Paul and Vanessa's World Travels

20th Jan
Arrived last night at Luigi's Complex, a very comfortable resort on the coast and about 20 minutes from Banjul airport. We enjoyed a drink and a meal before settling in to our quarters for the next 3 nights.
This morning we went for a short walk along the beach, stopping for many conversations with stall holders, taxi drivers and general hawkers. Fortunately a promise to come back later satisfies most of them.

The new oven in use

Health and Safety in The Gambia!

Vanessa going to work at a local school

The entrance to the hospital

The teamaking ceremony at Sulayman’s village compound

Abdoulie with his new Aunt

A local hut house being built

Abdoulie with his new Uncle

Thursday 20th February

I source some scraps of hardboard, cut them up and drill holes in them to make threading toys for the children's play room. Vanessa draws patterns on them and fixes the threads.
Sulayman visits and I have another fan to fix. This one is a bit more serious as the bearings have seized. I leave it soaking in WD40 and head off for a meal at Paradise with Yaya and Vanessa. Surprisingly we meet CEO Baba there and we also find a group of Dutch people who we first saw on Friday evening are involved with hospital, although mainly through the SEN school.

Our next trip is a short one to take advantage of meeting up with family in the South of France. It is also an opportunity to road test Albert (our 2CV/Acadiane van) on an extended tour before setting off on our much longer trip later in the year which will take us through Italy, Greece and onwards to Turkey. We are taking the ferry down to Santander spending a bit of time in Northern Spain, The Pyrenees and the South of France before I spend my 60th birthday cycling up Mt Ventoux. A challenge which has been on my bucket list for sometime now.