This was our last stop on the African mainland. The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa and is surrounded by Senegal. The people gained their independence from England in 1965. Today they have between 2 and 2.5 million people which makes this one of the highest ratios of people to land mass on the continent. Unfortunately, the country ranks as one of the poorest countries in Africa. This has led to the world community rejecting the use of Gambia currency. They were very please when we used our dollars to buy their goods.
The economy relies on tourism, farming and agriculture. Their primary crop is peanuts which they export in the form of oil. This was the first time in four ports when we did not have a security group. I hope that meant that the crime rate was down and could lead to greater tourism in the future.
To learn about the history of The Gambia we visited the National Museum of The Gambia. It was really a nice museum for this country. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed. They had an area devoted to musical instruments, prehistoric references and the more current time period. They presented some of the common dress for the area which mirrored the information we had seen in The Costume Museum in The Grand-Bassam. One heartbreaking scene was a picture of a five year old boy with a military rifle with the caption suggesting that he was ready to join the future.
We then traveled to Katchically Crocodile Pool. This is a rehabilitation center with spiritual overtones.
A refreshment stop was welcomed.
Finally, we visited a batik factory.
Visiting the west coast of Africa was an emotional roller coaster ride. The people that we met were very welcoming as were all of our guides. The wide spread poverty is almost overwhelming. The challenge to feed and house all of these people is an unbelievable challenge. The continent is resource rich. I hope that they can find a way to care for the people and especially their adorable children.
Cheers and good night Joey.
Joey's Mom's Adventure 