The Gambia - Hints & Tips

Medical

Unfortunately, the location of the Gambia necessitates the taking of one or two precautionary drugs. The Gambian government do not require visitors to take anything, unless they are travelling from a Yellow Fever area, in which case visitors need a certification that they have been innoculated against Yellow Fever.

As a precaution though, the folowing innoculations are recommended:-

• Polio
• Tetanus
• Typhoid
• Yellow Fever (if coming from an infected area)

One last thing. From time to time they do have outbreaks of Meningitis, so its worth checking the situation before you go. Coming from the UK, we seem to be moderately exposed to meningitis here, especially in the winter months, so going to The Gambia, even when there had been cases of meningitis there didn't seem to be much different from staying at home!

Bumsters

They seek you here, they seek you there, they seek you everywhere. For us, the self-named 'Bumsters' were the biggest downside to visiting the country. Around the hotel strip, you cannot get away from them. Walking on the beach, you are always aware that someone is shadowing you, and that your paths are converging, with an expected meeting at about a further 100 metres along the beach.

If you are really cool, and don't mind having the same interrogation over and over, then no problem, go with the flow. If you have come to the Gambia to get a bit of rest, and have a bit of stress free peace, then these guys are not going to help you in this area. If you are in the second category, here are a few tips;-

• When walking on the beach, take your shoes off, and always walk along the edge of the sea, in the water. The Gambian boys are keen footballers, and they hate to get their trainers wet. This really does work.
• There are two good words, either Mandinka, or Wolof, that you can try. We have never seen them written down, so they are probably spelt incorrectly.
  
  
  1. JerryJeff - When used with your hands pushing away from you, as you would do to say "No Thank You", means just that - "No Thank You"
  2. Bachnarr - Means "I have had enough, I do not wish to continue this conversation, please go away". This is a very strong word, although it is not a swear word. It worked fine for us.
  
  
• You are less likely to get hassled if you are in a bunch (as is the case in many places). The bumsters latch on to single people, or couples, a lot more than they do with small groups of people.

Guides

There are some guys that hang around the hotels with official looking badges, saying that they are approved guides, which I think may be the case. They do not get paid by the government. Their aim is to guide tourists around the country. They have set places that they prefer to take you to - The Crocodile pool being one of them. Their hoped for reward is that you will give them some money, either for each trip, or at the end of your stay. Sometimes they will ask you to sponsor a relative through a term at secondary school (only primary school is free). The Gambians have extended families, and often they club together to put one child through a good education. This child is then obligated to support the family when he or she gets a job.

If you do not want their services, tell them firmly and straight, at the start of your stay. Otherwise, if you say "maybe later", everytime you set foot outside of your hotel, they will miraculously appear, and start interrogating you about going on a trip with them.

And if you go on a trip, how will it work out? Well that depends. We were latched onto by a guy named Lamin (means first born son, and is a common male first name. Fatu is the equivalent for a girl). He wanted to take us to the "crocodile pool", and shake Charlie the Crocodile's paw. Nice thought. We didn't particularly want to go, but after several bouts of harassing we told Lamin that we would go with him to the schools on the north bank.

We had brought a whole luggage allowance of clothes with us, and we wanted to give them to the schools. We told him that we would use bush-taxis. What happened. He took us to the 'crocodile pool' to see Charlie, where we didn't want to go. We then went on to the docks in Banjul. He took us all the way in a Tourist Taxi, and we were charged 250 Dalasi for the trip. More fool us for not agreeing the price before we started. We then didn't have enough money to make the journey across to the North bank and get back. So we went with Lamin, who we were far from happy with, to see his sister's family in Serrekunda, and then on to his own family on the outskirts. This was actually some compensation for our failed trip, as most of the Bumsters and 'Guides' want to take tourists to their houses.

Scams

The Gambians are a bit obvious in their little scams on the tourists. Outside of most hotels, there are many people with various disabilities. Many are brought there in the mornings, and taken away again each evening. They will often ask you to sponsor them for medical treatment, in some European country. They produce a letter from an eminent surgeon which states that the person needs an operation to cure their problem, and could you help by sponsoring them. Many people do give them a few Dalasi, but to look at their clipboard, everyone has given them 200, 300 even 500 Dalasi (£30). I think that there are either many generous tourists, or that these guys are not averse to adding a couple of zeros, as an incentive for others to give more!

Then there are the strangers that you meet on the streets, who work at your hotel, but curiously, you cannot actually remember seeing them. After getting you into their confidence, they may tell you that they have missed the last bus home, and they will try to tap you for money for a taxi home, or the like, saying that they will pay you back the next day at the hotel. Only the wealthy Gambians can afford to use the taxis, and you are unlikely to see your new found waiter or pool attendant ever again.

Travel

Travel in the interior of the Gambia is quite fun, if a bit bumpy. You will need to hire a four-wheel drive vehicle, and we would recommend hiring the driver as well. He should know where he is going, although even this is not guaranteed. Also, remember that these vehicles are sometimes not the most roadworthy, and breakdowns do occur. We went on a trip to Sangyang beach (well worth a visit, one little beach bar and lots of silver sand with no one else on it - at least not when we were there). On the way back, we passed a jeep going the other way that had broken down three hours before. We were the first vehicle to pass them. The four German tourists were getting a little desparate, having spent so long out under the sun in 32 degrees Centigrade. We gave them a lift back to their hotel. So, make sure that you take plenty of water on these trips. If you break down, you could be stuck out in the bush overnight.

If you use the ferry to cross the river, be prepared for breakdowns etc. If you do cross the river, you should be aware that situations could arise which mean that you are stuck on the north bank, thinking of your nice hotel on the other side of that little 4-mile wide stream. We did, and it is amazing how nice a cold beer starts to feel, when you are crammed in the holding area with 1,000 people all hoping to get on the last ferry across, which is currently being fixed. We were lucky and got on the ferry, many didn't and had to sleep on the ground until the following morning.

Beach Erosion

Over recent years, The Gambia has been suffering from beach erosion, some of it quite serious. The beach by the Senegambia hotel was severely eroded, and has been banked up with sandbags. This erosion extends southwards along the beach for upwards of 1000m. It was reported to us that the kitchen wall at one of the hotels had fallen into the sea one night due to a high tide. No one was sure as to the cause of this erosion. Some people blamed it on global warming, others on the substantial sand excavations that had been done further down the coast line. Whatever the reason, it doesn't look very nice. In 1997, the beach at Kombo was still unaffected.

Contributed Tips

In the tourist bars, the Gambian boys often come and sit at your table, trying to engage you in converstation. After spending, what can be many hours with you, they often expect something, and it has been known for some Gambians to turn quite nasty and call you a racist if you refuse to give them anything or to go to their shop, or to let them take you on a trip. A good point to mention and has worked every time with me is to not let them know you speak English, even if you cannot speak a foreign language - make one up between you and your partner. Stick to it and they will give up.

I have over the years been involved with Brits in the Gambia who have lost an awful lot of money from entering into business ventures that have never worked and I always remember what one Gambian taxi driver said to me "Marilyn, you know you can only fool a fool". That unfortunately is how they view most of us. What is sad is that the hassling can spoil some people's holiday as most Brits are too polite to say "NO" and the Gambians just take advantage of that.