Of my 17 trips to the Smiling Coast of Africa in 23 years, this was only my fourth trip with new travel mates. The highlights of the two weeks in Senegambia (the combined areas of Senegal and Gambia) were seeing them fulfill their wishes—and still being able to meet my own. Paul, a former Peace Corp worker in The Gambia, reunited after 43 years with many former associates, including our common friend, Ebrima. He also reunited with a former co-worker who had become a high-ranking official in The Gambian government.

Kym, now a medical administrator, wanted a glimpse of the medical system. Instead, she dove into the waters as we unexpectedly spent time making sure Ebrima was okay at the community health center and visiting a pharmacy.

This is what traveling to The Gambia as a traveler versus as a tourist with Port of Harlem looks like. As travelers, they learned to watch their "cash power" and to "step down," not "get out" of a car.

Of course, we did the traditional tourist things while in Dakar, such as visiting La Maison des Esclaves,  the new Musée des Civilisations Noires, and the Monument de la Renaissance Africaine. Surprisingly, we did all three in one day.

I am more passionate about Fort James in The Gambia than Goree. Still, the new Museum was fantastic and included a tribute to Barack Obama, as well as, surprisingly, to Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks. The exhibit covering the riots and the subsequent election of their current and fifth president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, was informative, creative, and visually pleasing.

This was my second visit to the monument and maybe my last walk up the 11 landings, with 18 steps, totaling 198 steps, to the base. However, once inside, I was pleased to see the tribute to President Obama and Dr. King alongside those of their five presidents.

We shared a short-term rental via Airbnb for only $80 for two nights. The space was fantastic, but I don't think I will be making the walk up three flights of stairs again. However, through the host, we met Kwame of Senegal Airport Services, whose services I will use on my next layover in the expensive city of Dakar. 

As usual, we faced challenges, such as Air Senegal changing their posted schedule, as the Senegambians would. We then had to decide whether to change our schedule or take the bus from Dakar to Banjul.

Luckily, Tina, who had gone on her first trips to the Smiling Coast with Port of Harlem, had been in Senegambia three weeks earlier and took the bus with her husband, Tony, and friend, Sax. She highly recommended the Dem Dikk (Wolof for go and come) or Gambia Transport Service Company bus ($20 one-way).

In Kololi, The Gambia's most touristy area, we rented apartments or hotel rooms for only D2,000, or about $30 per night, plus "cash power" for electricity. In The Gambia, electricity users purchase units of electricity or pay for "cash power." When your units are up, the system "off it" or turns off all your electricity.  The cell phone system works the same way.

In Gambia, we saw the arch, had clothes made, spotted monkeys while eating dinner at a hotel along the Atlantic, visited a beach, and my favorite bookstore, Timbooktu.

After spending a Saturday in Nema Kunku, where we have most of our projects, I assumed they would sleep in on Sunday.  However, they joined me as Sax (of Tina, Tony, and Sax) picked us up and took us to Christ Alone Baptist Church with Revered Felix Banson. It was Tina who introduced me to Banson years ago, and it was good to gift him and the church a sculpture of the Last Supper and Jesus on the cross that had hung in my parents' home for 40 years.

Then, we unexpectedly got a double dose of the highlight: Tobaski!

Tobaski honors the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God's command; Muslims around the world celebrate it as Eid al-Adha. In the Senegambia, Muslims call the celebration by its Wolof name, Tobaski. (In Senegal, they call it Tabaski.) Tobaski is also known as the "Festival of the Sacrifice" in English and is one of the two major Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year. It is considered the holier of the two.

Metro Banjul celebrated on Friday, and the provinces on Saturday.  Since we felt Ebrima needed some rest, we spent Friday at Ebrima's in-laws, where we saw a goat being killed and ate it later that day, the ultimate farm-to-table experience. Then, on Saturday, after visiting Juffureh and the Juffureh Slavery Museum, we celebrated Tobaski in Cham's hometown village of Kani Kunda.

After eating, the kids got dressed in their finest for Saliboo. During Saliboo, they ask for small treats. We were surprised later that evening as we drove to the Wasuu Stone Circles and JanJanbureh and had one of the police officers ask for "Saliboo."  We just played it off, and he immediately let us go forward.

While up country, we stayed at a motel I had stayed at before. We only paid $20 each for our rooms.  The last time I was there, I refused to experiment and take a cold water shower. This time, Paul, speaking from his Peace Corps experience, I guess, said that with the temperature outside being near 104 degrees, the water is not cold. That made sense, I tried it, and I enjoyed the current shower and the one I missed two years ago.

However, everyone had time to do something special for themselves. I had the opportunity to conduct research at the Gambia National Archives for a new exhibit that the Port of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership is creating. Paul had the chance to visit the successor of a small business support organization he helped create in Farafenni. Kym hung out with my friend Oumou, who braided her hair, and talked to Lucy, who manages the lodging in Kololi and was a subject in an article I wrote some time ago (We Do Not Store Away Our Old People, Like You Do)

Often, we ate at local restaurants with The Gambians, staying away from the more costly tourist or "Toubab" restaurants. Kym and I couldn't get over the fresh-squeezed orange juice we had for breakfast one day at Tropic Shopping Centre. I had the best crab balls and mashed potatoes with a strawberry daiquiri one evening at the outdoor mall across the street from the Tropics for about D1,000 or $14.00.

After two weeks as travelers on Africa's Smiling Coast, I knew they were acculturating into Gambian life. As Kym was getting out of the car, she didn't say if it was time to get out; she asked if it was okay to "step down."