For our last stop on the mainland of Africa, we went to Banjul, the capital of The Gambia. Quick fun fact: The “The” in “The Gambia” is officially part of its name. So just saying “Gambia” is wrong. Also, The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa (only 30 miles wide at its widest point), lying within the country of Senegal. Looking on a map it just looks like a sliver within another country, essentially surrounding the Gambia River. It’s predominantly a Muslim country, and in fact it was a holiday when we arrived (not just Ryan’s birthday…).
We spent the day doing a “Highlights of Banjul” excursion. Our first stop was for photos at the dramatic Arch 22, built to mark a 1994 military coup d’état. At 114 feet high, it was an impressive arch to be sure.
After the brief photo stop, we continued on our way to the Gambian National Museum, home to cultural displays and historic mementos of The Gambia’s past.
If you wanted to take photos inside you had to make a $3 donation, which we did. For a small museum, it was actually pretty impressive with its number of artifacts.
Outside of the museum was a little stall that had a sign indicating that all of its proceeds would benefit the fight against women abuse in the area. Ryan bought a bracelet and two unique magnets from the stall.
After the museum, we went to Serrekunda Market, where we were able to observe a tie-dying demonstration and appreciate the resulting colorful batik creations. Ryan was given a hand at painting one of the in-progress batik works before we browsed the various goods. As lovely as the pieces were, we opted to not buy anything at this stop.
Following the batik workshop, we had a brief refreshment break at a local hotel in the neighboring town of Bakau (about 10 miles from Banjul). Ryan had a pineapple juice and I just had a Coke Light. This wasn’t anything special though the hotel was a lovely one – a stark contrast to the rest of the area we had seen – poverty-stricken with trash littering the streets. We relaxed momentarily before heading for the highlight of the trip… the crocodiles.
We made our way to the nearby Kachikally Crocodile Pool. It is one of three sacred crocodile pools used as sites for fertility rituals. When we walked in, we were almost immediately able to see crocodiles – some in a pool area that was blocked off by a fence and others that were just basking in the sun steps away from the walkway. The exact number of crocodiles is not known but it is estimated that there are about 80. Supposedly some of the crocodiles are albino crocs, but we didn’t see any.
Crocodiles are allowed to roam freely and can be approached and touched by visitors. Of course, that doesn’t mean we were all wandering around randomly petting crocodiles. Rather, we all formed a line and approached a big one to the side, knelt down, and petted it, then got up and retraced our steps to avoid getting too close to its mouth. The guide assured us that it was safe, as they are accustomed to only eating fish, which they are fed in large quantities so they aren’t even hungry by the time we arrive. You can never be too careful though, so I never became fully relaxed in the moment. Ryan, on the other hand, was at ease and even lifted the croc’s leg during the photo we did together! It was quite the experience!
Our last stop was to the King Fahad Mosque. As far as mosques go, it was “okay” – nothing too impressive but a treat to see nonetheless.
On our way back to the port, we swung by the presidential palace and another market, though we didn’t get out of the bus at either place. No photos of those, but I will say that there were guards all around the palace, and the market was among the most disheveled and littered that I have seen on the trip. When we got back to the ship, we immediately made our way to the market stalls that were set up for souvenir purchases. Ryan got a wooden crocodile, we both got a magnet, and I got a postcard to commemorate our visit to the crocodile pond. Overall, it was a great visit (and on Ryan’s 14th birthday no less!).