Marie-Jo and the guys at Le Relais

15, 16 january. tambacounda

A couple of days relaxing... chatting to family and friends in England and Canada on Skype and not doing very much really.

Tamba is a nice enough if dull sort of town. It’s a crossroads, with the Dakar to Kayes (Mali) road running west-east and the road from the south from Casamance, bypassing the Gambia. There’s a raliway station, a burger joint, a couple of bars, a pharmacy, a couple of internet cafes, a textile (cotton) factory; and one bank with two long, slow queues if you want to take money out.

It’s a passing through sort of place, not a tourist destination. The Relais we’re staying in is full most nights however. Mostly with an NGO crowd. Nice, new white Toyotas with big phone aerials coming off the front bumper. Everyone looks very busy. Well, what do we know, we’re lying by the pool or watching footie on the TV in the bar. We eat with Celine and Thierry from a French development bank both evenings, chatting to them about their work in Africa and picking up information about the other countries we’ll be visiting. Mbaye, Philippe and Bassouri behind the bar supply us with Flag beer or rose wine and a steady flow of peanuts. It’s a great break, we even manage to catch up with Law and Order, 3 episodes back to back each night. Thanks for the lovely pressie again, folks!

"So, Paul, how's work?"