THE GOODBYE

Friday night and Saturday was a mix of emotions for me. I was sad to be leaving the ship but excited to come home and see family. The goodbyes started when we said goodbye to our kids on Friday afternoon after having a slumber party and watching Toy Story 2.  One of my roommates and co-workers left on Friday night, so we all met in reception to send her off. Next thing we knew parents and kids from the ship came down to say goodbye to her.  After sending Carrie off, we decided to do a movie night in the Queen’s Lounge. We started with Under the Tuscan Sun and finished with Troop Beverly Hills. It was a great last night on the ship. We had finished packing at least some of us thought we had.

On Saturday morning, we woke up with plans to hit the markets. I had one thing I was still looking for. At the beginning of the trip I decided that I wanted to find Salad bowls for my siblings from Africa but I had not found ones that I fell in love with. I was hoping that today would be the day.  We piled in to the Land Rover and headed out on the Streets of LOME. The first stop was supposed to be the Bronze shop but after navigating the street of Lome we found that the shop was closed. So we headed to the Artisan Village to see if we could find the things we were looking for. I found salad tongs I really liked but still not salad bowls. I was starting to think that I was not going to find the bowls I wanted.  The group of us decided to head to the big market because we still had some time left with the Land Rover.

In the big market, we headed to the Craft Market right away because two of us were looking for salad bowls and we thought we might find them there. AS we walked in we had men coming up to us trying to sell us their goods. It was difficult to just look and not feel like you need to buy in this market because they didn’t understand that we were looking for something specific. Although we did find many bowls that were nice they were not exactly what we wanted and the price was so high and there was no talking them down at all.  I decided that I was just going to have to find something else for my siblings. As we were walking back to the car I found a few mancala boards they were absolutely gorgeous, so after much negotiating I got three of them for a good price. Although I had bought mancala for my sisters  and brother, I had not completely lost hope for finding the salad bowls. As we continued our trip back to the Land Rover I saw one more shop I wanted to look at. I walked in and what did I find my hand craved, shallow, salad bowls that I had been looking for. I was so excited to have found them. The only thing left I needed to do was fit everything into my suitcase and have them not be overweight.

So we got back to the ship and the packing begins all over again. I now have three more mancala boards and three salad bowls to fit in my bags. After the packing ended and we had been checked out of our room, we went upstairs to begin our goodbyes. The families of the kids, others from the ship, and those departing all headed to the dock from reception.  Although we said Goodbye to many people on the dock the Goodbyes were not over yet we still had a few. Five of us were flying from Lome to Paris together. In Paris the goodbyes, although quick began again.  After a long night of traveling I arrived in Switzerland for a brief visit with family and to start processing my trip.