Posted on by Jason Florio & Helen Jones-Florio

Gambia coastline walk: 1st Stop – an island paradise – Jinack Island, The Gambia, West Africa

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Walking boots and birkenstocks – 1st stop Jinack Island, Gambia. Image © HJF

Day One – Jinack Lodge, Jinack Island It has begun,  our 80km walk along the Gambian coastline. We’ll be updating images  – connection allowing – onto our floriotravels instagram page. The stories will come later…

 

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The approach to Jinack Island from the mainland, Gambia, West Africa – image © JF

 

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HJF at the helm –  pirogue from the mainland to Jinack Island, The Gambia, West Africa – image © JF

 

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A bar with a view – Jinack Lodge, Jinack Island, The Gambia, West Africa – image © HJF

 

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There’s beauty in that there erosion – Jinack Island, The Gambia, West Africa – image © JF

 

After an hours undulating pirogue ride – in the surging, swelling (and downright petrifying at times), waters of the Atlantic Ocean – from the island,  we landed back on mainland terra firma to begin our first day of walking: miles walked to-date – 13.5km / temperature – 31°C/humidity 74%. Hot, hot, hot!

Huge gratitude to Devon, Amadou, and all at Jinack Lodge (the cook, Binta’s, chicken yassa is delicious!), for their gracious hospitality. And the Jinack Islanders, for making us feel most welcome indeed. A sublime, and mystical (more on that at a later date), place. We only wish we’d had more time to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the island. Next time… .

 

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Jinack Lodge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Jinack Island, The Gambia, West Africa – image by HJF

 

More walking news coming soon. In the meantime, please check our floriotravels instagram page for image updates. The Florios – Helen & Jason

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Posted on by Jason Florio & Helen Jones-Florio

Walking boots and Birkenstocks – heading back to The Gambia, West Africa

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© Jason Florio – River Gambia Expedition

 

Jason and I are preparing to head back down to The Gambia next week. After a sojourn in the UK (and a flying visit back home to NYC), our first assignment back on West African soil, for a feature article, is to walk the 80km coastline of The Gambia. So, it’s time to lace up our sorely neglected walking boots – or, my case, polish off my old Birkenstocks – hey, if I can walk 930km around the small West African country, I’ll be virtually sprinting 80km.

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‘A Short Walk in the Gambian Bush – 930km African odyssey’ – Jason Florio & Helen Jones-Florio (wearing her Birks!) with Dadi Bah, alkalo of Tuba Dabbo village

 

Although we’ll be treading some familiar ground – and no doubt seeing some familiar faces along the way – but we’re excited about exploring parts of the coastline we haven’t done so before.

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© Jason Florio – walking the dogs, Cape Point, The Gambia, West Africa

 

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© Jason Florio – Ghana Town, The Gambia, West Africa

 

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© Jason Florio – Helen, heads for the beach, Sanementereng, The Gambia, West Africa

 

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© Jason Florio – The Little Mosque, Sanementereng, The Gambia, West Africa

 

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© Jason Florio – walking the dogs, Ghana Town, The Gambia, West Africa

 

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© Helen Jones-Florio – Boy on his bike, Ghana Town, The Gambia, West Africa

 

To find out about our previous 2009 Gambia walk, please go to ‘A Short Walk in the Gambian Bush – 930km African odyssey‘ and you can check out Jason’s award-winning images of Gambian village chiefs and elders, from that walk, on his website: ‘Silafando – a gift to you on behalf of my journey‘.

Please stop by again soon. Or you can ‘like’ us on facebook and follow us on twitter.

More soon…

The Florios – Helen & Jason

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Boots n Birks © Helen Jones-Florio