We are now back from Cape Verde and back to the West African mainland. We are in Banjul, the capital and main city of the country "The Gambia." It's not to be confused with Zambia or Ghana, etc. The Gambia is the smallest country on continental Africa. It has a peculiar shape in that it is very long but very thin, like 31 miles wide. It is surrounded by Senegal on three sides, everywhere except on the west where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia is situated on both sides of the lower Gambia River and follows the river on both sides a good way to the east.

Arab Muslims traded with West Africans starting in the ninth century. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to come to The Gambia to trade but they never established a colony here. The British established a colony here in 1765 and took control of the Gambia River, for trading purposes. The French took control of most of the area around the Gambia River in what is now Senegal but the British didn't give up their slice along the river, until The Gambia gained independence in 1965.

The Gambia is a small country and its leading industries are agriculture, fishing, and tourism. Banjul is the capital and most densely populated area of the country. Banjul is in the Gambia River where it enters the Atlantic on St. Mary's Island, now Banjul Island. We got off our ship to 97-degree heat and high humidity but not much Sahara dust. Banjul is the least populated of any African capital. It features fading colonial architecture, dusty roads, and busy people. I'll just give one minimal post on Banjul and the larger area.

Below is The Gambia's national assembly building. My guess is that the architecture has historical and or cultural significance, but I don't know what that is.

Some of the Banjul area was open but much of it that we drove past was crowded and busy.

It didn't take any time at all to understand that we were no longer in Cape Verde.

We ran into some extremely busy areas in the greater Banjul area and had some major traffic slowdowns.

This next photo was a market area, not unlike many that we visited.

The West African countries seemed to be big on having a memorial or two. This is the Never Again Arch, formerly Arch 22, with historical significance and a gateway to Banjul.