A rock in the Gambia river has been renamed three times, and each name tells you a chapter. In 1651, the Duchy of Courland, a small Baltic state, built a fort on the island and called it St Andrew's. The British took it ten years later and renamed it James Island, after the Duke of York, and it passed back and forth between the British, French and pirates, a base for the trade in enslaved Africans, and later a fort and a mission. In 2011 the Gambian government renamed it Kunta Kinteh Island, after the hero of Alex Haley's novel Roots, who is said to have been taken from the village of Juffureh on the riverbank, close by. Whether or not the story of Kunta Kinte is literally true, the island has become a powerful symbol of the slave trade, and the ruins of the fort, with its crumbling walls and cannons, are a sober sight. The island and the related sites on the shore were listed as a World Heritage property in 2003.
The island is small, and it is getting smaller, with erosion by the river eating away at the walls, and visits are made by boat from Albreda, the village on the north bank. The villages of Juffureh and Albreda have a museum about the slave trade, with chains and records, and a few craft stalls. The surrounding country is the Saloum delta region, a maze of mangrove channels, mudflats and low islands, where fishermen set nets and oyster gatherers wade at low tide, and the birdlife is rich, with pelicans, herons and kingfishers.
Getting there involves a ferry. From Banjul, the capital, the Barra ferry crosses the wide mouth of the river, and the queue for vehicles can be long, with delays of hours at peak times. On the north bank, the road to Albreda runs through villages and baobab groves, flat and hot, with goats, children and the occasional pothole. Take care at the ferry terminal, which is chaotic. The best months are November to February, when the weather is dry and cooler.
Lamin, about nine kilometres from the island on the map, is the nearest sizeable settlement, and is on the south bank, near Serrekunda. Fuel is available around Banjul and Barra, but supplies can be unreliable in the country, so fill up when you can. Carry water, sun protection and insect repellent, and small notes for the boatman. A grilled fish and a cold drink in a village bar finish the day well, and the sunset over the river can be spectacular.