This morning as agreed we slept it and caught up on a few tasks. For lunch I suggested we go 10 minutes (on Sunday) across the lagoon to a restaurant called l’Embarcadère. It’s right on the water in Treicheville across from Plateau. We took a taxi over and wrote down his phone number so we could call him for a ride back.

We had arranged with Paul to come to the hotel at 2:00 if he found that Michel was well enough to receive us. He was ill yesterday and not able to join us. Our agreement was misunderstood however. As we were finished lunch about 1:30, Paul called to say he was at the hotel ready to go. So we hurried as much as we could.

Even on a Sunday the drive out to where Michel and Paul live is traffic heavy. Today was no exception. We found him in seeming good health and in good spirits. He told us he has trouble with high blood pressure. 

In truth, communication with him was difficult because in the yard, one of his renters was holding a celebration for the birth of a daughter. African celebrations are loud. The recorded music is usually distorted by the volume pushed through tortured systems and speakers. So to talk we had to speak directly into each other ears.

He offered us food and soft drinks from the celebration. We were full and couldn’t touch the food, but had a soft drink as we sat with him. I told Paul he could have my plate and after he finished his meal he started right in on mine, and polished it off too. Michel repeated several times how happy he was that we had come to visit him.

After a time, the young mother, beautifully dressed, and her family and friends, dressed in the same colors began dancing toward the group gathered. I didn’t realize until they danced over to us that they were carrying a basket to collect money for the mother and child. When Lee and I dropped in the equivalent of a few dollars they cheered loudly. 

Once that was over I asked Paul to send a runner for a taxi, which arrived fairly quickly. We left Paul at that point since it is near his house, and Lee and I traveled back to the hotel through heavy traffic.

We met at 7:00 for dinner at the Ibis restaurant. Tomorrow we will make the long trip to Man, hopefully it will be uneventful and boring.