We found a few reasons to frown in the 'smiling coast' 

 We began our day with brekkie in our hotel, which was fairly basic but enjoyable nonetheless. We questioned whether the meat bits found in a meat and sauté potato combo was made of donkey or dog, but to be honest, the meat content of some cheap meat back home is also questionable, so we took our chances. 

We met Angie, the holiday rep for our welcome meeting. She was very definite when she advised strongly against the trusting of locals offering tours and trips. She explained that these 'bumsters' were often hasslers who offered no cheaper rate than Thomas Cook - and although well reviewed back home, even Arch Tours who we had pre-booked a safari trip with were taking people across borders to Senegal with the absence of official stamps in passports. This wouldn't have bothered us so much until Angie quite rightly pointed out that there is no insurance coverage with locals, but Thomas Cook are obliged to provide a safety and an insurance policy. To be honest, the several we came across were all too intense and left us with no privacy or chance to relax and enjoy the holiday, so we booked a couple of excursions this morning with Angie.

typical Gambian business card used to 'prove'
they are not a bumster

We stayed true to British holiday maker style and lounged by the pool until around midday, after which we braved the bumster-flowing streets and headed for a long beach walk. It took round about 3 minutes until we were targeted by a man claiming we had met him the night before... Classic bumstering, we thought - and walked on. We had to adopt a more abrupt tone, and were well on our way. It felt mildly like we were in a real life video game - where the challenge was to fight off locals' invasions! Our emotions fluctuated between being seriously annoyed, to frustrated and even humoured at one point by the view in the distance of a western man literally running away from a local hassler, and the African lady following closely behind in full sprint. Throughout our hour walk, we were offered plenty of fruit and fruit juice, several invites to various bars ranging from shanty-shacks to genuine buildings, fishing, boat trips, monkey parks, horse riding and a chance to buy some peanuts (and when we claimed we were full, the peanut lady whipped out some special cream claiming it was near magical) to name just a 'few'. 

Finally, my favourite bit - Oscar's bar where we had lunch; our first introduction to Gambian food to be honest, and delightful doesn't even begin to cut it. We each chose a type of curry, and whilst one of us picked chicken and the other seafood, we both still ended up being served chicken. The flavours were magnificent, honestly one of the nicest dishes we had ever eaten - slight spice, but a vibrant range of flavours! It was exceptional, and sitting right on the beach topped off the lovely meal. (Well except maybe for the oversized older ladies who were sunning their bare chests on the sun-loungers of the bar) 


We headed back to our hotel, and fought off "Ana - number 19" who had been persistently trying to convince us to buy some fruit from her shack! This battle was about the fourth one we had with her! We also met with William - Angie's friend who we arranged to go to Monkey Park with. Unfortunately, tomorrow was not a possibility because the roads were shut for litter clearing, and cars were not allowed out, as per the President's orders. We relaxed by the pool for a little while before dinner, and then kicked back with a local band. Funny though, even between songs, they had mentioned a particular restaurant and explained their 'special' offers - hassling at every possible opportunity was acceptable here it seemed. We also experienced several power-cuts throughout the night, including one when we returned to our room, mid-cuddle! Thoroughly enjoyed today.