Hanging with the Monkeys

A new day has dawned, and I found a hotel that actually has water. My first choice of hotel was full because in fact the VSO volounteers for The Gambia have all just arrived, and booked the place out. Typical do-gooder behaviour..
I also managed to give my laundry to the hotel to wash (not the actual building, but rather a person, obviously), and found myself explaining why it was so filthy - 'I've been in Mauritania', I said. They seemed to think that was a good enough reason.
'Lot's of dust and sand'.
'Yes, that's it.'
I confess to feeling slightly guilty, as I watched the woman walk off with my clothes and a giant block of yellow soap.
The waiter where I ate lunch was from Ghana, and he was very nice and friendly and came and talked to me when he wasn't busy, but was still professional enough not to neglect any of the other customers. That's what I like to see in a waiter.
My new hotel room is a bit pricier, but get this, it has a TV! Not only that, but I am in The Gambia, so no having to put up with dubbed French. They have 'The Showtime Arabia Network' - well, 3 channels of it, including the Paramount Comedy Channel, and it's subtitled not dubbed. Yes!
I do however feel that I ought to come clean right away, and admit that I watched a full episode of 'Becker' starring Ted Danson. I'm sorry..
I went to the nature reserve yesterday. It's even walking distance from the tourist area. It's really lovely, and I didn't see a single other person. There are a few miles of trails, and it costs less than a quid to get in.
I saw loads of birds and lizards, and two different kinds of monkeys - big ones and small ones (not the scientific definition). It was great, I sat in the forest and watched them play in the trees. There are some people out there who would say I would feel quite at home hanging out with monkeys, and maybe they are right...