Banjul!

"Wander aimlessly around Banjul" was on my to-do list. Except for one trip to Banjul during training, exploration of Banjul had been limited to the distance between the ferry terminal and the bus. I also hoped to skip several steps in my Swedish Newspaper Warehouse Quest and simply stumble upon a newspaper-loaded barge pulling into port. Success? No.

But I did find this church. I was afraid of photographing something I shouldn't (it is the capital, after all) but I figured a church would be okay.

After wandering down a street that looked like it would lead to the ferry terminal, I wandered back, turned down some other road and somehow found myself in front of an archway labeled "Royal Albert Market." Inside: all the usual market items, that have now become so usual, I can't recall a single one. Except clothespins. I remember there were clothespins because I bought some. But towards the back, past tables of vegetables, I found the tourist section of the market. I almost turned away, but remembered that, in fact, I had souvenirs to buy and was, therefore, a tourist.

I admired carved elephants and tie-dyed sarongs; smiled, nodded and greeted. One woman, after an especially loud and friendly greeting, rummaged through her necklace display, pulled out two beaded strings and gave them to me. "A gift. Thank you for helping our country." I paused, trying to remember if I'd even told her I'm a volunteer, then remembered to  her. And then, for some reason, the other shopkeepers followed suit. Only Aunty, as she told me to call her, gave me something for free before I'd bought anything, but by the time I'd emerged from the market, I'd accumulated the following free gifts:

• a multi-colored beaded bracelet
• a necklace with a cowrie shell charm
• a leather keychain in the shape of a sandal
• a bird carved out of wood

Of course, the non-free gifts I'd accumulated were far more numerous. Luckily, I had enough money left for a shawarma-and-smoothie lunch.

Not a shawarma. Or a smoothie. They're Fulas! In statue form.

A playground!!

The fourth, and final, photograph of the day. I thought the students painted on the wall were kinda cool.

And then I came across a Peace Corps vehicle heading back to the office, so I decided to take the free, air-conditioned ride and end my Banjul adventure.