Day 67: Janjan Bureh (Gambia) – Vélingara (Senegal)

Slept poorly, Brigitte's stomach is not okay. Also: Saturday disco in the village until three in the morning – echoes well over the river.

After breakfast with a view over the Gambia River, Catherine and Ian and we part ways. For us we're heading east and we're skipping Guinea-Bissau. The two want to travel there and specifically visit the islands, so they are heading west today. Maybe we can get back together again. Which also depends on whether we both can manage to continue and create enough periods of rest.

In the less than hundred kilometers to the Senegalese border we are stopped more than five times, once by the military. Talk, be friendly, exchange names, shake hands, answer questions about itinerary and home country, etc.

This means that we reach the border around midday. No problem on the Gambian side, everything is quick and easy – we are the only ones. On the Senegalese side we still manage to pass passport control, but then have to wait three quarters of an hour until the person responsible for the car import stamp had lunch and taken a nap. Nevertheless, thanks to Sunday there's hardly anything going on and overall we're getting through quite well.

And Sunday is also a nice day for driving because there is something going on in the villages, but the atmosphere is totally relaxed. Sunday is not a normal working day here.

Our parking spot today is near Vélingara, just a few kilometers behind the border – a short driving day is also good. And we meet two Germans who were already standing at the Zebra Bar.