To our great pleasure, B’s Dad recently travelled to Libreville on business!  Man, comforting doesn’t begin to explain the feeling of seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar place. One of those chicken soup for the soul type things.

We met him at the airport, and luckily for all involved, he flew through immigration!  There he was, fresh off the long journey to Gabon, smiling and seemingly unaffected by neither the day’s travel nor Gabon’s staggering humidity.  I wish I had a side by side photo of me at arrival, and Jeff upon arrival.  Haha, the left would read “Hot Mess.” The right, “PRO” Haha.

We made our way to his hotel, and Jeff’s reserve of energy did not wane.  Politely, he refused assistance with his luggage (even, up a flight of stairs), joked with the hotel staff…”these are my kids” he would tell everyone in French, and in a few short minutes, he was changed and ready for dinner.  Gotta admire his momentum!

We had a really nice meal outside, feet from the shore break, complete with bats (at a distance) and the most attentive service we’ve had by FAR in Libreville.  A fair amount of the staff even spoke a bit of English – a real treat these days.  Our entrees were delightful and punctuated perfectly by a scrumptious tart tatin – but that wasn’t all.  After dinner, Jeff handed over the care package. Christmas in March, people!

Diane went above and beyond with the most amazing care package for us.  Jeff hauled an entire suitcase packed to the brim with curated goodies, and even more appeared from his second bag.  Baking supplies for our new oven, hair clippers for B, toys for Diego, art and fabric supplies for me, easter candy, a Brita filter, skincare and more!!!!  Lots, lots more!  All of which was lovingly packed and labeled with notes… so grateful. We busted into it as soon as we got home that night.

Luckily, we were able to get together a few times while Jeff was in town. Sunday, he came over and we had breakfast at the bakery across the street! He and B got to work fixing odds and ends around the apartment – best of which was unclogging a drain outside our kitchen that had resulted in standing water and some serious green muck.  Holla!!

We showed him to the Artisan Market, and had lunch at a brand new hotel just down the street from us.  It’s called Le Cristal, and is part of a South African chain of hotels.  Me thinks it should be renamed to Diamond in the Rough!  haha.  It stands out quite a bit in Libreville – in a good way.  Modern, clean… looks and feels like any cool boutique hotel in the US.  Our meals were great, and to our surprise again – the staff spoke English!  We’ll be returning to this place for sure!

Before we knew it, Jeff trip had come to an end.  He came by the house for a quick dinner before his flight, and though we were bummed to see him go, (I waited to cry til after he left) we were so grateful for his visit.  Seeing him brought a renewed sense of strength and can do-edness.  I can’t imagine a more perfectly timed meet up.  He arrived just as we were finding our feet – and seeing him was just the boost we needed to keep on keepin’ on!

Grateful for the rejuvenation only family can bring.

Who’s coming next?  HAHA.