Fate has a strange knack of intervening in your live when you least expect it. 1999 had been the worst year of my life ending with the death of my father after a long drawn out illness. I just wanted to get away from everything. I didn’t care where it was so long as it was hot and I could sit on the beach, relax and recover. So I found myself in The Gambia for the first time in late December 1999. I loved The Gambia immediately. Although not scenic, I was captivated by the warmth and friendliness of the people. I had travelled extensively in Africa before but there was something indefinable about this place that drew me like a magnet. All I wanted to do was relax so I would rise early and lay on the beach for a couple of hours to set me up for the day. I enjoyed being on the beach early, most tourists were still in bed and the peace and the early morning sun revitalised me. I did not want to be sociable so I read or feigned sleep. However, I could not help but be fascinated by one lady who also at on the beach every morning. She was always surrounded by Gambians. They encircled her, sat on the bottom of her sunbed, chatting away. They called her Mama Africa. As the days passed my self-imposed exile began to waver and my curiosity surfaced. Who was she? Why were The Gambians always flocking around her? Why did they call her Mama Africa? In the end I could stand it no longer and I approached her and asked her my questions. That long conversation was to alter the course of my life. Mama Africa and her dynamic daughter Debbie worked tirelessly to collect medical equipment which they shipped to The Gambia in a container every year. They were also involved in collecting items for the schools and the emergency services. She gave me her address and I promised to try and help. Over the next ten months I collected items towards their next shipment. The more I came to know them both, the greater the respect and admiration I had for both of them. They worked tirelessly for The Gambia. The project was by this time expanding so rapidly that Debbie took the decision to amalgamate the medical, educational and emergency services under one umbrella to become an official charity. Thus GO GAMBIA was born. I was asked to become a Trustee and took on the responsibility of Sponsorship Program Administrator. We now run an educational sponsorship programme for 200 children as well as providing desperately needed equipment for the schools, hospitals and the emergency services. GO GAMBIA continues to expand and has become one of the great passions in my life. I could go on forever about it but it would be easier to log on to our website where our work is explained in detail. Go Gambia website Fate led me to that beach in The Gambia in 1999. I often look back and think how strange it was that a conversation on Banjul beach turned my life upside down when I least expected it. Any Globetrotters members interested in sponsoring a child’s education or who can assist the project in any way can contact us through the GO GAMBIA website. Alternatively, you may contact Rosemary by e-mail on: rahamblin@hotmail.coms

There are many diseases spread by the bite of infected insects. This article focuses on methods of bite avoidance and therefore ways to reduce not only the inconvenience of insect bites but also ways to reduce the chances of contracting any one of the potentially life threatening diseases including malaria that can be contracted this way

Different types of mosquito will bite at different times, for example the mosquito that carries malaria predominantly bites between dusk and dawn whereas the one that carries dengue fever (predominantly present in Asia but also in the Americas an Africa) will bite during the day, so good bite avoidance techniques should be employed whenever biting insects are present.

There are several basic ways to reduce insect bites and these will be considered in turn. They are to:

Ø Reduce general exposure to insects

Ø Apply repellent to the skin

Ø Use insecticides which are impregnated into materials such as clothing or mosquito nets

Ø Remove insects from the environment using contact insecticides, e.g., knock-down sprays or burners/mats

Reducing Exposure

This means reducing the amount of exposed skin that is available for the mosquito to bite, therefore long sleeved shirts, trousers and socks should all be worn. It’s also been found that the mosquitoes find it more difficult to bite through loose as opposed to tight clothing.

Another way to prevent mosquitoes getting to your skin is to ensure that you always sleep in a mosquito net, these should either have a very fine weave to prevent any insect getting through no matter how small it is, or a larger weave that allows air to circulate better but these should be impregnated with an insecticide (see later)

Application of Repellents

There are many different types of repellent on the market but one of the best is still DEET, when applied in concentrations of at least 20% (many contain 40-50%) it is both long lasting and effective. It is safe when applied to the skin but can damage plastics so its always advisable to wipe your hands after application or you may find that when you go to put your sunglasses back on you leave fingerprints on the lenses. It will also sting the eyes and lips and therefore should never be sprayed directly on the face but can be applied lightly using the hands. Citronella oil and especially its derivatives are also very effective but citronella oil on its own doesn’t last very long at all and would need to be reapplied every hour or so.

Whichever repellent you use it is important to reapply regularly, its difficult to say exactly how often but no repellent will last more than about 4 hours or so (unless it is specially formulated into a slow-release application) and factors such as humidity, wind and the amount you sweat will all reduce effective duration but every couple of hours should suffice. Its also important to cover all exposed skin, not forgetting the ears or the back of the neck since mossies will always manage to find that one little patch of forgotten skin and have a feast!

High strength DEET can also be applied to wrist and ankle bands to be worn at high risk times and if these are stored in a little airtight bag they will remain active for days before another application is required.

