Leoš and I decided that we wanted to visit Banjul (the capital) and Barra. When we got to Banjul we walked through the market and I made the mistake of accepting the offer of someone to show us around the market. Banjul is the capital and not a small fishing village. At the end of the walk the guy wanted us to give him money, which we didn't end up doing. We had told him many times during the walk that we didn't need a guide and didn't want to pay for it. He kept saying that it wasn't for money and that he didn't mind. I found it very strange when he mentioned that his wife had a baby the night before. At the end of the walk he wanted us to buy baby formula for the baby. Both things didn't add up. First why wouldn't he be with her at the hospital if she just had a baby and second of all you don't give baby baby formula straight after they were born. When we said we wouldn't give him money or pay for the baby formula he started to get very rude and his true colors came out. It was not a nice experience. Finally we were able to get on the ferry and make our way to Barra. The ferry ticket was just 25 dalasi (less than 50cents) per person. The ferry was very crowded and slow. It took longer than I expected to get to Barra, but we got to see some dolphins in the distance and we got to see where the ocean came in contact with the river. While approaching the port there were so many shiny things in the ocean. I couldn't believe what we were seeing, there were thousands of dead fish floating in the ocean. Once we got off the ferry in Barra there were so many people wanting our attention. It was not nice. We finally just made our own way and walked towards Fort Bullen. There was an entrance fee for the Fort so we decided not to go in. Right next to it was a restaurant and the food we had there was very very good. It was the best rice and chicken we had on the trip. I told the chef that I would put her on Google maps, so once we got back to Prague I did exactly that. After our wonderful lunch we decided to head back to Banjul because we needed to get back to Bakau before dark. I wanted to make sure that we would still be able to enjoy the beach. Just before getting off the ferry I made the smart decision of asking the people next to us where we should take the shared van to get back to Bakau. The guy said he was headed in the same direction and would help us. When we got off the ferry it was just like when we arrived to Barra and everyone wanted to "help" us. Luckily I was able to tell them we were with our friend. It was so good to have a Gambian with us because the locals left us alone. The man helped us get to the right place and put us on the van. He didn't even take the same transport. It was very kind of him to help us. We finally got to Bakau and it was so nice to be back on a beach relaxing and not having to deal with all the people in the capital. I wouldn't recommend anyone to go to Banjul or Barra. I don't think its really necessary to have a look around in those cities. If you need to just pass by then that is totally fine, otherwise I wouldn't go out of your way to go to those cities like we did. It was the only day on our trip where I was getting angry with the situation. Other cities and villages were fine in Gambia and everyone was nice, but Banjul people were aggressive and it wasn't pleasant. I was happy to get back to Bakau.
the man in the red hat was the dodgy guy from the market
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