West African Cruise Day 3: Sunday – Cruise the Sine-Saloum Delta, explore Joal Fadiouth and sail to Banjul, Gambia
This morning, we arrived in Senegal’s Sine-Saloum Delta, a UNESCO biosphere reserve and an important birding area. The park is a haven for lots of mammal and fish species, from marine turtles and dolphins to West African manatees and crocodiles.
Today’s optional excursion started at 9.15 an and finished at 3.45 pm and it was an exciting time. Our yacht moored off the coast, while we took pirogues (motorised wooden canoes) to the the fishing village of Djiffer, where we made a ‘wet landing’ (shoes and socks off and trousers rolled up).
The a coach took us one hour north to Joal and Fadiouth, small towns set on land made of clam shells which are traditionally used in local crafts and architecture. Although Senegal is
overwhelmingly Muslim, for historic colonial reasons, Fadiouth is substantially Catholic with a Church of St Francis Xavier.
We explored the islands by crossing new long wooden bridges and taking slim wooden canoes crafted from a single piece of wood and navigated with long poles.
At Joal, we enjoyed lunch overlooking the islands before returning to Djiffer. On the outward journey, we stopped to observe vultures devouring a dead donkey. On the return journey, we halted to view a hugh bilbao tree, said to be the oldest in Senegal, an estimated 1800 years.
Late afternoon, we continued sailing south to our port for the night in Gambia’s capital, Banjul, the gateway to the 700-mile-long Gambia River.