I am getting ready to go bed now so thought I would start as I mean to go on and do a blog post for today !
The wifi is rather poor (it is Gambia!) so I have to sit in the hotel reception to do this.. I feel I may be spending much time here !
So the day started at 2.30am this morning when we awoke and began the final stages of packing and coffee drinking. We left the house at 3.30am, half an hour later than we had planned. Traffic was not too bad at all.. For the first 30mins or so we didn't see any other signs of life of the road at all ! Was eerie !
We arrived at gatwick at 5am and headed straight in to the check in area. We checked in around 6am and then I said goodbye to my mommy and we headed up to the departures lounge. Through security.. I was so pleased that none of my piercings set the alarm off. Yey.
I have never felt more like royalty than when we walked through duty free ! It's crazy .. People trying to get your attention to spray the new fragrances on you, the lights along the ceiling and lining the walkway. Crazy !
From there - as the classy girl I am - I headed to mcdonalds for a double sausage and egg muffin ! Yum!
Then we headed to the boarding gate, boarded the plane and flew 6 hours to The Gambia ! I absolutely love flying and this just confirmed it all the more to me that I adore it ! Take off is still my favourite part :)
We landed at The Gambia, and as it is so small you have to depart the plane down steps, so as soon as you walk off the plane the sun is on you and the heat takes your breath away! 31degrees we walked into today .. Crazy !! We boarded a little bus that took us closer to the airport, I didn't really see the point as it would have been the same amount of time to walk but I guess it's a lovely gesture :) and nice to get out of the sun for a few moments. Then we went through security (they look at your passport photo, say hello how are you, welcome to Gambia) and walked in to the baggage collection. Here there are about 50 Gambian men who want to help you collect your bags and be your friend to get a £1 tip. But they are all lovely and welcoming and it can be difficult to get your bag off the carousel so help is always welcomed.
I met a young man called Lamin (surprise !! To explain.. In The Gambia the eldest son is always named Lamin. So there are hundreds of men named Lamin) He was very friendly and chatty... And then proceeded to ask me on a date ! To which I politely declined and thanked him anyway. Nice try but that's not my aim for this trip! Haha
We then boarded a 'coach' which took us 20 minutes (Gambian minutes) to our hotel.
The hotel is lovely, has a swimming pool, a bar, a cafe, shop, beauty place and you can walk straight onto the beach. The beach has beautiful palm tree type trees that sway in the wind and there are many many tropical coloured plants all around the grounds of the hotel. Just lovely !
We had a meal this evening at a restaurant which is 10 minutes walk from the hotel. On the way there we were met by many of the locals who wanted to sell things to us, so we said no thank you but smiled and asked how they were. Everybody is so friendly here that there is no need to be rude at all !!
As we walked along, all we can hear was crickets. So loud !!!
And on the way back we could hear. Rickets solo loud, and faintly in the distance the sound of African drums ! Oh it was just amazing !
I can't describe the feelings you get while you're out here !! It hasn't quite sinked in yet either... Tomorrow though we are off to meet the children and I am pretty sure it will all sink in then ! I can't wait for what tomorrow will bring !
For now... It's bed time ! So, as I lay in bed listening to the sound of the sea outside the window, feeling the sea breeze through the windows I will be praying about all the things God has in store for me !
Btw ... The time difference is the same as the UK so communicating with people will be easy and I will not suffer any jet lag ! Woohoo
Goodnight from The Gambia ! Xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment