Week 20, Robbed in Senegal, the river crossing into Banjul, The Gambia & crashing in Bakau. TOTAL 8162 KM, country # 10

The availability of food and water south of the desert is no longer a problem, but travelling through sub-Saharan Africa alone on a bicycle poses its own set of challenges as week 20 served up a myriad of twists and turns in the Global Wheeling saga.

Rolling out of Dakar jostling for space to make it off the heavily congested peninsular and onto the calmer southern route towards Mbour is a challenge in itself as you are forced to battle through bumper to bumper traffic churning out more smog than a coal station. Heading for the town of Fatick in search of the tiny ferry crossing to Fjoundjoun which would carry me over the river and deliver me to the gravel road 33 km north of the RN4 and approach to the Gambian border post of Karang and country number 10.

The town of Fatick would offer the weeks first obstacle as I pulled over on the side of the road to check my map, in the process having my toiletry bag stolen off the ground which contained my Malaria medication, sunblock, rehydration sachets and all the other practical and really handy bits and pieces that seek refuge at the bottom of a traveling west African toiletry bag. After a few loud and frustrating words that seemed to bridge most language barriers, I accepted the loss, took a deep breath and made tracks to the little ferry crossing that had drawn me to the region.

Having embarked on my first Ferry crossing since arriving in Northern Morocco from Malaga in the South of Spain on December 22, the soothing flow of gentle African waters and blue skies helped to defuse my earlier frustrations, arriving at the town of Fjoundjoun ready to embark on a new journey of trying to replenish the stocks of my recently stolen toiletry bag. The first on the list would be the Malaria kit followed by toothbrush and soap, the sunblock however would pose a bigger challenge.

Karang, the border crossing into The Gambia was at the top of the agenda with my stocks now semi replenished. Making the grave mistake of telling the now English speaking border officials that I would be writing a little piece on my weeks travels, this was perceived to be journalism and did not go down well as the Gambian border officials escorted me through to the back of the building and proceeded to rifle through my luggage, as I was subjected to a barrage of questioning, letting me know that no photos were to be taken in Gambia without their consent and breaching this would result in my incarceration. My visit happened to coincide with the Gambian Independence day on February the 18th which may have added to the intensity of the situation as this was the only official headache I had in what is a beautifully warm and friendly nation.

From the border crossing of Karang to the town of Barra and home to the major ferry crossing to the capital city of Banjul is a fairly easily navigated stretch of tarmac, getting onto the ferry in Barra however is another story completely. Arriving in Banjul later than I had hoped for as the sun was setting, keen to stay within budget and avoid paying for accommodation at all costs I ventured few km’s south of the CBD to find a stretch of bush to pitch my tent.

Coming across a sandy football pitch before anything else suitable I set up shop for the night somewhere close to the halfway line. Woken up at three in the morning by flashlights and the police on their regular patrol, after explaining my situation I was launched into a two hour conversation about travelling through Europe and the Sahara as the police official showed sincere interest in the project and seemed fascinated at the idea of covering so many miles on a bike which in comparison to the tiny country of Gambia must have been quite impressive.

Onwards to the embassy of Guinea Bissau in the town of Bakau to obtain my visa for the following country on my list which went without hassle, leaving the embassy was not as smooth, as I had an accident resulting in some serious damage to the bike, snapping my front cargo rack, tearing a pannier, severing the odometer cable and breaking spokes which forced me to track down some local help to rectify the situation. Backyard bush mechanics, superglue and bubble gum the order of the day as we are back on the road in slightly worse shape than before but definitely up and running.

Crossing back into the southern half of Senegal and entering the Casamance region is a very different feeling to the North of the country as I left the border post of Selety in the south of The Gambia in the direction of Bignona and Ziguinchor the presence of military officials along the RN4 was very apparent along with numerous barricades and documentation checkpoints. The region home to the Jola tribe and a rebel group that would like to see the Casamance region independent of Senegal has the region heavily militarised which made it impossible to camp on the RN4 as the military officials advised me to ask for assistance in the next village before sunset, the failure to do so might result in a case of mistaken identity if my tent was stumbled upon late in the night.

Making it to Ziguinchor in the south of Senegal just north of the Guinea Bissau border in time to publish the blog and have a few last minute tweaks to the bike before attempting to cross into country number 11, week 20 sees country number 10 and the 8000 km mark being reached which is bang on schedule at 400 km’s a week, next blog due somewhere south of here.