From Serekunda to Abéné: Driving from The Gambia to Senegal

When I go to The Gambia, I always have to do something different. Some people are happy to go and spend all their time on the beaches or in the hotels or on the Senegambia Strip or in the usual tourist parts of the country. And whilst I like spending time on the Strip and sitting with the Tourist Guides and listening to their conversation and banter, I need to go wandering…driving from The Gambia to Senegal, for example.

When I returned to The Gambia in January 2024, I was lucky because I also had two friends in West Africa at the same time. They were in the Abéné Village in the country which surrounds The Gambia – Senegal. Luckily, Lamin Barrow is used to me making bizarre requests like ‘Can we travel to another country in West Africa?’ and so off we went.

This video shows around five minutes of the journey from The Gambia to Senegal (look out for the sign posts). It also contains a couple of photos showing my destination in Abéné Village as well as a few shots of the local beach (for those of you who like beaches). The circular hut you see in the photos is where my friend Estelle Seymour stays for fours months of the year and, completely coincidentally, new friend of mine Chris Sylla (and of ‘Building Futures in The Gambia’) was also visiting.

The music accompanying the video is from Chris Sylla’s wonderful West African musical group Toumaranke and you can buy the mp3s at https://toumaranke.bandcamp.com/album/takhaudi-d-kau-inside-the-chickens-mouth. Please do that!!

Enjoy the video…driving from The Gambia to Senegal.

Pete