Before I start the blog I’m putting a shameless plug here… BIG CURRY NIGHT. A charity event I helping to organise here is on 28th June. If anyone would like to buy some raffle tickets or donate a raffle prize (I guess pay for a prize as getting something here will be tricky!?) please let me know. Raffle tickets are 25p each (10 dalasi), I’ll buy them for you and you can pay the UK money into my bank account. The proceeds will go to GFD, The Gambian Federation for this disabled, a group of 9 charities all working within this disability sector in The Gambia. Email me or send a comment on the blog if you can help – MANY THANKS XXX
Anyway on to business, it has started raining! We had an almighty storm last Thursday, (really quite impressive and slightly scary) and since then it has rained 3 times. It is hot and sticky but a bit cloudy and there are bugs everywhere…yuck. I’m told 4 months of this and then it will be nice again. I’ve not yet taken any pictures and it is difficult to describe how intense the rain can be but I will do next time there is a decent storm that is not in the middle of the night! The number of bugs in the air following the first rains was amazing, the larva must lay dormant and ‘hatch’ when the rain falls. I had to walk to work without opening my mouth or I would have had a breakfast I hadn’t ordered.
In the Gambia the rains totally change the environment. It had become very red, dusty and dry up to now but over the next few months this will all change. I have been told that parts of the country become very lush and green which I am looking forward to seeing. I have taken some photos of the views from my roof so will take some more in 4 months time and then post them on the site so the changes are obvious. Even after one real storm you can see green shoots everywhere. Things grow incredibly quickly in the Gambian climate. During one month here we get more rain than the UK gets in the 6 wettest months, so imagine how wet it really is going to be next few months!
There is little or no drainage on the streets here so new routes to work, shops etc will need to be found for this season, I could do with footwear other than flip flops for walking through the muddy puddles…..
Anyway, a much nicer water tale…It involves Jodie having a bad week. In a moment of desperation she booked herself into Ngala Lodge (http://www.ngalalodge.com/), it’s a lovely, small, posh hotel, and kindly invited Marney and I to join her for the evening. She had a sea view terrace with a private Jacuzzi. Despite instructions to only use it for 15 mins and not to drink alcohol we managed to stay in it for over 3 hours and drink 4 bottles of wine.... I think I lost about 6lbs as I finally managed to get clean! I felt a bit guilty about being a volunteer and sitting in a private Jacuzzi but got over that fairly quickly and had a fab time.
And finally, I thought I’d add a photo of one of my favourite places here, le batou. It right on the beach and I go here at least twice a week. If I’m finding things a bit tough or getting home sick then walking to the beach for a swim after work and then watching the sunset over the sea seems to help. It's also where I meet on Sundays and Thursdays to play touch rugby with other volunteers, ex-pats and locals. The trials of a volunteer lifestyle eh?!
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