I failed to post much on social media about our trip this summer to Gabon, save for a post in a FB travel group that I'm a part of which went a little viral with over six thousand likes and like 500 comments....mostly about Amare and Saye's hair...lol.
That being said, we are back in Gabon. We arrived last Saturday, just me and the boys, for a four week trip. We left in the midst of a cold for Saye, which turned into a cold for me, so once we arrived on Saturday the first few days were little besides Vitamin C, rest, and jet lag.
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| Pretty much all they want to do, but at least they're playing together. |
On Tuesday, I was supposed to get my hair done, but y'all know by now I can't travel without some kind of drama. So, we're supposed to be taking this side trip to Benin for a week, which I'm so excited about since I have been there since I lived there back in 2007. So, I booked our flight online several weeks ago via RwandAir.
Well, as it turns out, Gabon has limited all airlines to one flight in and one flight out per country per airline, so our departing flight out of Gabon was canceled. Of course the airline, nor the third party company I purchased the ticket from, provided us with any notification of the changes. We only discovered it on Tuesday when Landry's sister Georgia called a friend who works for RwandAir to ask about COVID test requirements and she informed Georgia that there was no Monday morning flight.
Instead of getting my hair done, I spent the day being shuffled around the city by Georgia and Mignon, trying to figure out a solution to not having a departing flight this Monday. Under normal circumstances we could have maybe just gone at another time or canceled altogether, but a friend of mine is flying from the US to meet us there and so it was necessary that we get there.
We finally found a flight on Air Burkina for Sunday, July 4th, a day earlier than we planned to leave and cost us about as much as the original round trip flight. We're still fighting with the third party agency to refund us partially for the flight...to be continued on that. Basically, I'm just glad we were able to get ourselves on a flight.
The rest of the week went by pretty chill. Wednesday was a lovely day spent mostly by the pool. Partly with the kids and partly by myself with a book. Thursday I got my hair done in the morning and then worked on Thursday evening and Friday morning.
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| First time meeting my sweet nephew, Raphael |
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| I think they're going to be a good match for each other in a year or two...lol |
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| All of Tanty's grandbabies in the same room 💓 |
Today was the best day so far. We celebrated my nephew's first birthday. It was really special to me that we were able to be here to celebrate the day. It was the first time the boys and I were meeting him. Landry got to meet him in October when he was here.
The celebration brought together all the people I love most here. It was a bittersweet celebration, as we did it at Mignon's house, which is an apartment behind the house his mom lived in. It was the first time I've spend much time at the house since she passed in 2015 and the first time I've been with all of the people she brought into my life in Gabon. While it was a super fun party and the kids had a great time playing with their cousins, it certainly was a reminder of the deep void she's left by not being here for these important moments.
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| Joyeux Anniversaire Raphi!!! |
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| This is my baby, Sybelle. She was SEVEN when I met her, SEVEN...now she's all grown up 😢 |
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| Herwan tried to climb in my suitcase and leave with us the first time we visited Gabon. He was FOUR. Now he towers over me. |
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