The Gambia – A bridge too far, or too low?

We left Dakar in no wind on a Tuesday early afternoon, and motored south.    We soon hoisted our sails and enjoyed some gentle downwind sailing, making our way through a long line of anchored tankers and fishing boats.    We noticed a number of large Chinese trawlers anchored in the entrance to the harbour and my heart sank again!    Letting the Chinese in to a poor country like Senegal, where fishing is done in small boats and poor people rely on their daily catches to survive, reaps disaster for these communities and the incredible birdlife.  

On the advice of Zig Zag, a French boat we had met in Dakar, we stayed 20NM off shore to avoid small, unlit fishing boats along the coastline.   As it was, the sail was memorable for so many reasons – lots of fishing boats, strange blue laser lights flashing, bright spotlights directed at us from unseen boats, no boats on AIS (our GPS tool that shows large boats) and a wonderful sail under bright clear skies.   We had to slow the boat down as we did not want to arrive at the entrance to Banjul before light and on an outgoing tide, so sailed under jib only for most of the night, still making over 5knots.  

As the sun rose, we were outside the entrance to the Gambia River and the tide had just turned.   We entered the wide harbour to Banjul which had several wrecks of long deserted ships, scattering the shallow areas.   It did feel a little like Pirates of the Caribbean as we dropped the hook in shallow muddy water beside Samsara, a boat we had met in Gran Canaria and, on hearing of our planned passage to The Gambia, John decided to change his plans and join us!    John rowed over with Muhammed on board.  We had decided to employ an agent to help with the check-in process as we had heard it was money well spent to avoid a lengthy process and requests for back handers.  

Together with Ruffian, we started the process at 11.30am and by 4.30pm we were sitting in a restaurant with Mohammed enjoying a Fish Yassa and cold drink.    Check-in was confusing and we were very glad to have Mohammed guide us.   We visited immigration (several times), health officer, customs (twice) and an office which issued us with a river permit.   Mohammed worked as a security officer at the port so knew all the right people which meant we were checked in quickly and with no demands or requests for extra money.   Once checked in, we went to the ATM to get some local currency.  The only back that accepts visa/mastercard withdrawals is the GT Bank and we were only able to withdraw 2000 Dalasis each time, but allowed to make three transactions a day.   1 Dalasis = 58 Euros, so we had to return to the bank a number of times before we had sufficient cash to last for our river adventures, as there are no ATM’s further up the river!  

Sey Samba is the OCC Port Officer based in Banjul.   We had been in regular contact with Samba since The Canaries and, together with Ruffian, were keen to meet him.   He gave me his address and headed to his home.   He lived next to the busy port in a small community of tin houses that were built around a dusty courtyard opposite the mosque.   A man at the corrugated iron gate gave us a warm welcome when we asked for Samba and he excitedly led us into the house.   Samba called to us from his downstairs window and we were invited into his home.   We felt hugely privileged to be given such a warm welcome and we sat talking for a while.   Samba has never been married and looked after his elderly mother until recently when she was moved into a nursing home.   His mother had sold the house to the Port many years earlier with the agreement that they could continue living there until the Port were ready to expand.   Sadly, that time had now come, so Samba and his extended family were waiting for eviction notices to arrive but had no idea where they would move to.   What probably seemed like a lot of money 30 years ago, has long gone and the family have very little to survive on.    It was a very humbling experience to be in their company.   They asked for nothing and gave so much to us in kindness and time.

We returned to the boats and, while watching a large flock of pelicans on a nearby wreck, we pulled up the anchor and headed SW of Banjul, negotiating shallows and meandering rivers, to the infamous Lamin Lodge.  

Lamin Lodge was built by Peter, a visiting German sailor in the 1980’s.  He later married a local woman, Anna and when Peter died a few years ago, Anna took over running a managing this Lodge and two others up the river.   We were welcomed to the anchorage by Mahmood and Karim who rowed out to meet us and direct us where to anchor.   There were already about 10+ boats on moorings and anchor in the quiet river, lined with mangroves on both sides.   Mahmood runs the Lodge and is Anna’s second in command when she is not there, while Karim is a Boatman, looking after visitors needs from water to laundry, delivering bread in the morning and helping arrange tours.   Both were lovely, gentle men with warm smiles and open hearts.   Mahmood was incredibly knowledgeable on birds, local customs, native animals and was a great source of information.  

While with Samba we had talked to Anna over the phone and arranged to meet for drinks that afternoon.   Mahmood ushered us to the top floor of the wooden lodge, to an area that felt like a treehouse, sitting above the canopy of the mangroves.    Anna had wonderful poise, intelligence and a very considered way of speaking.  She talked to us about her late husband, Peter, her son, her plans for the Lodge and organising things for us.  

A new bridge has been built over the Gambia River, funded by the Chinese, and the height above water level at low tide, is hotly contested.   The information we had received suggested anything from 17m to 20m and, as our boat and mast is 19m high, we needed to know whether it was possible for us to get under it!   Sadly, the exciting part of the river starts after the bridge, so it was important for us to know before making the 60NM passage up stream only to find we could not get under it!   

