Back in 2007 I spent a wonderful day at a Jola’s initiation festival in The Gambia, West Africa. While taking a break from the hustle and bustle of the festivities, sitting on a rug under the shade of a tree with friends, one of the girls asked if she could plait my hair. Much to her frustration my hair would not do as it was told and refused to stay plaited! We had a great time chatting and laughing while she persisted but to no avail. She was a bright, cheerful little girl but this week’s travel snap shows a different side to her – a proud young daughter of the Jola tribe.

More about the day and a few more photos can be found in a previous post ‘Singing, dancing and some very loud bangs’.

Last December when I visited the small West African country, The Gambia, I enjoyed a wonderful morning learning how to cook a traditional Gambian meal with the charismatic Ida in her family home. By lunchtime the smells from the cooking pot were driving us all to distraction and we were eager to tuck in to the feast we had helped prepare.

As we settled down on to the rugs that had been laid down on Ida’s patio I noticed a blue flip-flop nailed to a tree beside me. Curious!

Each country I have ever visited has its own set of customs and beliefs, some similar to those found in other countries and some that are unique to that particular country. For instance, in some countries, including Britain, it is believed to be good luck for a black cat to cross your path while in others, including The Gambia, it is very unlucky. I wondered if this flip-flop was to do with a local superstition.

When Ida joined us we immediately asked her and laughing she explained that it is believed that if you found a flip-flop on the street, brought it home and nailed it to a tree that had stopped bearing fruit, the tree would then start producing fruit again. She had always thought the custom ridiculous, however, when her prized avocado tree stopped bearing fruit she thought that she had nothing to lose and gave it a try. The next season, much to her surprise, the tree produced more fruit than it ever had before and has done ever since.

I’d love to hear from you if you know of any similar superstitions to this or if you have a favourite one you keep or a funny one you have heard of.

This week’s travel snap is of the hotel Marine Club on the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde (about 400 hundred miles off the west African coast). I can remember thinking how wonderful it would be to sit at the end of this pier sipping a cocktail as the sun went down. Unfortunately I was only there for a couple of hours photographing the hotel for the Cape Verde Experience before moving on to another one during a one day visit to the island but it was still a glorious day.

The air was fresh and the sea and sky so blue and clear. I’ve saturated the colours quite a bit in Photoshop as this is how I remember it and how the view made me feel – full on colour. I’ve also tone-mapped it in Photomatix (which I’ve just started using) to even out the extremes in contrast. How the final image looks to you will of course depend on your monitor and how it is set up but what do you think? Do you prefer a less saturated and (possibly) more natural image or do you like it in its fully saturated, tone-mapped glory?

Ida teaching tourists to play an ancient traditional game from West Africa is this week’s travel snap. I love the expressions on their faces. Can anyone beat Ida?

I first came across the game of wuri when I saw a family playing it in a back street in Mindelo on São Vicente, one of the islands of Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa. A year later, this time on the island of Sal, some locals challenged me to play wuri with them. Most of the games I apparently won even though I didn’t have clue how!  Before I left the island I bought a wuri board as a souvenir but was somewhat disappointed that I didn’t understand how the game was played.

It wasn’t until a few years later when I was on an excursion in The Gambia, ‘Cooking with Ida’, that I discovered the simple rules of wuri. It was fun to see how the game brought out the competitive streak in all of us and while we waited for the fish benechin to cook we had a mini wuri tournament!

In case anyone else has bought a wuri board whilst on holiday but is uncertain how to play here are the rules, as explained by Ida.

Wuri rules
This is a game for two players. The board is divided into two parts, one side for each player and each side has 6 holes or pots. Before the game starts 4 beans are placed in each hole.

Players take it in turns to pick up the beans from one pot and place a single bean in each of the next pots in an anti-clockwise direction. Each player can only play with beans picked up on their side of the board.

If the last pot they put a bean into then contains 2, 4 or 6 beans (whether it is on the players side or their opponents side) the player wins those beans and puts them to one side.

If there are no beans on your side to play then you miss a go and continue missing a go until there are beans on your side again.

