How We Get Around

There are buses and two types of taxis in The Gambia along with two different ways of taking the standard taxi. The standard taxi is yellow, generally a Mercedes, smells of ganja (weed) and the windows usually don’t have handles on them. You can have this taxi take you anywhere, within reason, on what is known as a Town Trip for 50 Dalasi (just over $2) for the whole car no matter how many passengers. Or you can pick up a cab already going in a certain direction and hop in with other passengers for 5 dalasi (25 cents) each. This way the taxi will pull over for passengers and pull over when asked. This is the one we use the most. I wave down a taxi it pulls over and if someone is already in it then I simply ask if they’re going the way I want to go, “Westfield?” If there is no one riding already you must ask them, “Westfield for 5 Dalasi?” to which he may reply, “No, only Town Trip.” or “Ok.” And then you say no thanks and keep looking or hop in. The town trip rides are nice at night coming home from dinner or when you have to go somewhere of the normal path of the four main roads around this area. (Not very often)

Taxis and buses will always go the same way from where you get in, so if you are in Serrekunda and ask for Bakau, the cab will always go down Kariba Avenue and turn right on Garba Jahumpa Road (our road) heading to Bakau. So you don’t have to give any further directions once inside.

The other day we paid 100 Dalasi for the taxi to take us to two grocery stores and to the fruit and vegetable market and then back home again. We were loaded down with groceries and water so the only way to do it in one big trip is to hire for and hour or so. That is negotiated with the driver at the time. He took us to the stores, which are across the road from each other, and waited. When we were done in one store we put our stuff in the back of the car and went in the other store, safe in the knowledge that he would not be driving off with our groceries or anything of the sort. I’m not sure yet if it’s a cultural thing, or a Muslim thing, or a tribal thing, or a combination of all, but people are honest here. Or maybe we haven’t been had yet but Carolyn has been here for over a year now and this is how it seems to be. There is, simply put, no car theft in this country and a group of big guys heading toward you at night will pass you and say, “Hi, happy couple. How’s your day?” Anyway, after the second store it was off to the market and then back home returning as the sky was getting dark so the driver stayed, with his lights on, long enough for us to get our gate door opened up.

The Tourist taxis are painted green and only do town trips for 3 to 6 times more than yellow cabs and only the tourists take them. They are only in the resort areas when looking for fares and are the only cabs allowed to service several of the resort strips. It’s said that they are nicer kept than the yellow cabs but I’ve never been in one.

Buses are Toyota minivans from the early 90’s. Remember those ones with the driver’s seat in front of the front tire, kinda look like VW vans? They fit 11 passengers a driver and a fare collector/pitch man. A skinny kid, always a skinny kid, sits in a make shift seat by the sliding door and yells out the window at people on the street letting them know where we are going. Today I hailed one (there are no bus stops, you just flag em down like a cab) and got the very last seat in the back row. The lady in front of me had to get out so I could get in and as I squeezed my huge American frame through this tiny van to the back left corner I slid my right butt cheek right across this nice young lady’s shoulder. I finally landed in my seat, patted her shoulder with my hand and told her I was sorry, to which she just smiled, laughed and said, “No problem.” Once I had my legs turned in front of me my knees were up to my chest and slammed into the next row in front of me. I couldn’t reach my hands into my pocket for the fare without some serious wrenching around.

We’re getting a car after Christmas, maybe before.