Turtle Beach

Saturday morning some of the boy scouts loaded up and headed out of Luanda about 54km to Turtle Beach. It only takes about 45 mins. to get there from the compound. Once we got there we put up the tents and then had a sandwich for lunch. After lunch we took the boys to the beach and let them play in the waves. They started around 12:30 or 1pm and we had to pull them out around 4:30pm. They couldn't go in deep but they still had a blast letting the waves knock them over time and time again. We did see a couple of Jelly fish but were lucky no one had contact with one. There were crab all over the beach as well. After a day of swimming we had dinner and then the boys played some American football until it was dark. After it got dark they started playing "Man hunt" I think is what they called it in the dark and tag with their flash lights. About 7:30 we went and walked the beach looking for turtles to come up and lay eggs but we didn't have any success finding any. We did see a couple that didn't make it back to the water. Around 9pm we had to make the boys go to bed and it didn't take long for them to fall asleep.

Sleeping in a tent with no air mattress is the most uncomfortable thing I have ever done in my life. It was very hot and the ground was very hard. I am sure I didn't get anymore than 1-2 hours of sleep. :-) We woke up around 6am and had breakfast and the boys went back to the beach to build a fort in the sand while Kenny, Baptista and I broke down camp. We left around 9ish headed home. We went a different way home and it ended up going by Benfica Market so I had Baptista stop and we did a little Christmas shopping. Kenny loved the idea. :-) Of course like always we had about 300 amigos as soon as we walked under the tent. I have to say I am getting pretty good at the negotiations though. I got a few things for a great price. I think Kenny was even surprised. :-) We got home around 11 and all took showers and unpacked and had lunch. After lunch everyone laid down for a nap and the boys ended up sleeping about 4 hours and I finally woke them up. Since it was Kenny's birthday the boys and I made him brownies and home made vanilla ice cream.

We had a lot of fun but I am glad it was only for one night. I could not have slept on that ground more than one night. I asked Baptista, our driver, how he slept and he said very very good. He said there were no mosquito's bothering him at night like at the home. I had brought a blanket and pillow for him to use in the tent and when we were unpacking I asked him if he needed a pillow at home and he said oh yes very much....so I gave him the one he used at camp.

So now we are back to the same routine for 5 more days and then we are off to the USA!!!!!! We are so excited to go home for a month and for some cooler weather. I have so much to get packed and get done this week. I am making cinnamon rolls for the boys teachers for Christmas this week as well. Busy week will make it go by faster. :-)