So we were going to The Gambia. We felt quite adventurous travelling south of the Sahara. Then we read The Gambia is considered 'Africa for beginners'.
Erm??? We thought that a bit derogative towards the Gambians, to be honest.
But after we spent a week in this country we - rather reluctantly, I must admit - started to agree with the 'for beginners' epithet in several respects.
Everyone speaks English. You cannot understand the tribal languages like Mandinka or Wolof but you can communicate with just about everyone. Easily.
The country is safe. And has been for the past decades. That's quite an achievement for an African country, I'm sorry to say. Only near the eastern border some trouble brews (we heard) but that is 450 km. on a dirt road from the last tourist resort.
There are no hard core Muslims, although the country is 90% Islam. So no Boko Haram or ISIS.
There are the usual tropical diseases for which you need vaccination but there's no Ebola. Or Zika, for that matter.
The Gambia advertises itself as 'the smiling coast of Africa'. This is a country where just about everyone we met was relaxed and, indeed, smiling. We felt safe, all week long.
We loved the Gambia.
In the next posts we'll show you why! Let me start with a very 'African' picture:
Erm??? We thought that a bit derogative towards the Gambians, to be honest.
But after we spent a week in this country we - rather reluctantly, I must admit - started to agree with the 'for beginners' epithet in several respects.
Everyone speaks English. You cannot understand the tribal languages like Mandinka or Wolof but you can communicate with just about everyone. Easily.
The country is safe. And has been for the past decades. That's quite an achievement for an African country, I'm sorry to say. Only near the eastern border some trouble brews (we heard) but that is 450 km. on a dirt road from the last tourist resort.
There are no hard core Muslims, although the country is 90% Islam. So no Boko Haram or ISIS.
There are the usual tropical diseases for which you need vaccination but there's no Ebola. Or Zika, for that matter.
The Gambia advertises itself as 'the smiling coast of Africa'. This is a country where just about everyone we met was relaxed and, indeed, smiling. We felt safe, all week long.
We loved the Gambia.
In the next posts we'll show you why! Let me start with a very 'African' picture:
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