So today was another epic experience - for our second excursion we chose to take part in a trucking adventure. We therefore boarded an ex army monster truck looking thing which drove us off-road in the dirt and amongst the local villages to our first destination.

Upon disembarking, we were faced with a semi shanty location with a large hustle and bustle of people surrounding the local market. Our guide explained that this is where all local women come on a daily basis to do their food shopping. He also explained that they must carry out a food shop this frequently due to the lack of fridges in the villages and to ensure that the food was fresh... However, the fresh food on offer here, was also crawling in live flies and other bugs. Our path was difficult to make out and adhere to amongst the large tumult of people and the abundance of hovering flies. This was a little much for us both, and we anticipated the exit as we walked past stalls upon stalls of groceries, meat and fish; all seemingly coated in flies. Some women worked tirelessly to fan the produce in order to discourage the flies, but there were such large numbers of flies that it was impossible to wade off every one; a battle that some sellers had given up. Beyond these items which looked as though they were crawling with chocolate chips, were several stalls with fruit and vegetables also. Admittedly, they looked fresh but the general smell and presentation was not one our western eyes were used to by any means.

We climbed on board the truck ready for departure to our next point - a local school. We arrived after a fairly short drive at Prospects School, which was a project set up to support children's schooling locally so as to avoid them having to walk 7 miles each day to and from school. The experience was surreal, but pleasantly surprising. All the children wore matching uniforms, and were part of relevant classroom -distinct classrooms for each year group. Each class, which was clearly marked had around 30 children in them. The year 3s were the most chaotic, all asking for our names and signatures. A group of students immersed us both and we

 

found ourselves being cuddled, sat on and tugged in every direction, by children keen to show us their work. We were able to write messages in their books for them and were able to take some photos also. We also observed some of the older children, where a maths class was taking place, and saw some really good learning. We had an opportunity to talk with the teachers and it was lovely to see their passion for teaching. We donated some money and pens and pencils, and were happy to see that this establishment had begun working on an extension, with a view to extend the age of learners.


Back on board the truck, we were off to our next destination. It was really emotional seeing all the local children running after the truck chanting a mixture of "hello", "goodbye" and "do you have sweets?" It really became obvious how deprived these locals were, especially when we were instructed to not throw away empty bottles, but donate them to the children, because they can collect water or use them as instruments. It was such a sad feeling to know that there was no way we could help them all. Along the way, more children, adults and local ladies all seemed to greet us with smiles and were keen to wave and say hello as we drove past. The locals were busy taking part in their everyday lives and chores, but most paused briefly to give us a wave and shout hello. Some children, dropped what they were doing and ran towards the truck just to wave and say hello. Before we knew it, we had arrived at a local compound, where a family lived together. The famous Uncle John, who was known for climbing palm trees to extract the palm wine, lived here with his family, including his many grandchildren. We had an opportunity to have a photo with Uncle John and the family, and we bought a bottle of his special wine, which they called 'kill me now' or 'fire water' because the strength varied between 40% and 80% but there was no way to know exactly. 





                                      


The children were keen to follow us as we explored the village and some even asked for photos. Others asked for simple things like pens or sweets. One girl, simply asked "can you give me something?" And then proceeded to ask for a mobile phone. One boy explained how he needed money because his parents had died. It was difficult to know how much was true, but mainly difficult to be able to offer help because there were so many of them! 

We said goodbye and boarded the truck ready for our last stop at the Tanje fishing museum followed by a short walk around the fishing compound where fish was smoked and processed. The museum showed a typical village and the history of the village itself. However, upon arriving at the compound where fish was processed, we were shocked and stunned all at once. Fish had been laid out on a table made of woven palm leaves - thousands of fish. One area was used to dry the fish, and another to smoke it. There were piles of fish on the floor, but it was unclear whether this would be eaten and sold. Without sounding disrespectful, it was disgusting. Flies, sand, dirt and the like covered the fish and we were told this would be bought and kept for 3-6 months. A little way down, by the sea, fisherman worked hard shifting fish and manoeuvring boats, often working as a team. We came across some local boys who were friendly and asked our names. They told us a little about themselves - one boy who went to school until 2pm and then came down to the fishing village to work afterwards, told us he wanted to be a doctor. He also told us he liked football and asked if we could buy him one. At 100 dalasis, (about £1.20) we decided it was the least we could do. Traipsing around a fish-strewn beach between boats and labourers was not much fun, and we hoped a football could provide some more appropriate entertainment for them. 

We returned from our excursion exhausted and somewhat emotional, but ready for a good meal! Having headed to the Senegambia strip again, we opted for a good western dish with a Gambian twist - it was ok, but still no comparison to Oscar's lunch or Landing's burgers at the hot grill. We popped to see our mate again for a quick drink and bought a round of drinks for ourselves and the staff!

Bob was our taxi man, and sent a message with a local that he will be a few minutes late to pick us up from the pick up point as he was running some customers along somewhere. Sure enough, he strode past in his Mondeo, and ushered for us to cross the road. In England, a taxi driver might endeavour to pull up at the customer's convenience - here though, it was a simple hand wave out of the window, gesturing you to haul yourself across the road through the uncontrolled traffic and get yourself to your taxi. Nevertheless, he was very apologetic and showed genuine concern towards our 4 minute wait beyond the agreed pick up time, so we gave him a nice tip. William waited to greet us upon arrival and Joe insisted on giving him a tip also, for his help in sorting the return trip by our requested taxi driver.

A tiring, but thoroughly enjoyable day was had!