Lamin Rice fields and Abuko nature reserve

Lamin rice fields were fascinating. We went through fields of growing crops, hand dug mounts of earth, watered by the women who dug the fields using buckets of water from the wells. The birds live in harmony with the workers. Then onto a purpose built nature reserve, with broken hides, broken bridges and crocodiles. We didn’t see too much here. Alas Banjul belly stopped John joining this day out. We’d booked this morning with another couple we had met.

This was a morning trip, but it took 2 hours to return as the main roads were closed for the president. All the traffic traffic was pushed through the town, past the stalls and people and donkey carts, along the sand tracks that act as roads, with inches to spare, fascinating to see. Our guide Essa (Malicks subordinate) spat all the time, something that makes me want to vomit, so he was out of the picture for using again. Essa took me out around Kuto in the evening looking for the elusive bittern. 2 hours traipsing through overgrown fields and all I got was scratches, no bittern. We did walk through a broken down hotel, where Gambians had taken up residence, cooking fires on the walkways and clothes out on the line, then past a bamboo screen to the other half of the hotel where guests sat next to the pool, very surreal. At good day out.