Out of Senegal and into The Gambia quickly. I catch another shared taxi to the port of Barra for the ferry across the Gambia river to the country’s capital Banjul. Today the ferry is “very late”, the first of the day arriving in Barra at 10.30am. A very stately pace… Continue reading
I arrived in Joal on Sunday and walked the 1km or so to the twin village of Fadiout across a rather stunning wooden bridge that stretcehd perhaps half a km over the sands. Fadiout appears to be a historic Christian enclave, with the first pigs I’ve seen since leaving England…. Continue reading
Saka saka for dinner the first night, mainly because I had no idea what it was. A heavily reduced black/brown stew of chopped leaves, together with chunks of tender lamb and rice arrived. A lot nicer than it sounds, and surprisingly light! Having been barred from reaching the Atlantic last… Continue reading
The land south of Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania, is noticably greener than that north, despite the occasional red dune. The border formalities on the north side of the River Senegal are more or less madness if you have white skin. Manage to get my passport speed stamped: Hustler: Did you… Continue reading
I passed the tropic of cancer on Friday without much fanfare, having travelled back up the Dakhla peninsula onto mainland Africa proper. The border formalities, both Moroccan and Mauritanian, were free of excitement and I was processed by both systems reasonably quickly. Travelling through Western Sahara/Southern Morocco and Mauritania has… Continue reading
I find a shared taxi to Laayoune in about 3 seconds. Having to wait for it to fill, being the first, allows me to accept the offer of tea from the driver. The large UN presence in disputed Western Sahara is immediately obvious from the blue flags, large white SUVs and… Continue reading
Some shouts while sitting by the walls of Rabat, and a load of protestors rush past my position followed by smiling riot police. Its more Tom & Jerry then cat and mouse tactics though. A fitting end to Rabat was travelling down the coast road south towards the coach station,… Continue reading
Africa from Gibraltar Confusingly, Morocco is 2 hours behind Gibraltar at the moment, meaning I arrived in Tangiers about 5 minutes before I departed Spain. Had a delicious Tagine for dinner, but that, together with the romanticism of the call of the muezzin with the golden sun bathing the… Continue reading
Arrival in Gibraltar was harried by heavy showers that brought out the smell of the late summer blooms. Out of the rain its warm and calm as I gaze out over Europa point – the last vestige of land before the Straights and Africa. Ahead of me is Morocco, Ceuta… Continue reading
For those of you desperate for your next Encircle Africa fix…its Encircle Africa in numbers! Continue reading
