Cub Scout Overnight Trip to Ibadan

On Saturday, we did the highlight of the Den activities I have planned for the year - the cub scout trip to Ibadan.

I spent the evening before getting all the food, clothes, etc. ready for the trip. The following morning we managed to get out the door, with all the bags in time to get to the school for Daniel's football at 8am. When Erik and the other boys had finished their football matches at 12:15, the boys got changed and we got into the bus which the school had provided to take us (parents and siblings included) to Ibadan.

We were 21 people in all, which filled the bus. The driver, Fidelis was very friendly. The gameboys came out for the first half an hour, but when the arguing started they got confiscated till we got got back to Lagos! Instead, we sang songs from the cub scout song book, told jokes and ate the "nuts and bolts" (cornflakes, raisins and peanuts) we had made in the previous week's den meeting.

We arrived in Ibadan at 3pm. We were staying at a hotel in the grounds of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). I had been there once before when Gunn and Rune were over (see here). We checked into the hotel and then went to the swimming pool to freshen up after the bus trip. I had planned a balloon game where each boy has a balloon tied to his ankle. They have to stamp on each others balloons and the last one with a balloon wins. Great game. Unfortunately I hadn't taken account of the RAZOR GRASS, because as soon as the balloon touched the grass it burst. They were literally 'blades' of grass. Disaster!

In the evening, the boys got changed into their uniforms and we sat outside on a long table for dinner. It was dark and while we waited for the food, my assistant den leader, David Rainbolt and I took the children down to the sandpit in the playground and told ghost stories by candlelight! My favourite was the the monster with the red sloppity lips and the long green fingers! On our way back to the table, we noticed lights in the grass - glow worms. It was a beautiful sight. The boys had great fun catching them and watching them glow in the palm of their hand.

The next morning after breakfast, we left for a hike in the forest on the other side of the lake near the hotel. We had one of the people working at IITA to show us around. It was fun walking through the tropical undergrowth; the huge bamboo we came across was impressive.

When we got back, we had a swim and then laid out the picnic we had brought with us on the flat play area below the pool area. The kids ran around playing tip while the parents sat in the shade and drank beer. It was pretty idyllic.

At 2pm, we had to pack up and leave to go back to Lagos (the road is not safe after dark, so wanted to make sure we got back in daylight). The police escort met us outside the grounds and we drove back to Lagos. We were all too tired for songs, though!

Tomorrow, Inger-Lise will arrive back with Mathilde, laden with goodies from Norway.

Jeremy