Who can look at a boat floating on the water and not feel at least a small sense of adventure? The chance to leave the land behind and explore, the promise of an escape from the routine of everyday life, the drama of the open sea or the gentle rocking of a boat on calmer inland waters.
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Sometimes a few words can enhance a viewer’s understanding of an image. After all, what else are captions for if not to explain?
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There are luxury resorts all over the world where you can, if you want, relax on a beach knowing that you and your fellow guests will have it to yourselves. No one will intrude to disturb the illusion of perfection or remind you that you are (quite probably) in a third world country. Eden Lodge, on Baobab Beach, where we spent our last few days in Madagascar, is definitely not such a spot.
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How many different kinds of transportation can you think of? The obvious include bikes, cars, planes, trains, boats. Of course our own two feet are a means of transport. Then there are the animals pressed into service such as horses, camels and donkeys. All over the world people make different transport choices depending on local customs and resources.
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The Mersey ferry, linking Liverpool to Birkenhead, is just possibly the most famous ferry service in the world, and certainly so in England, thanks to a certain song. A few years ago the celebrated artist Sir Peter Blake, most famous for The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album cover, was asked to create a special design for one of the ferries, as part of Liverpool’s First World War commemorations. He came up with Everybody Razzle Dazzle, inspired by the ‘dazzle’ patterns that were first used on vessels in World War One.
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The river Gambia runs through the heart of the country of the same name, splitting it into two narrow strips, north and south of the river. To the west is the Atlantic Ocean; on all other sides the country is surrounded by Senegal.
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I am very much inclined to agree with Ratty that there is half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. And whenever I spot an opportunity while travelling to take to the water, I am eager to set sail. A whale-watching trip; a cruise around a harbour; an afternoon on a city’s river. Count me in for any of those!
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I like nothing more than a boat trip. Whether we are by the sea, a lake or a river; if there is an opportunity to get out on the water I will take it. And the smaller the boat, the better. I have little interest in large cruise ships, the so-called ‘floating hotels’. I want to feel the movement, maybe reach out and dip my hand in the water, or feel the spray on my face as we cut through the waves.
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The catch was brought in hours ago. But the fishing quay in Bakau, in northern Gambia, is nevertheless a hive of activity. Many of the colourful pirogues are pulled up on the beach. Others are floating offshore, as the fishermen check and mend their nets and other equipment. Those that have finished their work sit chatting or try to make a few extra delasi by showing tourists around.
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One of the pleasures of a stay by the sea is an early morning walk on the beach. The waves lapping the shore, the sound of sea birds, a gentle breeze … a tranquil spot in which to recharge the batteries. But what most of us regard as a welcome break from our day to day lives is for others a place of work, and hard work at that.
