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Gordon begins his trip into yet another uknown country - and how he likes it!
The smallest country in Afrida, The Gambia, is unknown territory for us. I was glad of Gordon's company since I was not sure what I would find! The excitement was intense and the aeroplane was on time and this time we did not travel entirely alone since my Dad and Mum were part of the entourage! The flight was fine, and nothing unusal happened until we landed, then the fun began! Where was our lugguage? We looked for a carosel, but there wasn't one, but everyone's lugguage was dumped on the public pavement and many Gambians stood around staring at us and we stared back. Were we now completely in the jungle? Had we made a mistake in our destination? But suddenly there were wide grins on everyone's face and grabbing our lugguage we followed our new friends to our coach, passing a great welcome committee on the way!
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This is one of my favorite images
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The National Welcome - drums, dancing, & singing!
Suddenly the rock and rolling of the welcome committee made us feel at home! Was Elvis there too? What colour! What movement! Could we dance too? Yes! All the way to the hotel! The group sang the National Anthem, which we learnt later! We took our seats in the coach and our eyes were glued to the window! Here was a new world! Looking a little like the Wild West Cowboy towns, there seemed to be shanties everywhere! The roads were dusty and full of carts, people, animals, children. Were we to live in one of these primitive huts? The Coach stopped at many hotels before it reached "The Hotel Atlantic" where we were booked in. By then we had passed big houses, as well as mud huts and the contrast was enormous; there was obviously going to be a lot to see! Hurrah!
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The sun? the dust? The treatment? A trip to the Bar!
The Bar? - A veritable Oasis! Who can think of Africa without an Oasis? Drinks up! Wot no Guinness? But .... drinks galore! As Gordon flaked out on the Bar, drinks were provided immediately! We liked what we had seen so far! Gambia was colourful out and in! What of our room? It was dark since the blinds were shut against the sun and as we pulled them, we saw the birds!!!! - the feathered kind! The bird sancturary was beneath our window and the Hotel's own Ornithologist not far away. Gordon was not out of place, here were creatures that he would not frighten away and they certainly would not be frightened by him! Were there any more Gophers around? It did not seem an impossibility! He was not to be lacking in friends. As we explored the outside of the hotel, people stopped to talk with and about him!! He had earned his passage!
How cool the pool!
Here Gordon is completely flaked out! Who said there was no Guinness? The beach towel, emblazoned with the Guinness harp, made an angellic resting place; he was in Heaven! An immediate sunbathe for him, an immediate swim for us! The pool was another favourite place. After the swim, the exploration through an archway brought us straight on to the beach and the Atlantic Ocean! Wow! The wandering tradesmen and women were as colourfully clad as the exotic fruit they offered - Ooh those juicy mangoes! Those bunches of bananas on their heads, Those melons?
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This is one of my favorite images
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