Day 5

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

            Today was an uneventful travel day. We left Lac Rose to go to Gambia. We first went to the airport to see if the missing suitcases had arrived. All three were there. We then went to Kaolack which is a small town in Senegal. We ate lunch at the hotel that we were supposed to stay at the previous night. We had chicken, onion, and French fry sandwiches again. We continued our ride to the Gambia on a very uncomfortable bus. The total ride was five hours.

Lunch

            We finally got to the border and I expected the crossing to look differently. It was just a small gate in a crazy village. As soon as our bus pulled up, the village people swarmed our bus trying to sell us oranges and cashews. These people are very persistent. Buba introduced us to the chief of the village and the chief rode with us on the way to the border crossing. Apparently we were supposed to pay to cross the border, but because we had the chief in the van and “Professor Buba” as he called himself to the security, we passed right through. Once crossing the border, we had to board a ferry to get to the Gambia. Apparently normal people wait up to six hours to board the ferry, We just walked right on. After leaving the ferry, we ended up in this pitch-black alley way with all our suitcases. The bus was not there to pick us up yet. Girls were actually crying because they were so scared. Buba had me watch the suitcases because he did not want them to be stolen.

            We finally arrived at our hotel and it is absolutely gorgeous. We are staying at Cocoa Ocean Resort in the Gambia. This is a five-star hotel and it definitely looks like it. This is the most expensive hotel in The Gambia. Each student stayed in a suite. There are multiple pools and I can see the beach from my balcony. We had dinner last night at 10:30. I hate eating late. This uneven meal schedule and lack of sleep has me feeling sick. Dinner was great. They treat us like royalty and the food is very good. They even made a cake for Rohit’s birthday. Tomorrow is just a relaxation day at the beach and resort. I hope I will feel better tomorrow.

Coco Ocean Resort


Goodnight from Coco Ocean,



Andy

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