And then there were 6

So, with one less car on our group we made our way south, happy to be leaving Nouakchott and Mauritania behind. Our next stop was the much awaited rest stop at the Zebrabar in Senegal. This camp site is a little oasis for overlanders; a worthwhile stopover for a couple of days. We took the unsealed road to the border crossing of Diama: Be prepared for possibly the roughest roads of the trip,with big potholes and long stretches of corrugations. But this route was supposedly the less hassled way and at the end of it we certainly went through customs very easily, but with a much lighter wallet.
Before we could enter Senegal, we had to spend a small fortune in various fees; about 130E per car. This place fleeced us the most out of the whole trip. For this you don't get to drive around freely, but have to have a customs escort in and out of the country.
We spent 2 relaxing days at the Zebrabar. Then the customs escort picked us up and included another group of about 8 cars. This other group of mainly boy (and girl)racers, wanted to rush for the Gambian border that day. Outnumbered, we went along with them. This turned out to be a mistake and the worst day of the trip. Firstly, you don't drive at night in Africa because you can't see people, animals or potholes on the roads; and secondly, you don't arrive at border towns in the dark because you are just asking for trouble. We should have stayed in Toubacouta while it was still daylight. There was no rush to get anywhere that day. But, as I said, the other group has their way and we pushed on through the dark, not being able to see a bloody thing. The border at Barra was a nightmare. People banging at the car windows for money or trying to sell you stuff. This was unrelentless. One person in the car would be out dealing with the paperwork, while the other (me) sat guarding the car, enduring the constant harassment from all sides. After crossing the border there was a long stretch to the ferry port where we were to cross into Banjul. The roads were terrible and in the dark, even worse. But those in the other group didn't seem to mind thrashing their cars over the potholes (most of their cars were barely working anyhow).
We crossed the Gambian river into Banjul and arrived at the Safari Gardens around 1am. At this time of the day there was no warm welcome, but were shown to a filthy room at a nearby lodging. The following day we moved out into a room at the Safari Garden Lodge. Over the next few days we were provided with 2 very nice welcoming dinners. We watched our cars being auctioned on the 25th. Priscilla fetched £1600, the highest price of the group. The man who brought her says she WON'T be used as a taxi! (Hopefully she will still be contact with the Golf).