Abene

11 december 2022

Going for walks here involves spending your days in solitude in the most beautiful forested areas and along deserted beaches. Today I walked north to Niafourang, a village on the Gambian border.

The tracks were through the forest, thick with natural fauna and alive with birds and insects. I met two local farmers clearing a well and got directions at one point from a man working in his garden.

The village of Niafourange is a cluster of buildings around a big tree. There were some women selling fruit and nuts and children playing around a pile of sand. Other than them, the village was quiet. All the men were attending a meeting at the Auberge Litilo, nestled in the mangrove swamps and owned by Osman. The villagers had come together with the support of an NGO to try to put across their case against accepting the mining development project of the Chinese, planned for their coast line.

The walk back to Abene was along the unspoilt and clean beach. It was clear to see how precious this coast line is to preserve and how challenging that will be for the local people going forwards.

The village of Abene is alive with music this weekend as people come from all around to enjoy the annual reggae festival. You can hear the djembe drums being played from a distance.

I walked along the coast heading south and stopped at the fishing area of Kafountine. Again the beaches were deserted except for a few local bars selling soft drinks and fishermen. This is definitely a part of the world unspoilt by development and priding itself in its natural beauty.

This evening, one of the guests, a kora player, played for us. A private concert of incredibly moving music - a magical moment in time.