A Morning Visit to Wassu
After getting up in the middle of the night and a long journey first over the river and then by 4WD for several hundred kilometres on bumpy roads we finally arrived in Wassu.
As you can see there were some hold ups along the way!The goat herder was in no hurry to move his charges off the road.
But we got there eventually!
The mysterious stone circles at Wassu are 1000 to 1500 years old and not much is certain about them.
This UNESCO site consists of stone circles made up of Laterite pillars. This rusty red rock was shaped with iron tools into cylinders and placed into circles of various sizes.
They we probably the burial mounds of ancient chiefs.
Local legend says there is a curse on anyone who disturbs them which is possibly why they have been left untouched until present times.
Pa Sanyang guided us round the site. He was really nice and welcoming but he had some incomprehensible ideas about numbers all involving nine.
One thing he did explain was the little stones on top of the pillars. You put a small stone on the pile and make a wish.
We left the site with no more knowledge about the origin of these circles than we came with but it was an interesting excursion.
Next a ride along the river to our hotel ( I use the word loosely) for the night.
Sunset on the Gambia river – beautiful.
A night with no electricity – no problem, no water, not even cold water, – not so good! However we survived (baby wipes – never travel without them).
Then on to Janjanbureh
Escape by river boat and on to George Town
Officially named Janjanbureh but called George Town by everyone this dusty town is 300 km from Banjul. It has a ferry port, a post office, a market, and a prison.
Guides will tell you sad and convincing stories of the slave trade involving their ancestors but apparently these have been greatly exaggerated to feed the tourist industry.
Must be lunch time?
We had taken pencils, sweets and a bag of clothes our grandchildren had grown out of.
The kids seemed to appreciate them.
