Palm Grove Hotel Banjul

... minority. Nine different tribes are represented in this tiny state of just 1.5m people. "There is no tribalism here", Lamin assured us, "No religious strife either. Everbody celebrates muslim festivals and everbody celebrates christian festivals too. People from different tribes intermarry; people from different religions intermarry". I don;t know how Gambians achieve this blissful ...

... fish and rice, egg & bread & lashings of mayonnaise(ii) Fish and rice, more fish and rice, egg & bread (sans mayo, which was non-existant)(iii) Occasionally fish, occasionally rice, quite often mayonnaise  Who's your ...

well ive now finished at Empire, which I cannot believe at all and am partly refusing to believe because I do not want to leave one tiny little bit! I am really attached to the kids and just love the way of life there and everything I was doing. Watching the circus shows was really fun, especially as I got to do all the kids face paint and ofcourse haad my face painted and went to the shops with it done, which cheereed up the shopkeepers! But the last ...

... had lived in The Gambia for a number of years and filled me in on the present situation. I planned and read-up on possible routes. I decided to cycle south from The Gambia and cross into Senegal. Then head south through Casamance to Ziguinchor, then follow the Guinea-Bissau border to Valingara. At this point and depending on progress, a number of different options presented themselves, to be decided on the spot. On arrival I ...

... in The Gambia, off I trundled to my local police station for what turned out to be among the most entertaining few hours of my life. So I wander into the station and learn that in The Gambia, they have saved space and bricks by combining the police office and the holding cell into one room. Prisoners are held in an enormous metal cage in the middle of the room, whilst the policeman are squashed to the side, their desks propped up against the cage. It's clearly ...

... option would be to wander down the street to a friends' compound and find a nice shady spot under a mango tree to sit with your friends. You might also walk down to one of the many local beaches to spend the afternoon. If you are musically inclined, you might have brought a djembe, a hand-made, bongo-like drum. With this, you can work up a rhythm as someone provides a base while someone else adds a beat, and another maybe a solo. You will go faster and faster until your ...

... in a slightly creepy way, and, among curses, that "these ******** came onto our field and thought they could beat us; I'm gonna kill them, I'm going to beat the **** out of them." Outside of the stadium people w**e screaming, riding around in cars and blasting music. One of the Gambians we w**e with said that this wasn't bad; he usually didn't go to games because you risked looting and riots if they lost. Let's just say it was much diff**ent than the ord**ly exchange of ...

... hoping to achieve whilst here. But I have gained a lot out of the experience. Not necessarily what I was expecting to - I've made some great friends, both Gambian and other volunteers. - I've learned a lot from my placement, both new skills I've developed, and awareness of children's rights issues - For the first time in my life I possess a tan that did not come out of a bottle (and so lacks the orange streaks to which I'd become accustomed) - I ...

... of great debate and appears to eventually rest on personal preference. The problem was compounded by the "sensitization" exercise carried out when the lights were first built, which involved a very terrified-looking policeman in white gloves standing in the middle of the junction and directing traffic. Due to a small oversight, no one actually first explained to him how the lights were supposed to work and so applying his initiative, he used the flashing green chap as his ...

... was so reality and stressfull with people who have **** all. We waited anoth** 5 Gambian minutes (=appr. an hour) and then th**e was anoth** minibus. On the way to the Jangjangbureh Camp we stopped off for a pick-nick in the bush, a surprise visit to a tribe and the stonecircle at Wassu. These are sev**al circles each consisting of between 10 and 24 reddish brown stones. Excavations have unearthed ...