Use of Insecticides

The type of insecticide now most commonly used is called permethrin, It’s available for application directly to clothing or in a much stronger solution that can be used to soak mosquito nets and give protection for up to 3-6 months. All nets should be treated where possible because if even a single mosquito gets into your net with you it is trapped for the night, with only you to feed on. It can land on a non treated net for a rest and then return to you for a further meal. When sprayed onto clothing it will effectively kill any insect that lands on the treated clothing and thus prevent the mosquito from biting you for up to two weeks. This method of bite avoidance is advisable for those individuals who find themselves particularly susceptible to insect bites or are in areas of particularly high risk of disease transmission. When using these products it is advisable to avoid contact with the skin whilst still wet, but once dry it is totally safe for humans and it is impossible to tell whether clothing has been treated or not. It doesn’t even smell unlike DEET that used to be used to treat clothing and nets

Removal of Insects from the Environment

These are generally ways to kill insects present in rooms etc. Knockdown sprays are very effective and readily available and the best way to use them is often to spray the room before you go out in the evening and let the insecticide do its work whilst you are enjoying yourself. Alternatively if you have an uninterrupted electricity supply, plug in products that release permethrin-type insecticide into the room throughout the night are very effective. They rely on a small heating element that will either vaporise fluid or heat little mats that in turn release the active ingredient into the room, again harmless to humans and virtually odourless. You can also purchase coils that burn releasing the insecticide, these can produce small amounts of smoke and fumes and should therefore not really be used in enclosed environments, they are however very useful when eating outside. A small piece of a coil (one coil lasts about 10 hours) burnt under the table will keep the mossies away from your ankles – one of the most popular areas for biting insects. Air conditioning will also reduce the number of bites you get during the night if you have none of the other options since lower temperatures do not encourage the mosquitoes to feed and the constant flow of air makes it more difficult for them to find you.

Formore information, visit the Nomad Travel website:Nomad Travel or call the Travel Health Line: 0906 8633414 (calls cost 60p per min) to discuss your travel health queries with a medical.

Philippe continues his tale of diving and exploring Curacao with his family.

Harry and his wife, Ann-Marie, have done all in their power to help us achieving the best diving around the island. They have lent us all equipment necessary including tanks to do some shore diving around the island and God knows that, around Curacao, there are several luscious beaches (e.g., “Klein Knipbaai”, “Playa Porto Marie” or “Playa Jeremi”) with astounding coral reef diving, down to quite extreme depths (that is, if you want) and very good facilities…for the after-dive relaxation.

The club boats have also taken us to some very good diving places not far from the hotel. One of these places was called the “Mushroom Forest” and, when diving there, we had the feeling of wandering in the middle of a forest of giant mushrooms, except that they were coral formations under which we could often glimpse lobsters and moray eels.

Easy Divers’ philosophy is based on the following principle: once you have established your credentials, you are free to dive the way you want, under your sole responsibility. This philosophy, in addition to the boat taking you to excellent spots, to the skipper giving you a good pre-dive briefing and to the boat picking you up at the end of your dive wherever you are (i.e. you do not have to navigate back to the boat), was what European divers like us needed to do exciting dives.

The club was also offering all expected facilities and more, like nitrox, a locker to store away your equipment to dry, a bar on the beach nearby, showers for after the dive, all books necessary to identify what we had seen (a special mention about Paul Humann’s and Ned Deloach’s “The Reef Set” books which is probably one of the best books ever made to precisely identify what you are going to see or what you have seen: definitely a must have!) and refreshing fruit salads to pick from while discussing your dives with your buddies, lying on deck chairs.

Furthermore, the diving club was conveniently located on the beach of a resort (the Sunset Waters Beach Resort) which was providing very good accommodation, food and all other amenities to make the rest of the trip enjoyable, including a casino, a swimming pool and a mini-golf. There were even some activities organised for the kids like movies, sea kayak trips or water-polo tournaments so they definitely have also been able to make the best out of their stay there.

Apart from Park Cristoffel which is supposed to offer some very good hiking, Curacao also offered a few interesting things to see on the dry over-the-water side of the island:

· Willemstad (the capital) made for an interesting tour with its Dutch inspired houses, its floating rotating bridge, its floating market (as nothing grows on Curacao, except Aloe Vera which has been cultivated there for a very long time, all fruits and vegetables are imported from the nearby Venezuela);

· A South-African Boer has opened an ostrich farm, which gave us the opportunity to discover the life of ostriches and even to taste them in the form of juicy steaks and sausages;

· The Kura Hollanda Museum about the Black Culture and Holocaust was also a highly interesting moment in the trip as it enabled us to understand more about the history of Black people in the Caribbean islands and in the USA, with, among other things, an outstanding highlight on the slave trade;

· Last, Curacao Seaquarium displayed some very interesting tanks and creatures, taking advantage of the sea close vicinity to display, among other things, nurse and lemon sharks, tarpons, groupers and rays in almost natural environment with a possibility for divers to interact.

All in all, a very pleasant trip to “one of the best kept secrets of the Caribbean islands” which I would definitely recommend to divers travelling with their families.

If you would like to contact Philippe about diving or info on Curacao, his e-mail is: philippe.sigal@bnpparibas.com