When neither player can play anymore each player counts up the beans they have won. The winner is the person who has collected the most beans.

When I received a copy of a new cookbook through the post I eagerly ripped open the parcel, as I’d been looking forward to reading The Gambian Cookbook – Recipes from the Smiling Coast, ever since I’d been asked by the authors to review it.

Bread and coconut cake

My first impression was that this was a comprehensive book about Gambian cooking that was long overdue. Although the cover didn’t exactly shout cookbook to me, looking inside I found enticing recipes about how to cook well known Gambian dishes plus many I’d never heard of before. What particularly struck was the friendly style with which it had been written and the wonderful anecdotes that came with each recipe.

At the front of the book is a useful list of ingredients that the reader might be unfamiliar with giving suitable alternatives. For example, almost every main course recipe includes kani chillies, which are not generally available in the UK, although they are similar to scotch bonnet chillies, which are. Alternatively, ‘Aggy’s Hot Chilli and Spicy Sauce’ can be used to give a more accurate flavour. This and the frequently used Maggi cubes can both be bought online if you can’t find them in your local shops.

I found the last section interesting. Entitled ‘Toubab Dishes’ it shows how European influences have been enveloped into modern Gambian fusion cuisine. I also loved the suggestions on presentation including how to make a colourful tie-dye tablecloth, so typical of The Gambia – wonderful!

A Gambian Feast!

I recently invited a few friends to join me in trying out some of the recipes and we had a Gambian feast for World Food Night.

On the menu…

Pepe chicken soup – a seriously delicious spicy soup and possibly my favourite dish of the day

Domada – chicken in a tasty peanut sauce served with rice

Afra – spicy lamb kebabs, a popular Gambian street food

Banana cake – a yummy, easy to make cake

Bread and coconut cake – an even yummier cake

Banana and lime smoothie – one of the most refreshing drinks I’ve ever tried

Everyone cooked a different dish and we had a great time eating them all. We found the recipes easy to follow, the only criticisms were that there are a few omissions in a couple of recipes where the ‘method’ did not say when to add all the listed ingredients. This wasn’t a problem though and there wasn’t a single dish that wasn’t well received. Below is the recipe for our favourite dish of the day.

Pepe Soup – Chicken

The traditional chicken pepe soup is known as a cure-all and, amongst other things, is said to cure the common cold. Beware though – it packs quite a punch!

Time: 3 hours
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients:
250 grams of tomato concentrate paste
500 grams of chicken, cut in small pieces
2 litres of water
1 tablespoon of black pepper, finely ground*
2 tablespoons of kani chilli, finely chopped*
2 whole kani chillies
1 teaspoon of salt
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 large Maggi cubes
2 tablespoons of peanut oil

*Far less pepper and chilli was used in the version we tried and while it was hot it was comfortable to eat. How much you add really is a matter of taste but Gambians like it hot!

Method:
1. Mix the black pepper, chopped kani, garlic, and Maggi in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Heat the oil in a deep pan.
3. Stir fry the chicken until cooked, then add the paste from the blender and the water.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Simmer until the stock has halved.
6. Add the tomato paste and stir until it has been incorporated into the stock.
7. Add two whole chillies.
8. Simmer for 10 further minutes.
9. Remove the whole chillies (which should be soft but not falling apart).
10. Serve steaming hot, with some crusty bread on the side.

This recipe has been reproduced with permission from “The Gambian Cookbook” (Dec 2011, ISBN 9781-908797-001 – Daryanani and Shah). The Gambian Cookbook can be purchased from leading online booksellers, or if you would like a signed copy from the publishers visit SaharanPress.

This really is a lovely cookbook and is so much more than a collection of great recipes. It gives the reader a wonderful glimpse into Gambian life.

You can read more about Gambian cooking in my recent post ‘Cooking with Ida’.

Following on from my earlier post about World Food Night, featuring a colourful bowl of fish benechin, I wanted to share with you the wonderful morning I spent with Ida Cham-Njai learning how to cook Gambian style!

