"Yes, it’s been an adventure, an experience, but at no time did we feel threatened. We landed on the Sunday night, had a great first two days. On Tuesday we went for an eight-hour cycle excursion through the bush and local villages, there was no sense of tension or anything. However, that night we were warned by the police to stay in the resort on Wednesday and Thursday during the swearing-in of the new president ‘just in case’. So we planned two days in resort and then the rest of the week exploring this wonderful country.
On Tuesday night, though, some of the Dutch in the hotel got word about what was going on and started to panic. There was no need, but I guess there was some confusion which led to fear. Then Thomas Cook put a message through to the hotel that package holiday guests would be flown out in the morning and flight-only customers, like us, would be dealt with later. That message was never passed on, so we kind of missed the messages going up on the board.
"Initially we decided against heading to the airport where it would have been packed full of worried people - all elbows and tension - so we decided to stay put. Those of us left in the hotel, mainly Dutch and Scandinavian, the latter of whom were getting no help or information at all - they were kind of left - were moved to another hotel of the same chain so the hotel could save energy and resources.
"It was very sad, not scary. I met a woman who runs a nearby school which trains women in hairdressing and other skills and she said that one of her pupil’s father had been picked up by supporters of the out-going president and jailed for opposing him. But we felt none of that aggressiveness from the Gambians.
"In fact, on our cycle tour we stopped at a military base with our guide for tea and the soldiers said that they were not prepared to put their lives on the line for the out-going president. He had lost the support of the army and as soon as the Senegalese troops moved into the country, the army dropped their guns. It was clear, as cabinet ministers began to quit, it was just a matter of time before the new president would take office.
"In the meantime, we were eventually told we were going to be on an early morning flight out of the country on Thursday morning and, when we left the hotel, all the staff, all the Gambians were crying, pleading with us not to go. They were worried about what this will do to their tourist season, which is only six months, like ours in Majorca, and their jobs. They are such a lovely race, wonderful, friendly people, it’s not called the ‘smiley coast’ for nothing, and it’s such a beautiful country.
"I can’t stress enough that at no time did we feel threatened by the locals, quite the opposite they couldn’t do enough for us." Bianca, who works for Radio One Mallorca, told the Bulletin from Gatwick this afternoon.
"We landed here about 11pm on Thursday and have decided to stop a few days in London before heading back to Palma. In the end Thomas Cook were great; initially it was a case of poor communications. We’ve since received emails of apologies and they are going to cover the cost of the days we lost in resort, so in the end, we can’t complain. The only complaint is that we missed out on more time in Gambia.
"All I can say to people is, once things have settled down, and I don’t think it will take too long, go to Gambia, help the local tourist industry. It’s a wonderful destination and they need our help to continue developing their tourist industry. The Gambians are fantastic people, the beaches are stunning, the food is good and it’s value for money.
"Don’t let this stop you from going to Gambia in the future."
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