Picto Diary - 08 December 2018 - Banjul, The Gambia
Above; Banjul, The Gambia. 08 December 2018.
Regent Seven Seas Explorer. Arrival.
Image from observation lounge Regent Seven Seas Explorer.
Check ferry name. Kunta Kinteh.
Alex Haley, "Roots" author, traced his lineage to Albreda Island and the tiny village of Juffureh, then, mid 17th century, a slave trade depot, 10 miles up the Gambia River from Banjul.
An adjacent island was renamed Kunta Kinteh, Haley's ancestor, after Haley's success.
Albreda Island attracts, among others, many American tourists whose roots are found in 17th century, slave trading Africa.
Country #113 (Been App list).
Haley's work is fictional... an historical novel. No doubt, in substance, the work has many elements of truth.
Above: Welcoming committee. Rhythm and dance. Not Christmas music. 08 December 2018.
Image from ship, looking on to pier below.
The Gambia, a former British colony, achieved its independence in 1965. It is the smallest country, at 11K square kilometers, on the African continent.
95% of The Gambia's population is Muslim. Tourism (beaches, wildlife) is its main source of income. Peanuts is its largest cash crop.
Almost everything consumed in The Gambia is imported into this busy port of Banjul.
Unemployment is high and per capita income low. Gambians live in extended family compounds where only two or three wage earners might support a family of twenty five.
Young country. 55 percent of the population is under 20 years of age.. — in Banjul, Gambia.
Above: Banjul, Gambia street scene. 08 December 2018.
Bridge and TIMDT look on.
Above Bishop and boys. Banjul, Gambia. 08 December 2018.
Saturday. No school. Curious Gambian boys.
Young country.
Over half population is under twenty.
Grim economy, as it stands today, offers little future for these boys...short of working their way north to Europe, legally or not...usually not. — at Banjul.
Above: King Fahd Mosque. Banjul, The Gambia. 08 December 2018.
Largest mosque in The Gambia. Donated by Saudis.
The Gambia Parliament building donated and built by India.
Two principle Banjul private high schools...one run by Irish Christian Brothers and the other by UK Methodist Mission.
The Gambia also helped by a multiplicity of UN and NGO organization local presences. — at King Fahad Mosque.
Above: Smoked catfish. The Albert Market, Banjul, The Gambia. 08 December 2018.
Fewer than half of Gambians have electricity.
Smoking the fish is a way of food preservation. — at Albert Market.
Above: The Albert Market. Banjul, The Gambia. 08 December 2018.
You could find most anything here, including a $10 Rolex. — at Albert Market
Above: Madrasa student. The Albert Market. Banjul, The Gambia. 08 December 2018.
Copying Arabic script.
Above: Burden bearing woman. Banjul, The Gambia. 08 December 2018.
Women becoming physically stronger than men through understanding of body engineering?— in Banjul, Gambia.
Above: Crocodile pond. Banjul, The Gambia. 08 December 2018.
Bridge contemplates crocodiles.
Hey! This is a great concept! No fences! Walk up to the croc and pet it on the snout.
Just be careful not to smile!
Above: Bridge observes Arch 22.
Built in 1996 following a military coup by 30 year old Lt. Yahya Jammeh. Jammeh bowed to international pressure, resigned from the military, and was elected president in 1996.
Jammah was defeated in 2016 elections, but, he refused to cede power. Finally acceding, once again, to international pressure, he gave up power and made a successful run to Equatorial Guinea, absconding with $11 million of state funds. — in Banjul, Gambia.
Addendum:
Let’s do the Paris Dakar!!! You on a bike and me in a 911 !
The Inventor,
Park City, UT
Dream on...for me... not for you.... you've got time to pull it off!
You can find the Senegalese throughout Africa—they are known as Africa’s traders.
the monk,
Gooseberry, UT