Weekend

At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other. ~Ann Landers

On Friday we enjoyed yet another roof top BBQ with good friends. The food was not great but the spirit was high and both the children and the grownups had a good time.  

Saturday we went to a Flamingo dancing event. Personally I did not come with high expectations but it turned out to be very good music and dancing. Today Thea and Jacqueline went to the beach while I stayed home and watched F1 rejuvenating for the week ahead.

Bojo Beach

The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach. - Henry Beston

Today we went to Bojo Beach with some friends. It is a very nice beach just outside Accra. Because of the rainy season it is not too hot at the moment. I, however, did manage to get sunburned anyway…

Boat Race

It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage ~ George William Curtis

It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage ~ George William Curtis    

This weekend Jacqueline and I participated in the yearly Sogakope Race. On leg one (Ada Foa to Sogakope) I sailed with my colleague Jan. Our start was good and soon we were quite a lot ahead of the fleet. This continued for one hour but then the wind died and we were completely stuck right in the centre of the river with the current going against us. We had no wind for more than two hours and we went from first to 14^th place. I was very depressing… Late the wind picked up slowly and we started moving again. The whole race took 7½ hours and in the end we managed to come in third. However, the race was annulled due to too many boats which had to give up and did not want to sail on Volta River in the darkness.

It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage ~ George William Curtis

On the second leg (Sogakope to Subi Island) Jacqueline and I got a very bad start because we were obstructed right on the starting line. However, we soon got going again and moved slowly up the fleet. For a long time we were fighting with Duncan and Rupert for first but we never quite catch up with them. Instead we got stuck in a lot of seaweed and had to clear the rudder. By the time we got free from the seaweed we were third position and many boats were approaching fast. For a while we were fighting to keep our third position. In the end we nearly managed to catch up with Bill who was now second but he managed to cross the line 10 seconds before us.

Although we did not manage to defend our first place from last year we still did well and we are very happy with the result. Thea was following us in the rescue boat and managed to take some photos.

As per tradition a big party was hosted by Subi and I (sorry we) won a Porsche 911 for a day and our trophy…  

 

Maximus

Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend.  ~Corey Ford

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them.  ~Phil Pastoret

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.  ~Author Unknown

Our family has a lot of joy out of Maximus, our black Labrador. We love to take him walking and to the boat club where he can play all day long and get a lot of exercise.

Today Thea brought Maximus to school and gave a presentation of how to greet dogs you meet for the first time. Together we have watched a number of Cesar Milan’s ”Dog Whisperer” so Thea knows how to greet new dogs: No talk. No Touch. No eye contact. Let the dog smell you first and then you can play afterwards if the dog is friendly…

Exercise, discipline and affection in that order is the right way to make your dog balanced and well behaved according to Cesar Milan.

Hiking in Achimota Forest Rserve

After a day's walk everything has twice its usual value.  ~George Macauley Trevelyan

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.  ~John Muir

It is 1^st of May and the School and embassy is closed so Thea, Maximus and I went hiking in the Achimota Forest Reserve. Indeed it was very hot and humid but we brought with us water (which Thea was pouring over her head), cola, sprite, cake and sandwiches so we were stocked up for a few hours walk. On route we were trying to make fire with Thea’s magnifier glass and trace some animal trails in the mud. 


I also knew from some of my morning bicycle rides that there was some kind of monkey sanctuary in the forest, which we were trying to find. It turned out to be a little more than just a few monkeys…