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Banjul – the capital that barely exists
Banjul is the capital of The Gambia, though to be fair, it looks more like a sleepy provincial town than the beating heart of a country. Not only is it not the largest city in the nation, but with a population of just 40,000, it ranks eighth in terms of size. No surprise then that it’s one of the smallest capitals in the world. The city is relatively young – it was founded by the British in 1816 as a military outpost to guard the mouth of the Gambia River and enforce the ban on the slave trade. Back then it was called Bathurst, named after the colonial secretary, Lord…
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Girl on a Trail – meet Lisboners!
After returning from Portugal, without hesitation I knew what would be the subject of the first post about this place. This time I won’t focus on the wonderful Lisbon’s architecture, beautiful viewpoints, yellow trams or sentimental rhythms of the Fado heared during the walk in Alfama. Of course, all these elements form the unique climate of the capital of Portugal, but mainly the people of this city will remain in my memory. In fact, they create this city and its specific atmosphere, without them Lisbon certainly wouldn’t be such a cheerful place. What are the people of Portugal like? It might seem that Portuguese, like Italians or the Spanish, have…