Mungo
Park, the Scottish explorer who tried to trace the source of the Niger river at
the turn of the 19th century, so confused British audiences with his story of
the “Rainbow snake” talisman that the phrase ‘mumbo jumbo’,
meaning nonsense, was born. However, The Gambia, where it all started, makes
very good sense as a travel destination. Here, we give you a glimpse of this
West African country.
Roots
Roots, of course, means THE
pilgrimage. For this you can get an organised tour in Banjul, but
it’s cheaper and more fun to take the ferry to Barra, and a truck to
Albreda. Albreda was the old French trading post and slave compound. The
famous flagpole has gone, and with it a slave’s chance to
“touch” freedom. Leaving here it’s a short walk to the tiny
village of Jaffure, home to Haley’s ancestors, and the place from where
Kunta Kinta was allegedly abducted.
The Coast
If you opt for a jet rather than a gunboat you can
depart Gatwick after sunrise and be sipping cocktails before the warm sun sets
over the Atlantic. That is what package tours have promised and provided —
rapid access to white coral sands, cascading palms, azure blue waters and
comfortable hotels basking along Gambia’s 40 mile (64km) seafront. And why
not? The coast is bathed by the warm Guinea current and cooled by the
north-east trade winds. It’s tropical, sunny and very relaxing.
The River The silt-laden river — source of The Gambia’s
life and livelihood — may rouse your intrigue. About 80 miles (130 km) of
its course are fringed by the dense, evergreen, tropical vegetation of
mangroves. A canoe or pirogue trip into the ‘bolongs’
(backwaters) may reveal crustaceans and game fish amongst the salt-loving,
stilt-like root systems.
Within the canopy you could also spot
photogenic wildfowl, and maybe the newly recorded Senegal plover — from
East Africa!
The river cuts a winding course through a low plateau
which slopes from a maximum elevation of 160 feet (49m) down to sea
level. The main valley is rather flat and swampy but its fertile alluvial
soils are good for growing rice. The upstream areas are healthier than the
coastal zone, which was regarded as a “pesthole” prior to the
discovery of anti-malarial and other drugs.
The upper reaches are
also the heart and stomach of the country and home to much of The Gambia’s
fauna and flora.
Historical and Cultural
Sites....
Of interest to the archeologically minded, as well as the
naturally curious, are the Senagambian “Stone circles” near Wassau.
Hewn and erected about 1,200 years ago, these weathered, iron- bearing
laterite (red clay) obelisks are scattered in rings of up to 20 stones over
about 40 sites extending into Senegal and Guinea. If you’re
superstitious, avoid disturbing these burial site markers (?) and thereby
evoking a mysterious death curse.
Genuine ruins to intrigue the
historian are the remains of 200 year old Fort Bullen, at Barra, and the old
British trading post on James Island. Those driving the north bank route can
also visit the sacred pools at and near Berending, a short distance from
Banjul. Wrestlers seeking ring success and pilgrims in search of
healing “bathe” in the damp mud — a ruinous devotion better left
to them and the resident crocodiles.
Border
Origins
Ever wondered how the borders between countries
were decided? Well, in the 1890’s one such predicament was resolved by
sailing a gunboat up a river and using the range of its cannon to delineate the
state boundary. The resulting twisted finger of land, about 10 miles (16kms)
either side of the river Gambia, is a legacy of Anglo-French rivalry over
control of trade in West Africa.
Back then trade involved
exchanging manufactured goods and firearms for ivory, ebony, gold...and
slaves! Nowadays many Afro-Americans “root” march back to
their origins at Jaffure whilst monkey nuts and mangoes are today’s
Gambian trade goods.
Wildlife
Birds and buck abound. Enthusiasts will want
to visit Tendaba, a camp 100 miles (160km) upsteam from Banjul. Two other
musts are Elephant Island (for its monkeys!) and Baboon Island (for hippo,
crocodile, a large bird population and Olive baboons). There is also Lamin
Koto, a centre for photographic walks through rice fields, creeks and forests,
and a good place for dugout canoe trips.
Whilst in the area it is
worth boating to Karantaba Tenda to see the memorial plinth marking the spot
where “Mambo Jambo” Park’s quest for the origins of the Niger
began in 1804. Closer to Banjul, visit Abuko Nature Reserve, where you can look
for the rare iguana and the shy sitatunga.
For the more participative,
a modestly priced fishing excursion from Denton Bridge could lead to an
offshore tussle with a baracuda or a shark (not the curio stall- manning
type!).
