Exploration Party!

The lovely Marcus arranged a party for l'Equipe d'Exploration on the first Saturday in June to welcome all the new team members (me, Simmo and Kev) to Syama. It also coincided with a visit from his Dad, and the early arrival of the rainy season!


Outside table?

The weather followed us in on the short drive from Syama to Fourou and had Marcus feeling a little unsettled to say the least.


My party sux

So we sat around for a while being buffetted by the high winds and watching the spectacular lightshow, feeling only the odd drop of rain every now and again as Nana assured us the weather wouldn't hit Fourou - we would have dry seats for the festivities.

And - yay for us - Nana was absolutely right! Team Exploration arrived in their finest with spouses and kids in tow, so the party was bound to improve.


A night out in Fourou


Mariam and Bintou - looking exceptionally fine

Simmo, who had insisted prior to the party that he wouldn't be dancing, showed that it was all a big front, because he ended up with a very large fan base.


King of the Kids

And I helped entertain Simmo's fans for a while.


If you're happy and you know it ...

It's very hard not to dance when you have the balafons going full tilt - check it out ... (the video thing is a bit of an experiment - I'm not at all sure that it's going to work)


Sound and light show


Serious style on the dance floor

The spots you can see aren't raindrops, but dust specs from all the fancy footwork on display.


Adrian stepping out to entertain me and Mariam

So after several hours of dancing and watching the happy faces, and listening to the fantastic music - Marcus declared the party a success!


Marcus, Tony and Simeon

After about 4 hours on the dancefloor, dodging the rain and sweating it up in the heat, everyone was exhausted and it was time to go home ...


Have we reached the end of the fun?