1st April, 2015. wednesday. airport again.

A week goes past quickly, and once again it is the day for the airport.  Martin was up for

breakfast, and then packed for the airport.  The afternoon flight check in was noon, and so we got to the airport, Martin checked in and then joined us in the upstairs restaurant for some dinner before he left.  All too soon it was time to say goodbye and we watched him through passport control before heading home.  We stopped at Neil's bar to use the wifi, but it was excruciatingly slow and so we returned home to relax for the afternoon and evening.

31st March, 2015. Tuesday. Martins last day.

More Paint needed at Nemasu, so we loaded the truck with tables for the new classroom as well as the extra paint required and set off with Kebba to the school.  The tiles have been laid and all we need now is a good clean before the pupils arrive after the Easter break.  We delivered everything and then set off to Senegambia. To watch the vulture feeding, a cold drink, photo opportunities, souvenir shopping and then home. Martin was thrilled to find a recipe book of Gambian dishes available in the souvenir shop.  Sanaba was waiting for us on our return, he is setting off to Jamwelly this afternoon to do some maintenance on the damaged classrooms, the roof blew off in the rainy season and Sanaba is fitting some extra strong banding to hold the roof on and try to prevent the same thing happening again.  We spent the afternoon at home, Hassan returned my laptop which he has been upgrading for me, John one of our builders called to greet us, and a lady called Marilyn called for a box from the storeroom sent by her niece in England. Martin's last night so Kebba is joining us for dinner, his choice a curry, and so we returned to the Indian restaurant in Kololi.  A nice meal and return home to find the power off again, so the generator was put on for a last " boys film night"

30th March, 2015, Monday. Osprey and Crocodiles

We were up before light to get breakfast before our boat trip at first light.  We were joined by two Dutch guys for the trip, a bird guide, the boat captain and the resident bird guide for Tendaba.  We set off after breakfast of omelette, bread, cheese and jam, and boarded our boat at the end of the jetty.  The boats here are large wooden canoes called pirogues, lots of room for the 9 of us and we set off across the river which was quite rough today, causing Omar to sit in the centre of the boat away from the waves lapping over the edges.  Martin helped out by bailing out with a can provided for the purpose.  The boat made it's way into the mangroves on the North bank and then slowed down for us to take full advantage of the views of the wildlife, we chugged along slowly with the guides pointing out birds of interest on the way and stopping should anyone want to take photos.  They are very patient, moving the boat back and forth until everyone is happy that they have seen a particular bird, or in some cases crocodile.  There was a very large crocodile which slid into the water and disappeared before I had chance to take a photo, prompting Omar to move back into the middle of the boat and take his hand out of the water!  We were also lucky to see an osprey, a rare sight both here and in the UK. The boat trip lasted two hours before we returned to the camp to for a cold drink and check out.  We set off back home, and decided to call at Kanilai on the way back to take some photos for Gill and Shaun of the library they had sponsored.  Omar spotted a turning from the south bank highway and asked if it was a short cut to Kanilai, we were told yes, and set off on the road, reaching the back of the President's safari park quite quickly.  The guards at the gate stopped us and said as the President was in residence we had to go round the perimeter wall, so our short cut was longer than we thought, we did get to see monkeys though, climbing the walls to steal the cashew nuts.  We arrived in Kanilai, took some photos and continued on home, arriving late afternoon.  A quick shower and change and we went to Cabanas for our dinner.  Back home for the evening, and another film for the boys.

29th March, 2015. Sunday. Tendaba bird camp

To show Martin something of the country outside the tourist area, we decided to go to Tendaba camp for an overnight stay.  Steve is still having a lot of pain in his foot when driving, and so we had arranged for Omar to drive our truck.  We set off about half ten and took the south bank highway to Tendaba.  Omar's village is on the way and we stopped for him to give some money to the family.  Omar learnt that one of his very good friends had died this morning, and he asked if he could borrow the truck and return to the village for the funeral, this was agreed, and so he dropped us at the camp and then returned to his home village.  It was very hot in Tendaba, which is about 140 kilometres from our home, travelling East into the country.  They have a small swimming pool here and having checked in this was our first destination, a cold beer and a swim.  We had booked a boat trip across the river for this evening, but unfortunately the tide was too low and so it was rearranged for the morning.  We spent 3 hours by the pool, Martin then went for a sleep and Steve and I went for a walk to see the birds behind the camp.  Dinner was in the large restaurant area, open on the sides for the breeze to blow through.  Omar returned just in time for dinner, and we all enjoyed the meal and a drink before heading to our room for the night.  The rooms here are clean, but very basic, the bathrooms are old with cracked tiles, but there is a fan in the room and the electric generator is switched on every night so we have power until it gets light.

