Two weeks sailing up the river Gambia for 150 miles, and we are back to Banjul, ready to go to Guinea Bissau and Bijagos. What a beauty Gambia ! More salvage nature, animals, birds…the mangrove reaching more than 20 metres, laterit trails…We have learnt to live like the river inhabitants, doing our washing with the river water, eating what we could find, and as  it’s the dry season, then winter, sometimes there is not much. But we always could find water, bread, and the  kindness of the people. Plenty of kids, thousands it seem, coming in dugouts or swimming when we stop, quite before we can drop the anchor. Dick is always the star, Zoe hunt bats that she put with delicacy in my boots once killed….We wandered in the bush, have seen varans, chimps, monkeys, hippos ( from far), birds we don’t know the name, a very nice snake, swimming in the river…The crocodiles stay hidden, never mind. It’s less hot, the last part of the night and morning are even cool, 21-23°C. Difficult to leave from here, one more time, difficult to leave people who have nothing and give nonetheless.

Allo Europa, here it’s Africa! It’s true that here we are in another planet. Dakar and Hann bay, so beautiful but so polluted, the old town which  seems not to have changed since 50 years, and time do its work, surburbs with rutted streets, small shops like shanty town, crumbled taxis, the nonetheless crumbled “fast buses”, the inumerable lines  of overloaded lorries…And there is life, small jobs, kids, extraordinairy birds. After 2 weeks doing the unavoidable repairs, formalities, curing the influenza, for sure we cought in the clear water, and  enjoying  the Cercle de la Voile de Dakar, we take the heading to the mouth of the river Saloum, in company of the pirogues, where the men seem to be standing out of the sea……We were told it could be difficult with our draft , but we went trough the 2 passages, in and out, without any problem. The same for the Casamance where we take taste in sailing with imprecise, if not false charts, with the help of  the informations of residents and on the color of the water. It’s wonderful the Casamance, with villages as you could imagine, huts of palms roofs, well maintained folds and yards, the kids everywhere, leading us to visit their domain, hens that Dick try to catch, goats….There is Elinkine, with its pirogues being built, its fish market and shanties where you can always find what you are looking for.. Ziguinchor, demeaning city, where all goes to abandon, paradise for birds which grow in the trees, but where, here also, you can find everything. People are kind, especially in the villages. In towns life is harder, there is nearly none infrastructure, no cleaning up…It’s hot, between 35° and 38° C, we are sweating day and night, but we made the choice ! Soon it will be Tabaski (Aïd El Kebir), and all the sheep which are grazing and bleat will soon be butchered, we will hide somewhere….You can understand it, we love Africa, she bewitch us.

Soon Gambia,  then Bijagos islands, and then it will be time in thinking of crossing.

Dificult to leave Mindelo, but the formalities are made and Monday we will sail for Sao Nicolao, then Boa Vista and Sal. Dakar is schedule at the begining of October. Here it’s good to live, people are kind, handsome, not rich but well educated, marxisme was here. The town and people are surprisingly clean, and hence there is no water. We were at last granted of some rains and Skøiern needed to be cleaned after several months of drough and sand winds. We cut Dick’s hairs, he was too hot, and for Zoé she goes deeper in the art of siesta.

Hola amigos ! It will be soon time for us to go South, we will leave Hiero Septembre 1st, heading to  Mindelo, Cabo Verde. We loved Canarias, really  contrasted, and we had always wind and heat. Here in Hiero, Puerto de La Restinga, added to the wind the swell is breaking everything in the port. Just some fenders destroyed, but it was very impressive. Graciosa was the most beautiful anchorage, La Gomera the most beautiful we have to come back  longer. Gran Canaria was the place to stock food for 4 months, we can look future quietly now. We go on following the tracks of the greats discoverers : Colombus in Bayonna and La Gomera, Vasco de Gama in Sines. As for Magellan, it will be later…In San Sebastian, La Gomera, the charts from Martin Benaïm tell us that we are going into the unknown ! (Pictures: Graciosa, Fuertaventura, the Pico del Tiede in Tenerife, La Gomera, Dick at shower, Hiero and the chart used by Colombus)