All the colours of the rainbow flash before my eyes. The sound of the waves, squawking seagulls and housewives’ banter assault my ears. The smell of fish fills my nostrils and the taste of salt is on my tongue, as I head for sensory overload at Tanji fish market in The Gambia, West Africa.

Where to look? What to photograph? How to capture this exciting, noisy, smelly, wonderful place?

Visiting a fishing village in The Gambia is included in the Rough Guide book, Make the most of your time on Earth – 1,000 ultimate travel experiences. They refer to the village of Sanyang but what they describe is the fishing village at Tanji. I would rank it as one of Africa’s top bucket list worthy experiences.

Tanji Fish Market

Tanji Fish Market

Buying fish by the wheelbarrow!

Tanji26

Tanji04

Tanji19

Tanji21

 While some made it clear that they didn’t want to be photographed others were only too happy to pose for my camera.

Tanji11

Tanji24

Tanji12

Tanji15

 Below, a common site in The Gambia as women go about their daily life’s with their little ones strapped to their back.

Tanji05

Visiting a fishing village in The Gambia is included in the Rough Guide book, Make the most of your time on Earth, 1,00 ultimate travel experiences. They refer to the village of Sanyang but what they describe is the fishing village at Tanji.

We are here with Ida, who is selecting the freshest fish at Tanji for us to take back and cook fish benechin, a traditional Gambian dish. You can find the recipe on Monica’s post A Gambian Cooking Class with Ida but for now I’ll leave you with the sights and sounds from the market and the cooking pot at Ida’s. I’m afraid you’ll have to imagine the other senses…

 

Ci=

We attended ‘Cooking with Ida’ courtesy of The Gambia Experience and I would highly recommend it. Tanji fishing village is fascinating, the cooking great fun, as well as delicious, and Ida is a delightful and very interesting hostess. You’ll gain a real insight into Gambian culture.

Disclosure: Although I have worked for The Gambia Experience, the sponsor of this trip, since 2005, I will always give you a completely honest opinion throughout my #BlogGambia posts, just as I would any other sponsored trip or review. My only bias, which I hope you will forgive me for, stems from my having fallen in love with The Gambia many years ago.

 

Join my 'Behind the Scenes' newsletter

Delivered monthly to your inbox with all my behind the scenes news, latest posts and giveaways exclusive to my subscribers.