Pangani = Amazing

Our home for the week

Wow I have been so busy over the past couple of months what with Mum being here and it being Christmas and New Year, I have a lot of blog catching up to do.

Well we thoroughly enjoyed Mum's visit and I can't quite believe she has been gone two weeks already. We chilled a lot, enjoyed time with the children, went swimming, ate out, had fun, relaxed but probably the best part was when we went on holiday to Pangani for a week.

We stayed at a place called Drifter's Lodge (I would highly recommend it) in Ushongo which is in Pangani, Pangani is a beautiful place, this holiday was just what we, as a family needed. We stayed in a little hut right on the sand, two rooms with a bathroom, we swam every day, strolled on the sand, ate fresh fish and even tried lobster, oh it was wonderful and I bet you are not surprised to hear that none of us wanted to come home.

We took my new car which made the journey there and back with no problem, I had to buy a new one because my old one was too small, he is called Kermit.

Mum and I obviously took my four and also Innocent, who is now more commonly known as Jack, despite the fact it was so hot all four of the children were incredibly well behaved the entire week, they loved playing in the sand and swimming and they made friends with the lodge owners Grandchildren, they also enjoyed eating fresh fish every night.

We were delighted one evening to be able to experience the hatching and heading out to sea of the sea turtles, this was something I have always wanted to see and to experience it with my Mum and children made it even more special.

We also saw lots of crabs and picked up lots of shells whilst we were away, at first Layla & Alfie were scared to death of them but they got better as the week went on, Isabella on the other hand is fearless and was chasing them around and picking them up, she had so much fun!

In the beginning Alfie was a little unsure of the sea, the sand, the crabs, pretty much everything, he soon settled into the beach though and enjoyed his time thoroughly, we even managed to get him to touch a crab by the end of the week. At one point he got a little sick but a little bit of calpol and ORS and he was soon back to himself. He really enjoyed dancing on the sand on the first night, as you can see above.

Layla enjoyed her time on the beach, again at first she was a bit unsure and probably was the least keen on swimming, she was better by the end of the week though. On the 13th we celebrated her 'Gotcha Day' one year since she came to live with me, I took her for a soda and biscuits as a special treat, of course baby Martha had to come along too.

Isabella always has been the most adventurous and out going of the three of them so right from the start she got stuck right in, running along the sea and rolling in the water, chasing the crabs with a big grin on her face. She spent most of the week naked to be honest, they all did really!! As you can see below she made a good friend out of the manager of the lodges Granddaughter, very cute.

Mum especially was a little reluctant to take Jack with us, after all at just six weeks old he was still very young, however, he was a star. Despite the heat he didn't fuss at all and enjoyed taking 'cold' showers at the end of the day. Two nights before we left he slept through the night for the first time and woke up and smiled at me for the first time in the morning, I couldn't have asked for a better behaved baby and I am very pleased we took him with us.

With Mummy

With Nanny

I really have fallen head over heels in love with Pangani, the main thing I love is the freedom, here in Arusha which has recently become classed as a CITY, everyone has to live behind walls, gates, electric fences, security guards, out in Pangani you are free, there are no fences, no bars on the windows, it is a wonderful feeling. The weather is much hotter but I still enjoyed it, the sea is like stepping into a hot bath, watching the sun come up on our last morning was beautiful, the peace and quiet every day was welcoming, swapping the sounds of screaming babies for the waves lapping on the shore, not that I could live without the screaming for too long!!

Three in the bed and the little one said...

Mean Mummy laughed so hard

Baby Martha

Fruit bats above our heads every night

We ate fresh lobster one night,
brought straight from the fisherman!

 We well and truly packed out the car on the way home for Neema House, cheap and very nice Pineapples x20, Mangos x30, Coconuts x30, Jackfruits x4, Huge bag of plums and 10kg of fresh fish (my car stunk for days).

So with a car full of sand, fruit, fish and sweaty people we reluctantly headed home, it most certainly will not be our last visit there.

Thanks Mum for a wonderful time at the beach, those amazing memories we will cherish forever and always x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x