28th March, 2015. saturday, Set Settal and wrestling

Clean up day for the second time this month.  We had bought the paint for Nemasu yesterday and so  Kebba had organised a taxi for early this morning to take him and the painters down to the school before traffic was banned at nine a.m.  We were up early with the sun rise, the weather has finally started to warm up after weeks of cold wind.  Steve and I spent part of the morning clearing the rubbish which had accumulated in the road opposite our house, pity most people don't do the same. Plastic bags are still the main problem here, blowing around and catching in trees and bushes, paper and cans too.  We had a large bonfire, burning garden waste and then raking the ashes into the road potholes copying our neighbours.  All businesses have to close until 1pm, at which time we went to Neil's bar for dinner.  Kebba has promised to take Martin to the wrestling this evening and so we returned home in time for Martin to get changed and set off with Kebba and his friend in a taxi to Serrekunda. 

Wrestling is the national sport here, Steve and I have seen the matches arranged for the tourists at Sanyang, and twice at a school we were visiting, but the wrestling in Serrekunda gets rowdy and rough and Kebba has always refused to take us.  Kebba, Gibba and Martin left around six, we stayed at home and watched a film, Martin returned before midnight having spent an interesting time with the boys.  Apparently the riot police are on hand for when the rival supporters get carried away!  When the favourite very large wrestler got beaten by a small wiry chap the crowd went mad and Kebba grabbed Martin and told him it was time to leave! Now! and brought him home.

27th March, 2015. Friday. Food Glorious Food

We left Martin at home this morning as we had several errands to do.  First stop was the bank to transfer some money to Danso's the company who are doing some maintenance on the wells at Jamwelly and Kumbija.  Pump wells are worked hard here and frequently need bearings replacing as they get worn.  Then we went to visit the Jallow family with two sacks of cous which Linda and Steve had picked up from his brother whilst up at Kumbija. We were surprised to find Mr Jallow at home as it is a college day, but he explained he had permission to be off as he was attending a school meeting in the afternoon.  The shop he has built for Mrs Jallow is looking fine and is stocked with all the essentials for local shopping, rice, washing powder, matches, sardines, sugar, tea, batteries etc.  the youngest children were at home and we spent about two hours with the family before heading back home.  Martin had gone round to Neil's bar, so we joined him for lunch, before returning home for the afternoon round the pool.  Friday night is the buffet night at Al Rawshe, so we changed and headed off their for dinner.  An enormous choice awaited us, many different kinds of Lebanese starters, all you can eat, which was good news to Martin.  Followed by four choices of main course (or all if you want)

Martin is a chef by trade and is always interested in different foods to experiment and try to copy himself, so it was an interesting evening for him.

A pleasant evening, returning home to find we had power!  So the men watched a film before bedtime, and I went to read.

26th March, 2015. Thursday. Nemasu and Banjul

We had to wake Martin this morning so we could get to Nemasu whilst the pupils were still there, they are finishing today for the Easter holidays.  First job was to pick up some edging blocks for the finishing touch on the verandah.  We arrived at the school just before ten to find the pupils playing in the playground and the builders hard at work on plastering between the new roof and the wall. We unloaded the blocks with the help of several pupils and stored them in the classroom for later.  Momodou once again organised some games, Charlie over the ocean being a firm favourite.  We then set off for a day of sight seeing for Martin.  We headed off to Banjul, through Serrekunda which is the largest town in The Gambia and very busy, lots to see here, many shops, dusty side streets full of goods for sale, donkey carts fighting their way amongst the traffic laden down with goods; bicycles going the wrong way down the roads, and people everywhere.  We reached Banjul and headed for the Arch, a good place to climb up and see how the Capital is an island.  Timeless have now opened a new restaurant just in front of the Arch and we stopped for a cold drink whilst waiting for Ousman, who was dropping by with some paperwork for us.  The Arch was undergoing some renovations, all the floor tiles have been removed and are in the process of being replaced. However, unlike most places in the world where the attraction would have been closed for renovations, the Arch is still open to visitors but without the elevator.  We climbed the dusty and dark circular staircase to the top floor to admire the view, take some photos and examine the exhibits.  Unfortunately all the exhibits were stacked in a corner covered in dust whilst the work continued around them, so we were only able to look at the view.

We returned home, stopping to get bread on the way for a sandwich, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the garden.  The Jewel of India was our restaurant of choice for the evening.