Day 13

January 16, 2008

Perhaps because I’m in England my sarcasm is particularly biting like the bone chilling winds here. Or perhaps I now feel comfortable enough in my surroundings that I can rip into any, and everything.

This morning in The Gambia was uneventful enough. We dined on tea, bread, otherwise known as tapa lapa, and butter for the umpteenth time. The butter was a luxury that we could only find in Banjul and so were the bananas we feasted on. We checked out of the hotel and met with GamSolar to recap and create a plan for the future. After that, we ran a few errands in and around Banjul then went to the airport.

As detailed in a previous entry, the Banjul airport is nothing special. We plopped down in a couple of seats and were immediately bombarded by a platoon of waiters trying to get us to order drinks from the bar. After turning away 7 of them, I think they finally realized that we didn’t want anything. Per usual, the plane was late arriving so that meant we were late in departing. More quality time spent with the waiters trying to sell us 80 dalasi ($4!) bottles of water!

After getting on the airplane, I decided it was probably the heaviest plane ever to lift off ground. Though it was only a 737, I’m almost positive it surpassed any weight any 747, 787 or U.S. Army cargo plane could ever carry. This was due entirely to the body weight of its passengers. My row alone probably weighed about 700 pounds. Adding to the overall discomfort of sitting with this much body mass in a confined area was the lack of in-flight entertainment. So, for 6 hours straight, I sat nestled amongst strong competitors for the world’s heaviest person competition all while listening to them scream and shout because the plane was rocking quite a bit. I wonder why it was such a bumpy ride, folks.

When we finally landed at the airport and collected our bags, we beelined for the telephone to call our hotel so they could send the shuttle over. After waiting for 7 rings (which may have been hotel policy to wait that long) the gentlemen behind the counter finally answered the phone so they could tell me that the shuttle didn’t run after 10 PM. They informed us that we would have to take a taxi, but no fear, it would cost the same as taking their shuttle. So we grumpily walked outside, into the rain, and quickly got a taxi.

The taxi ride naturally took twice as long as we remembered it taking, and so our fare was also about twice as much as the shuttle would have cost. The real kicker was that the taxi driver stopped at the gate to the parking lot and told us we would have to get out there and walk the 300 yards to the door in the pouring rain. We were NOT happy. We did manage however to grab all of our bags and scurry them to the front door of the hotel. When we got to the front door, which thankfully was covered, we were unable to enter because it was locked. We pushed the button for the desk managers to buzz us in, but once again, they took their sweet time in realizing we were outside in the cold rain. Needless to say, we were thrilled to collapse into our room after a long day of travel. It felt good to fall asleep without fear of mosquitoes infecting me with a potentially deadly disease.

The trip, sad to say, has come and gone faster than the kids I played soccer with a few days ago. I knew that would happen. It’s so hard to believe that I had planned this trip in July and now it’s already over. Nevertheless, I believe I am inextricably connected with Power Up Gambia. I was fortunate enough to travel to a place that most people in their lives can only dream about seeing. I did indeed get to see how “the other half lives” and they are certainly images and thoughts that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

I am truly looking forward to the progress of this project. When it's complete, we're going to save hundreds of lives. Maybe even thousands! The future fundraisers for Power Up Gambia will be so much fun. I look forward to the April 19th gala evening at Hagley in Wilmington as well as Renewable Energy Day on the 20th at the same location. Both of these events will get the message out that these types of energy are not just the answer for places like The Gambia, they should have a very prominent role in our future here in the U.S. as well!

Look for more updates on Power Up Gambia both here and on the website, http://www.powerupgambia.org!

with african love,
jz