I joined a small group of tourists on Ida’s cookery course one Monday morning and as soon as we arrive we are shown two clothes’ rails of Gambian traditional outfits. Everyone eagerly picks out their new look. I have always found Gambians love to see visitors embrace their culture in this way so I too select a beautiful bright green ensemble, including a matching head wrap, and get changed.

Few people in The Gambia have access to electricity let alone a fridge so it is common for women to shop at least once a day at the local market. We go to Tanji fish market where all our senses are overloaded with the sights, sounds and smells of the market – women are busy buying and selling, while the men are bringing in the latest catch in their colourfully painted wooden boats. Ida decides at the market what she is going to cook depending on what is available and looking good. Today fish benechin is on the menu and she selects a john dory fish and a red snapper. A small amount of dried salted fish will also be used for extra flavour.

Benechin literaly means one pot and can be cooked with chicken or other meat but fish is probably the most common variation. While the fish sellers scale and gut the fish, we’re off to buy the other ingredients: tomatoes, carrots, spring onions, sweet potatoes, onions, aubergine, cassava, bitter tomatoes and butternut squash are gathered into baskets.

Back in Ida’s courtyard we grab a seat and gather round to prepare the vegetables, many of which are left whole rather than chopped so that they are easy to scoop out and place on top of the finished dish for serving. Others are pounded together in a large wooden bowl.

A smaller bowl and a gourd are used to mash up the chillies and garlic which will be used to make a chilli sauce. They are fried in some oil with a dash of salt and Dijon mustard. This would normally go into the main dish but as some of us may not be used to spicy food it is prepared as a separate sauce.

The vegetables are cooked in a large pot over a charcoal fire and as the pot is stirred a delicious aroma fills the air but we are told it will 2 ½ hours before it is ready.

While we wait Ida teaches us the traditional game of wuri bringing out the competitive streak in all of us and before you know it we have a mini wuri tournament taking place! Sitting in the dappled shade of Ida’s courtyard I feel quite envious of this out-door life style. (I’ll tell you more about wuri and where I first came across it in another post.)

With an hour’s cooking time left to go the fish goes in to the pot.

Half an hour later the fish and whole vegetables are removed and the spring onions which have been pounded up with some garlic are added together with vegetable stock cubes and diced carrot. Pre-steamed rice is stirred in and it’s left to simmer for another 30 minutes.

Our tummies are rumbling as we all sit down on a rug in the courtyard. Dinner is served! As is the tradition we are not given plates but all eat out of a communal bowl, which looks and smells delightful. We have no skill at rolling the food into small balls with our fingers as the locals would so I’m pleased to say we were allowed spoons. I think the verdict is unanimous. Fish benechin is delicious! The chilli sauce, however, was not to everyone tastes but my neighbour on the rug adored it and I couldn’t believe how much of it he ate as it really did pack a serious punch!

More of my photographs from the day are on Flickr  and if you fancy trying some Gambian cookery yourself look out for my up coming post reviewing The Gambian Cookbook.

If you enjoyed reading this post I’d love to hear from you and please do share it on Twitter and Facebook etc.

Ida, originally from The Gambia, studied hotel tourism and catering management in Twickenham in the UK but returned to The Gambia in 1989. Having spent some time working at the popular Senegambia Hotel and then the luxurious Mandina Lodges at Makasutu, she started running cookery courses from her home in Brufut with the desire to preserve and promote her culture.

Just a few miles north-east of Brikama, which is the second largest town in The Gambia, you will find Makasutu Forest, a lush green wilderness fed by a tributary of the River Gambia. Now a private eco-reserve with a handful of luxury lodges, the owners have worked hard at preserving the diverse eco-systems found in the area including mangrove swamps and dense tropical palm forests.

On my first visit to The Gambia I came across the wise man of Makasutu (meaning ‘sacred forest’ in Mandinka one of the tribal languages of West Africa). While one of my companions went inside the wise man’s shelter to have his fortune told I stayed outside photographing his family. His grandchildren were a delight – one minute looking very serious, the next minute giggling away. This week’s travel snap is one of my favourite images of the day.

