Weekend fun

This weekend was a nice sociable weekend.

On Friday I went for pork in Manjai with Janneke, Jaap, Helen, Nicola, Abdoul, and Nicola's mum and dad. 

Nic with her mum and dad

Cheeky Helen

On Saturday afternoon, after some much needed sofa time in the morning, I decided to go for a walk. I chose a circular route around the Bakau women's horticultural gardens, up to Cape Point and back home via Bakau market - 7.5km in total. I put on my trainers and headphones and really enjoyed a peaceful walk to music and birdsong in the late afternoon sun. 

I passed a few people along the way who were happy to call out 'enjoy your exercise', and greeted a couple of groups of women farmers walking home from their gardens. It was lovely to say hello to them and be greeted by them, kind of the opposite experience of being hassled by men shouting 'what is your nice name?'. 

I saw some fantastic kingfishers and herons, as well as other birds that I wasn't able to identify, although the only wildlife I was able to capture on camera was this HUGE spider. 

Spot the spider

I was hungry by the time I reached the market so I bought a segment of pumpkin, a carrot, a couple of potatoes, onions and tomatoes and went home to cook a big vegetable stew with pearl barley. While the stew was cooking I chipped up one of the potatoes into cubes and fried them to make the kind of chips mum used to cook for us when we were little, which I wolfed down with some salt and plenty of water.

On Sunday I woke early and travelled to Kotu to meet Nicola, Abdou, Lamin and Nicola's mum and dad and we set off for a day trip / fishing trip to Sanyang. We called in at Tanjii to buy some fish to use as bait and some smoked fish and bread to eat for lunch (just in case we didn't catch any fish!). 

Buying the bait on Tanjii beach

Meanwhile Nicola's dad was being asked for footballs!

Abdoul inside the smoke house

Once at Sanyang we walked away from the tourists down to our favourite spot - the quieter end of the beach. Here we read, swam and lazed around while the men fished (and didn't catch anything). 

Just us on the beach

 

Not a bad view for a lazy Sunday! 

Abdoul and Nicola prepared the smoked fish, making a salad of fish, lime juice, salt, tomato and avocado (from Nicola's tree), which we ate with bread and the boiled eggs that Nic's mum and dad had smuggled out of their hotel breakfast. It was delicious, and a very relaxing day. 

Abdoul preparing fish as a local dog snoozes
in the shade

Lunchtime