to put tears of emotions in your eyes and of which you would never forget. This had been sort of similar though the weight and smell of urine had made the experience less emotional though still moving. I should have chosen a tree with a baby … lol!

  It’s a good idea to have three-quarter or full-length trousers as they protect you from the small scratches from their feet. Though on the flipside, you come out all grimy!

  About one kilometre from the forest is the Kairaba hotel whose manager Gérard explained that every day (and mostly in the morning), he sees monkeys passing by and even stopping, if not settling down, in their sun loungers. For the hotel, they are a bit of a nuisance as they eat all of the tender leaves and flowers that they come across; and if there’s a vegetable patch, there’s no chance of seeing anything other than aromatic plants growing (as they don’t like them). Hotels also inform customers not to feed the monkeys in order to incite them to remain in their zone, and so that they don’t ‘settle’ near human houses.

  The fact that we weren’t bothered by mosquitoes was a pleasant surprise. I don’t doubt that there will be times in the year where they will do some catching up, but in the middle of the forest, or near a crocodile pool, and in the peak of tourism season, not a single bite was reported all day.