Yes, It Really Does Take 12 hrs 45 mins to Travel 350km Here

I hope by now that those of you who periodically check my blog have come to the realization that I don't have access to the Internet unless I come to Kombo. There are locations closer to my site where I can use the Internet, but its availability is hit or miss or just downright frustrating, so I tend to not update when at site.

In light of this, I'd like to detail what it takes for me to get to Kombo so that one can better appreciate the blog updates in the future (not to say you all don't appreciate them now). So here goes...

The Roads
When traveling in the Gambia and living below the River Gambia, on the south bank, one has TWO options for roads to travel on...
Option 1: South Bank Road/TransGambian Highway (sounds sophisticated, huh?). Option #1 takes slightly less time than Option #2 (to be detailed later), but the road is riddled with gargantuan, man-eating potholes and has not been resurfaced since the 1970s. While the speed on the South Bank Road ranges between 60-100 km/h, one driving on the road cannot travel that fast as the vehicle's tire, shocks,and pretty much everything else, would be destroyed in a matter of minutes.
Option 2: North Bank Road.
Option #2 takes slightly more time than Option 1, despite the fact that the road is nicely paved (even has solid white line down the middle). The reason Option 1 takes more time is that there are two ferry crossings involved. One to cross from South Bank (where I live) to North Bank and one at the end of the trip to cross North Bank into Banjul, the capitol (which is an island).

The Vehicles
Although it is tempting to ride my Peace Corps-issued Trek bike (think: my company car for the next two years) all the way to Kombo (an adventure a few Volunteers do every year and I may try to do next year) to avoid the roads, I had to pick Option 1 or Option 2. I'd travelled Option 1 numerous times and so I decided that it would be best for me to learn how to travel via Option 2. The vehicles that travel on Option 1 and Option 2 are the same vehicles, gele-geles, which are gutted Mercedes-Benz vans (see earlier blog entry).

The Journey
So the day before my departure, I could not decide as to whether I should venture via Option 1 or Option 2 and by the time I went to sleep that night, I decided it would be a decision I'd make once I woke up the next morning. I set my alarm for 5:30am; I awoke. I laid in bed for about 30 minutes, contemplating what I should do. I finally decided to bite the bullet and to travel on the North Bank. I had all my things packed and hurriedly brought in my water buckets, pulled a few weeds (so as to not return to a jungle in my backyard), and close my windows. I said good-bye to my host family who wished me safe travels. I walked about 1/2 km to the road and sat and waited for a gele-gele (#1). I was able to catch a gele-gele after waiting only about 20 minutes along the road. I head west about 10km and got dropped at the carpark and quickly looked for a car to Barra, which is where the ferry station is on the North Bank. Unfortunately, however, there were none available. My plan to go North Bank was defeated, so I chose to look for a car (#2) going South Bank and would then cross at another crossing area further west to the North Bank. I got into a gele-gele and...waited and waited and waited...until the car became full. While waiting, however, a car (#3) heading to Barra magically appeared. Yay! I could try North Bank again. I switched cars and again...waited and waited and waited. After waiting for almost two hours, the driver realized that the car was never going to fill and he cancelled (don't worry, I got my money back).

In the midst of my waiting, I befriended an older Gambian gentleman who was working at the local school. He convinced me that I should try to catch a gele-gele going east (towards my village) and cross at the island crossing. I believed he had a good idea and opted to have a travel buddy for the day to show me the ropes. So, we both ventured onto another gele-gele (#4). Some of my fellow villagers were on the gele-gele heading back towards my village and were thoroughly confused when I didn't get off at my village but proceeded to the island. I just tried to explain to them that I was trying to get to Kombo. Bewildered, they got off and disappeared onto the dirt road and probably told my family that Jaliika was on the gele-gele and didn't stop...

So, we crossed at the island and plopped on the North Bank. We looked for gele-gele to Farafenni. The first one that we picked charged too much, so we got out and waited on another gele-gele (#5). The driver said it was going straight through to Farafenni, but once we were on our way, the driver stopped every now and then to not just pick up passengers (which is normal), but to also pick up 2 bundles of firewood from the side of the road and run whatever other errands needed to be done along the way. About halfway to our destination, the driver told everyone to get out and that we needed to transfer to another vehicle (#6), with no further explanation. In addition, he also tried to overcharge us, but my traveling buddy knew what was going on and demanded we have our money returned. We then quickly picked up a new gele-gele that experienced some mechanical problems and I was dropped at the side of the road about 40km from the destination. I sat with my traveling buddy, ate a mango, and tried to chat to the women who were sitting under a mango tree. Halfway through my mango, another gele-gele (#7) arrived and scooped us up and finally took us to our destination.

Once at Farafenni carpark, I was hounded by crazy drivers and their apprentices to get aboard a car to Barra, to cross at the ferry. By this point in the day, however, it was around 3:45pm and I did not want to risk getting into Kombo by dark, so I called a friend to ask if I could crash at his place. Thankfully, he said yes. I waited at the car park for approximately 1 hour and then finally, or so I thought, headed to my destination point for the evening. As we pulled out of the carpark, the gele-gele (#8) abruptly stopped once on the main road. The driver decided he wanted to add a few more passengers to an already filled car. He also needed to tie four (4!) goats to the roof of the gele-gele so that they could ride in style with their owners, my fellow passengers. In addition, a lady carrying a live chicken by its feet in one hand and a boombox in the other, boarded the vehicle. Underneath my seat (I got a special seat next to the driver thanks to my traveling buddy), was an old man's 3 kilos of dried fish tied in paper and string.

After about an hour on the gele-gele, I finally reached my evening's destination and waited on the side of the road for my friend to meet me. I was estatic to almost be in Kombo and to see a familiar Volunteer face.

Highlights
I cleaned the dirt from under my fingernails twice that day, and the cloth I used turned brown immediately. I rode next to chickens as if they're human passengers. I ate an entire loaf (small baguette-like) piece of bread with peanut butter for breakfast and lunch. I did NOT get seasick while crossing the ferry.

The next morning, my Peace Corps friend and I ventured to the Barra ferry (another 1 hour gele-gele ride) and crossed and then took multiple taxis to our FINAL destination.

While the day was long and took almost 13 hours to get to Kombo, I must say that transport here now doesn't seem to phase me. It's going to be an odd feeling to be able to travel 60 miles in 45 minutes when I return to the States...

So the next time you're stuck in traffic, think of me sitting by the side of the road, under a mango tree, waiting for my 7th vehicle and perhaps it'll make your time stuck in gridlock a little brighter...at least your car radio works...