We Made It!!

We are finally in Banjul,

Nothing could have prepared us for how brutal the desert is on a car, but amazingly we all made it through, driving in a sandstorm, having to do at least 50mph or the car would sink down and get stuck, only able see about 50 meters infront of us, slamming into 3-5inch high rocks and tufts of grass, then going over hard sand the wind has blown into ripples that just shudder through the car over and over for miles. none of us had any idea that it would be that tough, and had we known we would never have believed the cars would have stood up to it. our tyres were nearly flat to give us more grip at one point we had to accelerate over a crest of a dune and the other side dropped away, the mini was fully airbourne about a foot high and then slammed nose first into the sand, smashing the numberplate and we thought the car was finished. When we finally made it out of the desert, the drive along the beach for 30 miles sounded fun, but it was just as bumpy as the desert. when we reached Senegal we thought it was all plain sailing, but in places the roads gave way to dirt tracks with unbelievable potholes in it, and at one point a pack of vulters were on the side of the road ripping a donkey carcass to bits. The road from the border to the ferry was in darkness, and just as punishing on the cars as the desert, once again we were just waiting for that one big hole that would tear off a wheel or something. got to the ferry port late, and missed the last boat. had to sleep the night in the cars with loads of local people milling about trying to sell things to you but overall polite, all we wanted to do was sleep.

the 6am boat turned up around 9am, and when we finally got into banjul it was the final test, the ferry was about a foot higher than the jetty, no joke it was a foot drop, and we couldn't even take a run up at it, as there were hundreds of passengers walking all round, we fell off the front and slammed on to the now pummelled sump guard and had to have about 10 people push and lift it off. Being a lot more touristy, there were a couple of Brits wandering round the docks, and while waiting for all the other cars, one guy leaned in an asked where we had come from, when we said london, he couldn't believe it. It turns out there are no flights available now until wednesday but that means we get to take part in the parade in town where all the cars are taken through the town, we are a little like local celebrities here as everyone knows what we are doing and they all say hello and want to thank us for helping the gambian foundation. anyway, off to the pool now for a cold cold cold beer and a swim :)

its been long, tiring, and difficult, but what an adventure.