Island Adventures

Every six week the ship has a 3 day weekend. We (OK, maybe just me (Tracey)) have had some cabin fever lately and have been dying to get off the ship and see some more of the country.   This is, however, easier said than done when factoring in the needs of two small children.  We just haven’t felt up to the task of doing much knowing how much it takes to go anywhere with a 2 year old and 7 month old.  But after much debate we decided to travel Friday to one of the islands off the coast of Guinea with a group of people for the day.  The ship has these trips organized so all we had to do was sign up and show up on the dock to meet the boat (and pay 50,000 Guinea francs, which sounds like quite a lot but is really only about $7). 

We were a bit aprehensive since Cora is getting 2 teeth and we knew both girls would miss their naps for the day.  I tried to dispell this aprehension by psyching us up as we were getting ready.

I had to laugh as I had this conversation with Cora as we were getting ready:

“Cora, we are going to the beach today!  You get to ride on a boat for the first time. . .Oh wait.  You live on a boat.”

Adalynn needed no help getting excited.  She had been playing with her life jacket all morning and couldn't wait to wear it and to get to the beach.  She was also very excited about riding in a boat and it made me wonder if she even realizes we live on a boat.  Probably not.  She sees all the ships around us and gets excited but I guess it's hard to comprehend that we actually live on a ship too!

We were amazed at how much we had to bring.  All the single people had small little backpacks for the day and we had a large backpack, beach bag, beach tent, hiking backpack and 2 children.  As we lugged our things to the dock we wondered if we’d made the right decision.  We squeezed Cora into a life jacket, which immediately put her in a very bad mood.  Adalynn was very excited about her life jacket.  The 40 minute boat ride to the island consisted of Cora screaming most of the way and Adalynn puking about 6 times.  “It can only get better” we thought.  And it did!!  It was a great day of relaxing, hanging out with friends, swimming in the ocean and a spontaneous soccer game with some islanders.

 



View down the beach.  The water was really calm and the kids could walk out quite a ways. 



Adalynn and Emma loved making sand cakes with thier new friend Susanne.



These look like the boats we took over to the island.  I didn't have my camera out when our actual boats dropped us off.

Impromtu soccer game with sticks in the sand for goals.

There were several houses along the beach that were empty.  We are not sure if they are vacation houses or for sale. 

We even had a private concert!!  I was amazed at how the locals looked similar to every other "islander" I've ever met!



The girls were both totally mesmerized.



Cora took a nap in her tent. 

Adalynn slept the entire way back and Cora was happy most of the way. When we got back to the dock we were shocked to see that the tide had changed so much that where we just stepped onto the boat on the way out we had a 15 foot climb on a ladder to get back to the dock.  The girls were hoisted up by some nice Guinean men on the dock.  A great dramatic end to a great day.  We were exhausted and have spent yesterday and today recovering but overall we are so thankful for a day in this beautiful country away from the noise and pollution of the city!