Bab's Dock

Wow! It's been quite awhile since I've posted. Sorry about that. Work has been very demanding, and we haven't taken time to explore very much on the weekends. Our spring break is soon, mid-April, which is not soon enough!

We did visit a place close by, on Rue des Peches, the beach road. Donn and I, along with two Hash friends, Matt and Nina, scouted out a possible course one Saturday. The course was in the villages and fields beyond Bab's Dock, an idyllic getaway on a large lagoon that parallels the Atlantic Ocean.

Bab's Dock (google it if you like, it doesn't have a website, but there are a few reviews about it, in French) is a weekend hot-spot for expats and others. It has nice amenities, including a restaurant and bar. Patrons can lounge in the shade or go for rides in the small sailboat or paddle the kayaks. It is only open on the weekends; the wait staff consists of local high school students who are the labor force.

We did our preliminary scouting for the course one Saturday, with some advice from Thierry, the manager, and Angelo, one of the locals. We walked through coconut groves loaded with weaver bird nests, another coconut grove "guarded" by a machete-wielding man and his young children, a cashew grove (all the nuts had been harvested), a salt-making site, and many small villages. What was missing this time for a Hash run, other than the groves we walked through, was shade. It was HOT! But that's the way it is, 6 degrees north of the equator.

Waiting to be picked up by the boat to take us to Bab's Dock.

This is Agama agama, rainbow lizard. He checked us out while we were waiting. They are very common here. His tail is almost as orange has his head.

The 10-minute boat trip took us through mangroves. At times, it was if we were in a tunnel, they were so overgrown.

 

 

Here's a view from the bar, looking toward the lagoon.

We walked by a crop of watermelon. Under the little awning-like area, parsley was growing.

Weaver bird nests. When we came back the next week for the actual run, one of these trees had blown over, so we got a closer look at the nests.

Houses and leftover coconuts in one of the villages we walked through.

Cattle are herded freely throughout the rural areas. Fences are rare. This is truly a free range!

On the day of the run, Donn and Matt had arranged for us to have coconut water, from freshly cut and hacked-open coconut, by the machete wielding man. His wives and children helped out!

Here's the "dock". A group of people are getting set to leave. The sailboat looks very inviting, doesn't it?

Donn caught a few winks while we waited for the boat ride back to the car park. He had run/walked the course twice on Hash day.

Sunset on the lagoon. If you look closely, in the distance to the very left, you can see two women walking across the lagoon with baskets on their heads. The lagoon is only about 4 feet deep!

We plan on going back to Bab's Dock during Spring Break. There is a bungalow to rent for the night. Word has it that mornings there are quite tranquil, with birds to watch and a calm lagoon to explore. Time to go make reservations!