Mama Salone...

Africa: The best at its wost, and the worst at its best.

(Huh?? ..yeah it doesn't make sense sometimes too. :P)

The guy on top is probably wondering why 

this isworth a picture. ..Matt's getting a kick out of it. :P

Yes, this is Normal. 

The board I put together 2 yrs ago
still stands at the cement company/factory! :)
(Where once I saw abt. 20 naked (starkers!) dudes
showering after loading cement trucks at the back.
...And they didn't even care!)

The painful process of braiding our hair.

Some "palava" outside...

Local artist painting the shop's ..um.. contents. Basically.

Pizza! Just as rare as good cheese. :)
Courtesy cheese from a passing ship! (literaly!!)

Some people would kill me for posting these. :P

This is what we normally eat:

 

Yummy! :)

Me: "Melanie, what's you favorite food?"

Melanie (then 5 yrs old): "Um... Pizza and Greens!" (the above)

Go figure! ;)

Don't mind the mess, we we're packing, planning a big School Event and yeah.. packing.

Yeah, this is where we girls slept for quite awhile. :S

You don't wanna know what happened one morning when we woke up floating... so ironic, seeing as water was always low...

This is how we fetch the water.

Pancakes for b-fast! :)

While we enjoy paradise often the world outside is still in mayhem...

T.I.A!

   

Art/Work

Painting my way out of Africa (literally! )

Painting for a Hotel...

Preparing the canvases.

Sorta' finished product.

A couple family portraits...

Forgot the get a photo
of this one's drawing. :(

Again didn't get a photo of the finished product.

Gone fishing!...

(Sierra Leone -West Africa)

One fine day, gone fishing with some friends...

A bit choppy at one point, but we made it to the beach by the and of the day.
Ate some of our catch and headed back with the sun setting on the horizon. ...you guys just don't know what you miss sometimes. :P





Heading out of the Aqua Club.

Designated boat driver

(a.k.a. El Capitan. heh!)

No one was catching anything
...'cept when I was driving. 8-)

Barracuda!!!



































In the eyes of the captain. (ok so I was just "Co" :| )

Some of the BEST beaches, and I've seen a few. ;)

Chillin' B-)

West Africa =The best fish/seafood I've had so far.

BBQ'd fish by the village 'Chief Man.'

Sooo hungry. Sooo yum!
(Spicey!)

Cleaning out the guts. :S

Um ugh..

Cheese! :D

(forgot how much it weighed, sorry!)

The end of a fun, fun day. :)

Island Weekend...

(Sierra Leone -West Africa)


Trip to "Turtle Island"
(A group of eight islands.)













Gotta set out early enough to catch the high tide so the boats can get get close enough to dock at the beach!



..Avoiding the sand banks.
The water only a meter high at some parts!
















Let the pics do the talking...









































The day's catch for dinner...

...The stolen bag pow-wow. :P

Funny happenings. Stolen items. Stressed individuals (Including myself. :S ..I was supposed to be traveling in a few days!!). Lotsa fishing. Terrible nights (with creatures crawling under ones tent!). Curious village kids. Serene meditation. Amazing sunsets. Not enough driking water, but tons of toilet papper :P (who did the shopping??). Cute/funny french chick and hilarious/quirky dude. Lotsa booze (and ketchup. -Really!) Too much sun... UNIQUE EXPERIENCE!!! ;D

Captain's Corona...

Jumped in the big boat to go fishing but left my Cam behind.

So no pics of fishing. :( But I was busy manning the wheel again.

Time to go home...
More mishaps and delays along the way.
T.I.A. ...Don't even get me started!!
It got way worse than this nice, sunny picture, lets put it that way. ;)