John left first, on Monday. John is Otto’s brother and had flown down for the wedding from Houston where he’s working. He’s a calm, quiet guy who spent a lot of time reading his book in the shade; unaffected by the shenanigans of Pauline and others in the group. He was so easy to get along with. He’s a great photographer and recorded so much of our good times together. I was so glad we were able to download his photos for ourselves.
Otto left an hour ago to catch his flight. He’s Dave’s best friend from way back. Dave says he’s like a mother bear. Otto does the research, takes care of all the little details and keeps everyone organized. On our first day we were driving from Liberia to Samara in the dark. Dave was driving. Otto was pointing out signs and giving directions; Making sure we all arrived at our destination safely. He came all the way from Nova Scotia to be at Michele and Dave’s wedding and was the Best Man. An excellent breakfast cook, he made us refried rice and eggs and fresh fruit a couple mornings. He’s observant & devious (a good liar) with a twinkle in his eye. The kind of person you’d want for a friend.
Pauline, Allen and Dylan left this morning also.
Pauline is Dave’s older sister. She looks 20 years younger than she is and acts even younger than that. The life of the party she kept us entertained and giggling the entire time. She was the mastermind behind the April Fool’s joke. She works for Telus and is a computer whiz. She had a card reader with her which came in handy when we were downloading everyone’s photos to various computers. She saved my bacon when I formatted my camera’s card on the computer and then found I couldn’t take photos. I had to format the camera card with the camera and she walked my through it. Phew! I have a lot more photos to take.
Allen is Pauline’s husband and the serious one of the two. He’s a great conversationalist and loves to talk and discuss various topics. Very friendly and cerebral; It’s like having a grown up around. He’s more reserved and calmer then his goofball wife (Rick’s words). Very precise; He likes exactly ¼ tsp of milk in his morning coffee. He had no problem going with the crazy flow and seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself.
Dylan is Dave’s son. What a fun guy to have around; he fit right in with all us old people. At one point he exclaimed;” “I’m having a great time BUT I’d REALLY be having a great time if you guys were all 20 instead of old guys!”
Rick and I haven’t seen him since he was a child and now he’s a grown up. He wrote a beautiful song for Michele and Dave’s wedding and played it on his guitar and sang for everyone (sounds just like his Dad). What a talented guy! He’s very witty and easy going; really a great travelling companion. He’s a better surfer than the rest of us and he found the neatest souvenirs to take home. He picked up a machete with a tooled leather cover and immediately set out to go bushwhacking in the wilds behind the villa. He came back with one baby lime and four very green plantains. The monkeys had already chewed on anything ripe.
It’s very quiet around here now.
We miss you guys already.
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