Mangoes and Rain

Mango season is coming to an end. There are lots of mango trees in The Gambia and people here like the trees as they provide excellent shade. Many hours are spent talking, chatting, chilling and drinking green tea under a mango tree.

During mango season (which seems to have been the last three months or so) you often hear the thud of mangoes falling to the floor (you have to take care to dodge them if you were relaxing under the mango tree) and you will see lots of children and adults throwing stones into the trees in an attempt to knock the mangoes to the floor or prodding the trees with exceptionally long sticks (sold specifically for this purpose!)

I have eaten a lot of mangoes during the last couple of months and I think that now I have eaten so many that I am going 'off' them! When I hear the 'thud' of a mango falling to the ground I no longer run to locate the fruit! The novelty has worn off. However all is not lost as I am told that there are different varieties of mangoes and there is one particular type that I still really like and enjoy eating (I also want to note as a side that the way people eat mangos here is very interesting to observe)!

Very soon mango season will be over and perhaps if there are no mangoes for 8 months or so when they return I might be keen to eat them again? We will have to see.

Now rainy season is fast approaching. It rained in the evening in the 1st June and again in the evening the following day. Since then it rained once during the morning. When rainy season starts properly then it will rain heavily (on and off) for about 3 and half months. Everything here goes green, rivers fill up again and the sand 'roads' become streams! There are things about rainy season that I love and things about it that I hate! What I can tell you though, is that it gets HOT, really hot and humid and when it actually rains it's not like a shower, it's like somebody is pouring a swimming pool of water over your head!!

People here tell me that the rainy season starts on the 15th June. I have no idea why this date has been selected (the say the same day every year - 15th June). Originally when I heard this date it made me smile as I was sure that there could not possibly be an exact date when the rains start properly every year? HOWEVER as this date approaches I'm becoming more and more intrigued.

Today is the 14th and the sky has changed colour. It is still exceptionally hot but the sky is grey. My neighbour Isatou told me, 'Kaddy, the rain is coming'. There is definitely a difference in the atmosphere. So who knows? Maybe tomorrow it will rain and then the rain will continue for three months. Maybe the rains do start on the 15th June every year? How exciting! Watch this space!