Banjul and Surroundings

Our base for the next couple of days is Banjul, and we began our day in the mangroves, where they gather oysters. It was all very interesting to me, I learned a lot. The mangroves only grow in saltwater, and they don’t grow on the ground, they literally grow in the water. They put down long thick roots, oysters attach themselves to the roots, and when the tide goes out the oysters are exposed, and women harvest them by chipping them off the roots, leaving the roots there for more oysters to attach themselves. The oysters are eaten and they process the shells for paint. They smoke them for some hours over a slow wood fire, to create very high-calcium white ash, that is used for the paint, and can also be mixed into the feed of domestic chickens to make their eggshells stronger.

We went for a leisurely paddle through the mangroves, then got out of the boat and went to see a 500-year-old kapok tree, they call it the elephant tree here because there is quite a resemblance to an elephant’s skin texture and features. These trees as they age often develop substantial openings, I didn’t like the idea of crawling in myself, but will attach a video of My Lovely Assistant Geoff magically emerging from the tree, to show you the size of the thing. I am sorry, I think the screen is enormous but it is the first time I ever tried to insert a video. Fingers crossed you can see it.

Next stop a beach where fishing catches are brought ashore. Some fish is immediately sold onward fresh, but a fair quantity is either salted or smoked on-site.  It is difficult work, the crews can be out in their quite small for boats up to 14 days, and the work on the beach to haul, sell, clean, salt and smoke the fish is non-stop and feels rather chaotic.

Final visit for today was a crocodile pool, to be honest I wasn’t keen on visiting as I expected it to be depressing, but it was spacious and clean. The crocodiles have spiritual significance for the local people, and in particular childless women will visit for a sort of ritual bathing ceremony beside the crocodile pool in the hope this will help them conceive. The guide said it often seems to work, perhaps in part because the participants really believe that it is going to work. We were permitted to visit only immediately after the crocs had been fed, as they are sleepy and lazy then, and not looking for an appetizer of Tourist Tartare!