Chapter VII. The Stars and Sunburned Stripes on Greger’s Legs
Wednesday, June 07th, 2006We spent most of our time in Nouadhibou on the beaches. It’s situated on a bay and boasts this fabulous, cool, sea breezy climate. We had a picnic (sardine and spreadable cheese sandwiches!) on the beach for the 4th of July. Greger zipped off the legs of his Adventure Pants (those water resistant REI pants with an excessive number of pockets and zippers) and fell asleep, resulting in very sunburned Adventure Calves.
This was my first time seeing the Atlantic (after having seen the Pacific for the first time my senior year of college). The ocean was neat. It’s just that I can’t wrap my head around it. For a Midwesterner like me, the ocean was always something to see on TV and I can’t get past that understanding of it. I don’t quite trust it somehow. I’m all for the ocean, don’t get me wrong, but if I’m going to sit and contemplate life while looking at a body of water, I think I prefer muddy Midwestern cricks.
The next day we went to a beach and spent the day looking out on the shipwrecks that dot the bay. There actually more like abandoned rusting ships, but technically I guess they are shipwrecks. Greger climbed aboard one that was close to shore while Bobby made a sand castle and I laid in the sand, wrestling with a fit of irritation. I don’t remember at all what I was annoyed about, but it probably had something to do with three weeks worth of Greger’s gloomy sighs and maddening spit sucking. I snapped out of my funk when a cold wave splashed over me and I shrieked, causing Bobby and Greger to laugh “that’s what you get” laughs.
The highlight of the day was poking around an old French fort we stumbled upon. After Bobby finished his sand castle, we went off exploring. It had crumbling cannons pointing out to sea, and a weird bunker we climbed halfway down into, but then decided against going all the way. It was fun to sit and wonder when the fort was built and what had happened there and if they had fought anyone and where did they have the Officer’s Ball?
