Breakfast on the beach
Our Saturday or Sunday morning ritual. Wake early (always - by Oscar). Make some improvised muffins while Alex sorts out the kids. Pack a bag with a flask of coffee, juice, the baked muffins, towels and beach toys.
We put Iris in the pushchair and make our way out of the house and a couple of minutes down the street onto the boardwalk - the wooden planked walk way that runs along the sea and stretches, at the end of our road, from Accra beach to the Soco hotel.
We love the Soco beach. It's completely sheltered by an arc of rocks and the sea is very shallow there. Perfect for young children. With their snorkle masks on, Lila and Oscar usually see shoals of yellow and black striped sergeant major fish swimming just under the surface. Oscar would love to catch one of the small brown crabs that scuttle across the shiny rocks in his net, but he hasn't managed it yet.
The best bit is when Alex and I take it in turns to swim out past the pool into the deeper water. It's then that I am happiest. I love to float on my back and look up at the sky with only the sound of the water lapping in my ears. Everything is calm and still and happy and it's a feeling that I try to hold on to. For us, living on this tropical island, if we can be organised enough and make it out of the door, it really is the perfect way to kick off a family day.