Well that`s my travel insurance and flights booked, the flight bookings were a bit of a challenge as there are only two airlines flying to The Gambia from England during our summer.

One airline only flies on Tuesdays so that would limit my options of when to travel so I went with Air Maroc who fly most days, it just means I have to go via Casablanca which means a longer journey.

The really galling part is that 45% of the flight costs are in tax! Presumably our government think that if you can afford to fly abroad on holiday you can afford the taxes, well that doesn`t work when you are trying to volunteer on a budget!

At least the travel insurance was easy as I used onlinetravelinsurance who are mentioned in the people and places blog.

The other thing I have sorted out is the purchase of a Utag digital dog tag, the idea of this is that you wear a dog tag or bracelet and it is a USB that can be inserted into any computer, and it contains all of your emergency contact details and medical information which can be accessed in case of an emergency.

There is also the option of including encrypted documents that only you have access to with a password, so I scanned my passport, insurance documents and flight E-ticket into my computer and loaded it onto the Utag so if god forbid I lost any of them I have a copy.

Maybe a bit belt and braces but the thought of losing any documents whilst abroad sends cold shivers down my spine! Oh by the way I have no connection with Utag just think it`s a good idea.

So it`s just a meningitis jab at the doctors next week to look forward too and we are nearly there.