West Africa Cruise: introduction
I used to have an objective to have visited as many countries as my age. Then I found that I was racing ahead with my international travel. Now my wish is the reverse: to live for as many years as the number of countries that I’ve visited!
I’m about to start of a new trip that, when it’s over, will take my country count to 93 (I’m currently aged 77).
I’m travelling with my fiancée Tess to West Africa on a package tour organised by the travel company Jules Verne. It’s a cruise, which makes sense, given where we’re going. However, it will be my first cruise (Tess has been on many). Our destinations are Senegal and The Gambia.
Senegal owes its name to the Senegal River which borders it to the north and east. Along the whole of its western side, it borders the Atlantic Ocean.
Historically it was under French colonial rule from 1677 to 1960 when it was known as French West Africa. In African terms, it is a small country with an area roughly similar to Romania or Greece in Europe. The population is around 18 million. The largest ethnic groups are Wolof (40%), Fula (28%) and Serer (16%). There are six languages.
The capital is Dakar with a population of 1.3 million.
The Gambia owes its name to the Gambia River which stretches the length of the country with strips of land to its north and south. It is surrounded by Senegal on all sides, except for the western part which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.
It was part of the British Empire from 1765 to 1965. It is the smallest country in continental Africa. The population is about 2.5 million. The largest ethnic groups are Mandinka (34%), Fula (15%) and Wolof (9%). There are 19 languages.
The capital is Banjul with a population of only 27,000.
I normally blog on NightHawk and post photos on Facebook when I travel but, this time, I suspect that Internet access will be limited and expensive so my usual messaging might have to wait.