Story: Three days in The Gambia.
Whiel spending the month in Senegal, I realized I had a three day weekend available to me. Wanting to make the most of my time in West Africa I arranged a car and driver and guide to show me around The Gambia. It was a whirlwind trip, covering a lot of kilometers, but it was well worth it. The highlight was definitely the time I spent at the Chimp Rehabilitation Projecto n the banks of the River Gambia. If I had had more time, I would have spent two nights there in the company of Janis, the founder, sitting on the verandah overlooking the water.
Ibrahima arrives on the narrow street where I live just as I come down. It’s dark; the sun won’t rise for a few hours. We’re on our way to The Gambia. For the next four days we have an aggressive schedule. I’m hoping to squeeze as much as I can into a long weekend…
My alarm goes off at 05:15. I’m to meet Ibrahima(2) at 0600 in order to catch the first ferry back across the river. We’re driving to the Chimp Rehabilitation Center, over two hundred kilometers and almost four hours upriver…
I wake up in the morning to the sounds of monkeys, hippos, and birds. The day is just about to start, the skies purple fighting against the night. I walk down the path towards the river to watch the sunrise, opting to board one of the aluminum boats to get as close to the water as possible…