Anna arranged a car and driver for us the next day and then produced a plate of freshly made donuts to share with us.   No sooner had the delicacies been put down when a mother and baby monkey appeared on the balcony and, faster than we could react, she had jumped on the table and snatched one of the donuts before retreating to a nearby table to devour her ill-gotten reward!    After that we were a little more careful, consuming things quickly or, in Fi’s case, throwing a donut across the table when one monkey came too close!    We were told they were Green Velvet Monkeys and they feed off the fruit of the mangrove trees.  They also have an ingenious way of catching food, by putting their tails in crab holes in the mud, waiting for the crab to bite it and then whisking their tails up with the crab still attached, to enjoy their catch.   As Mahmoud said to us, first they need to feel pain before they eat!

Oysters grow up the river, fixing themselves to the roots of the mangrove trees.   The season starts again in January so they are waiting for them to get a little bigger before the women wade in the water, collecting them.  They shell and sell the oysters to restaurants and locals, saving the shells which are burnt and the ashes mixed with seawater to form a fine powder which is used to whitewash houses, or mixed with dirt to make a cement like substance which is used in building.  

The next day we all piled into the hire car and drove for 3hrs through the heart of Gambia to get to the Sena-Gambia Bridge – the new bridge across the river that links Senegal and Gambia.   As we drove we watched in fascination as the countryside changed and temperatures increased.   We went through numerous checkpoints where the police checked drivers papers, although we were waved through every one as the driver had four white people in the car!   We did feel a little like royalty as we sped through small villages and people stared at the four of us crammed into a small car!   When we reached the bridge, we explained to the chief guard what we wanted to do, and he happily gave us permission to walk across.    We found the centre of the bridge and dropped a weighted rope over the side while Serco, our driver, leant precariously over the side to see when it touched the water.   Once we’d established the length of the drop, we needed to measure the height of the concrete from the top of the arch of the bridge to the point we had measured from.   We did this by Iain sending up his drone and telling us when the weighted end of the line was level with the top of the arch.   Then, having got that measurement, we looked up the state of the tide and calculated how much lower the water would be at low tide.   Having established all this, we worked out our 19m air draft would have a clearance of 800mm, providing the water level was no higher than the low tide on the day we measured.   Fortunately, we were not at Spring tides, where the high and low water levels are more than usual, so we felt very confident we would be able to get under, and back without scraping our mast along the top of the bridge!   For those interested, the bridge (centre arch) measured 22.5m from road level to water; the height of the concrete from road level to bridge arch was 3m.   The low tide on the day was 0.8m and previous high tide, 1.7m.  There was still 2hrs until low tide so we calculated another 0.3m of depth, giving us, giving us 800mm to wiggle room!

We returned to Lanin Lodge, very happy with the outcome and now confident we would be able to explore the further reaches of the river.   As we returned we saw vultures, paddy fields, a herd of donkeys being driven to market, goats on the road and many colourful sights of rural Africa.   We stopped in a small town called Soma and had lunch at a small shack.   They only had one dish – Fish Yassa, which was excellent and we enjoyed watching the every day life as we waited for the food.  

On our last morning before departing to go up the river Gambia, Fi and I joined Mahmoud and Karin for a birdwatching trip.   They collected us in a wooden boat which is very low to the water at 7.15am, just as the sun was coming up and the birds were most active before the heat of the day set in.   We paddled a very short distance around the corner of the river, with thick mangroves on each side, and were surprised to see a large crocodile on the bank, remaining stock still.   This was a huge bonus for us as we continued to see a variety of beautiful birds which Mahmoud expertly identified for us while Karim paddled us to the best locations.   As we returned back up the river at the end of the tour, we went passed the crocodile again to find a sea otter just along the bank from it.   The sea otter was out of the water and scavenging on the bank for food.  I have long wanted to see these otters as I remember watching them from an early age on a nature programme, where they were filmed floating on their backs with a shellfish on their tummy, using a stone to break open the shell.  They are one of only a few animals who have mastered the technique of using a tool for their benefit. 

It was time to leave Lamin Lodge – a place it would be so easy to spend all your time in Gambia.  We wanted to explore the more remote parts of the river.   Sadly the Chinese are making a presence here and we saw some large trawlers in the river – a place they had agreed not to venture.   I don’t believe the local fishing industry can survive if the Chinese exploit this agreement and, once they discover the abundance of oysters up the river, the Chinese are going to want to take these to, leaving families and communities without any source of alternative income.  It is sad to see this exploitation happening before our eyes – first the Europeans take away their freedom, and then the Chinese take away their resources.   Gambia is known as the “smiling country”, which is presently a very accurate description of the beautiful people, but I think this will turn into a grimace once they realise they are being cheated of their wealth, yet again.

Note: All drone shots provided by Ruffian – Check out there excellent blog www.ruffian.uk