There’s a great photography post doing the rounds at the moment called ’7 Super Shots’. HostelBookers.com put out the call to select 7 of your favourite photographs, one for each of the following categories, then tag 5 bloggers that you would like to take part. I was really pleased when Anja nominated me. So here are my 7 shots…

1. A photo that…takes my breath away

The pretty seaside town of L’Ile Rousse, Corsica and the stunning beach – the colour of the sea took my breath away the first time I saw it and no matter how often I return it still does. A shot taken in the other direction featured in my ‘ Travel snap of the week’ recently so check it out if you’d like to know a more about L’Ile Rousse.

2. A photo that…makes me laugh or smile

These wonderful children in The Gambia always make me smile when I visit their school in Brikama. Read about my last visit in ‘My dairy from the smiling coast of Africa.’

3. A photo that…makes me dream

Calvi beach (also in Corsica) with a back drop of pine trees and the mountains beyond – I regularly dream of being back in Corsica!

4. A photo that…makes me think

I took this photograph while on a photographic assignment in Senegal. Whenever I look at it I wonder what she was thinking. I think she looks sad. My guide did speak to her to ask if it was OK to take a few photos before I barged into her home.  I do hope she didn’t mind the intrusion too much. I felt frustrated that all I could do was smile and thank her in English or French without knowing whether she understood a word of what I was saying.

As a travel photographer you often find your self intruding in people’s lives. When is it OK and when are you crossing the line?

5. A photo that…makes my mouth water

Cupcakes topped with strawberries and cream, in Brighton, England. Delicious!

6. A photo that…tells a story

This statue in memory of the end of slavery is a poignant reminder of the tragic past of Gorée Island just off the coast of Dakar, Senegal. Once a transportation post for slaves leaving Africa it is now a very beautiful little island with pretty pastel painted buildings and flower filled streets plus a museum about slavery. A ‘must see’ when visiting Dakar. More of my photos from Senegal are on Flickr.

7. A photo that…I am most proud of (aka my worthy of National Geographic shot)

This is a tough one! My favourite photograph changes regularly and I’ve already posted a few in my weekly ‘Travel snap’ features. Not wanting to repeat myself here’s another one of my favourites shots of a street in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde.

Thanks again Anja for nominating me. There are lots of  bloggers’ I’d like to pass this on too but I better limit this to 5 as requested!

So I’m asking the following to share their ’7 Super Shots’ with us.

Suzanne, The Travel Bunny

Cynthia, Hapidayz

Abu, A Visual Journey

Andrew, Andrew Graeme Gould Photography

Greg, Wanders & Wonders

In recognition of World Food Night, which is being held next Friday, this week’s travel snap is of a delicious bowl of fish benechin that I helped prepare in The Gambia.

You can find a recipe for this spicy traditional dish on World Food Night’s website under ‘News’ from a great new Gambian cook book that I will shortly be reviewing. Next weekend I’ll be hosting a Gambian feast for WFN with recipes from this book and my friends will be picking out their favourite dishes.

Levi Roots, who I interviewed in my last post, is a great fan of WFN which is being promoted by the UK charity Refugee Action. Like him I think it’s a wonderful way to spend time with friends, discovering food from around the world and supporting those of have had to flee their homeland and start a new life in a foreign land. So why not join me and cook-up an international feast, invite a few friends round and support Refugee Action?

I once spent an afternoon wandering through the cobbled streets of Mindelo photographing many beautiful buildings – faded memories of Cape Verde’s colonial past when the Portuguese once ‘owned’ the islands. This week’s travel snap is one of my favourite images from that day.

Mindelo is the capital of São Vincent, one of the ten islands that make up the archipelago of Cape Verde which lies about 400 miles west of the West African city of Dakar. Culturally Cape Verde is a unique mix of African, Brazilian and Portuguese and each of the ten islands has its own character. From the barren Boa Vista, which has the most spectacular beaches I’ve ever seen, to the souring mountains and green valleys of  Santo Antão, from watersports enthusiasts haven of Sal to rich musical heritage of São Vicente, each island is unique.

View Larger Map

For holidays in the Cape Verde islands visit the Cape Verde Experience.