February 26, 2007

Africa & Mideast | Gambia

Gambia for Beginners

By Mark Jolly

Which beautiful African beach are you missing out on?

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Tired of being country-trumped by your ridiculously well-traveled friends? Why not gamble on the Gambia? With Africa becoming an increasingly “hot” cocktail-party conversation, more and more Americans are journeying to the continent. And soon, West Africa’s tiniest and arguably most stable nation will be blessed with a chic beachfront retreat: the Sheraton Gambia Hotel Resort & Spa. The property opens on April 1 in Brufut Heights, a remote seaside town (don’t expect a local tourism website) dotted with mango and Baobab trees. The local sights? Put it this way: you’re less likely to encounter a tour bus than you are wandering livestock as well as children who call you “toubab,” or white man in Mandinka. The time to hit the beach is April to June, when temperatures average 80 degrees. However, good-time girls hoping to get their groove back should be on the lookout for bumsters, or local men hoping to hustle ladies looking for lovin’.