Back to Banjul

Banjul's hazy coastline

Bagging a mud oyster sandwich at Oyster Creek

We had a great sail back to Banjul (beating and double-reefed of course). Making it through the maze of fish pens and nets, our keels grazing the shallows, negotiating the bolon on the flooding tide, we arrived at Oyster Creek just as the sun set. The anchorage here was a bit of a shock after ten days of wilderness. Horror of horrors we could see cars, a vast bridge, a generator rumbled somewhere close by, a siren wailed and fishermen buzzed up and down with outboards attached to their pirogues. We were back in civilisation.
It turned out this was not a bad thing and from Oyster Creek we managed to do a lot. We went to the beach, survived the chaos of Serekunda market, re-provisioned (30 tins of sardines, 3 kilos of cheese, 24 eggs) and basked in the airconditionned luxury of Karaiba Shopping Centre. Back home this would just be a bog standard supermarket selling the usual gear but out here it’s the Gucci of food. It even has ice cream (served in plastic drinking cups). What amazes me is that despite the comparative luxury of Karaiba Shopping Centre the prices are actually lower per item than in the local shops. This seems so unfair given that the poorest here would never dream of setting foot in a supermarket (of which there are only a few in the whole of the Gambia). Local shopkeepers cannot make the economies of scale that the supermarkets can and therefore sell less items for more money. Each shop seems to sell exactly the same products too: "beef" of course, tomato paste, french mustard, margerine, mayonnaise, sardines and the most disgusting looking sweets.
It was time for Mum to leave and although a few tears were shed I knew she had had a brilliant time and that after an action-packed fortnight with basic accomodation and sauna-like conditions she’d be looking forward to a bit of blighty’s bracing weather and the pleasure of home comforts.
Our special guest gone we had no more excuses and set to making ourselves ready for the next leg. Exactly what this looked like was under discussion – Bijagos Islands? (120 miles downwind, meaning valuable northing lost) – the Cape Verdes? (Northwest of Banjul meaning valuable Easting lost) - Dakar? (dead into the current northerly). In the meantime we completed the necessary pre-departure tasks: fuel (check), water (check), sardines (check check check), clear out with immigration (check), obtain weather forecast (check). Nothing more to do now than leave and see where the wind takes us.