Where It All Began 23

I had two weeks before we were due at the ferry terminal in Hull and decided a rest would be in order. I booked a week in Gambia for Sally and myself. I’d never had a holiday but now, years later, I’m told my life has been one big holiday. Gambia in 1993 was one of the poorest African nations with a small tourist industry. We were instructed to never leave the hotel compound. A young man, Ebrahim, who squeezed and sold grapefruit juice on the beach, offered to take us out and show me around. So we sneaked out, hopped on a bus and went for a look round.

It was obvious there was a rising tension, the place had an atmosphere, and subsequently there was a military coup a year later. We visited his family home and met Charlie the crocodile at the Kachikally Crocodile Pool. Another boy, Cultural, worked the beach selling cannabis. These boys, or “bumsters” as they were called had a scam going. Ebrahim warned me about the scam, but made me promise to tell no one that I was aware or that he had told me, otherwise he would be beaten. The “bumsters” would sell you the cannabis and immediately afterwards signal a corrupt policeman. He would then threaten you with the infamous Mile 2 Prison, the Gambia’s notoriously grim maximum, security jail unless you paid a fine. You would then be marched to your hotel safe and he would take all the money you had. Drugs were never my thing anyway but I had some very interesting chats with Cultural, during his various sale pitches. These ranged from Bob Marley, Rastafarianism, to Nelson Mandela, as he claimed he was South African with a Jamaican accent. Ebrahim later told me he was from a local village. 😂

We returned home and I began to get rid of everything that wouldn’t fit in my camper van. Finally, all I had left was my Snap-On tool chest, weights and diving gear. I dropped them off in a secondhand shop for a half decent price. When I laid everything out the bloke asked. “Who are you? Rambo?” 😂

The following day we docked in Zeebruggue and drove straight to Paris. It was rush hour and driving around and around the Arc de Triomphe trying to find the correct exit was so much fun, some very angry drivers over there! There was an amzing restaurant I needed to visit, Nos Ancêtres les Gaulois, you paid 18francs, which covered your meal and unlimited wine. At the end of the evening each table broke into song. One table began to sing “On Ilkley Moor Baht ‘at, its an old Yorkshire song that tells of advice given to a young man who courts Mary Jane on Ilkley Moor without his hat. I asked if they were from Yorkshire ? But it turned they were from Holland, go figure.

We had an enjoyable five days exploring, but then it was time to move on and find some work! I needed to head south. Next stop Carcassone…

Happy Trails, Folks x