25 December 2015
We did nothing much in the morning, just lounged about on the beach. Hm. Okay, granted, that would be Entirely Appropriate Holiday Behaviour for many, it’s just very unusual for us! Jinack Island is like a bunch of other places we’ve gone looking for wildlife around the world – without a guide with local knowledge, we’ve had no idea of where we should be looking. And with much of the area near our lodge given over to agriculture we’ve basically given up.
In spite of an expected departure at 10am we didn’t actually get off the island until after 11. Maureen was carried out to the boat by the captain (high surf) and we left. So in honour of our late departure, today’s list is… The Underestimations Of Amadou:
- I’ll just be 15 minutes in the market = I’ll be an hour in the market
- It takes 45 minutes to get to Jinack = it takes over a hour to get to Jinack
- It’s 15 minutes walk to the village = it’s 25 minutes walk to the village
- We just need to wait 15 minutes for the boat = we just need to wait an hour (and a bit)
- It’s 15 minutes walk to the observation tower = it’s 25 minutes walk
- About 2 hours will get you to Tendaba = try just over 3 hours
- We’ll be leaving about 10 o’clock = we’ll be leaving after 11 o’clock
Junkung, our wildlife guide for the next two days, seems to be cut from very different cloth – he was waiting for us when we finally got back ashore in Bajul, for a start. And the journey to Tendaba was straightforward and we even spotted our second mammal along the way – shy Patas monkeys crossing the road ahead of us. We got a boat trip organised for the evening as soon as we arrived. Beautiful mangroves across the River Gambia, but although we saw bottlenose dolphins there was no sign of the cape clawless otters we’re hoping to spot.
Our accommodation here is still very basic. In fact all three of our lodges have shared the following: (1) cold showers, (2) poor lighting, (3) dubious privacy, (4) rickety furnishings, (5) uncomfortable beds. We cannot go wrong with our last lodge in a couple of days: it will either be an improvement, or it will complete the set!
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