Banjul, The Gambia

(4 videos)
OY VEY! Yes, The Gambia.

The Gambia, the smallest African Country, is surrounded on 3 sides by Senegal and one side by the Atlantic Ocean with a river that runs through the entire country. Last time we went to the largest market in The Gambia, Banjul Albert Market. What a “challenging” experience it was. See 2023

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So what did we do today? There were a few tours but none we wanted or even looked a little interesting. Karen was not getting off the ship (obvious reasons) so I did a quick walk around the dock, looked at the handicrafts, got pressured by many local tour guides and vendors and learned a little about Kunte Kinde and the history (from the one vendor on a “smoke break” that was interested in talking not selling. This was a short visit off the ship and then I came back to share a lovely afternoon with Karen (see later).

We had gone to The Royal Albert Market last time. This Marketplace (the scene of our unfortunate experience) in Banjul is a chaotic, crowded, and overwhelming environment. The dark, dirty and haphazard market is known for petty theft, heavy harassment from vendors, and scams. We wouldn’t go back and we heard later that none of the tours did more than point it out and did not stop there.

The Gambia is a very sad place although like most of Africa there are some very small percentages of people with wealth here too. Approximately 53% of the population lives below the national poverty line and over 40% of young adults are completely unemployed, uneducated, and have no formal training at all, which drives extensive reliance on the informal labor market. Daily rolling blackouts and electricity shortages are a normal reality for most households. This makes basic modern conveniences like refrigeration (or continuous internet) highly unreliable. Public medical facilities are severely understaffed and critically lack advanced equipment. Due to high dependence on unpredictable agriculture (no irrigation, just rain), the climate frequently disrupts localized crop cycles and leaves vulnerable families without food.

The nation ranks The Gambia #170th out of #193 on the global UN Human Development Index. The UN HDI is calculated based on life expectancy which is 65.9 years, schooling which is an average of 4.7 years, and average Gross National Income (GNI) per capita per year of $2,800 indicating extreme widespread poverty. Interestingly, Madagascar and Mozambique are the ONLY places where we have been (and twice for both) on the list from numbers 171 to the end of the list (those with the lowest HDI). Our experiences in these places were relatively good but that only means the port areas and places we went on tour were not bad. In The Gambia, we saw nothing “nice” or worth spending any more time even in the realm of just understanding this Nation (which is very important to us).

From the one local I met, I did learn about Kunta Kinteh Island which is one of West Africa's most significant and sadly meaningful historical sites. It is in the middle of the Gambia River, only a ferry ride away from our port (we saw the full ferry’s go back and forth every half hour). It is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed outpost because for centuries it served as a major transit hub for the transatlantic slave trade. The British built Fort James here, where hundreds of thousands of captured West Africans were held in cramped, disease-ridden slave houses before being forced onto ships (sadly, bound for the Americas). Of course, we all remember Kunta Kinte as the main character from the 1976 novel Roots by Alex Haley. It was based on accounts of one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born around 1767, and taken to America as a slave where he died around 1822. The mini-series Roots was released in 1977 (and the remade in 2016).

So, after my normal stretch and abs routine this morning (yes, sometimes its stretch and cycling), and a quick tour of the port I came back. I got a very necessary haircut, and Karen had her nails done. After a relaxing afternoon in the SPA and afternoon tea while listening to classical music by the Panache Quartet, we caught up on a few things back at home and had a very interesting dinner, we had previously planned, with Mel Olinsky, Executive Director of Operations at CBS News, who has given many interesting lectures on our ship. Mel was responsible for all news gatherings worldwide and all remote broadcasts. He traveled with presidents, covered the selection of new popes, wars, 9/11, presidential elections, inaugurations, Olympics, and Super Bowls. He designed and implemented the digital network between bureaus and was responsible for the transition to high definition and server-based technology at CBS. During his career, Mel also served as Executive Director of Affiliate Services, CBS Newspath. A very interesting person that we really liked and we made friends with who gave us insights into TV that are rarely known. We spoke about many topics as well as bout giving ship lectures and the 9/11 aftermath, where he spent much upfront and personal time. I hope to stay in touch with Mel and we have traded a few emails already.

That evening our mellow day continued with David at the piano and an incredible guitar show by Dimitris Dekavallas-“The Classic Legend” (see video and photos) and ended with late night Motown Madness with The Jaxtones.Read more