As many of you have noticed, Simply Scented has been absent from the Riverside Arts Market and our orders are paused on this site. I wanted to explain to you all the reason for our absence as well as share some stories of our time visiting family this Summer.
Several weeks ago, with very little notice, we were invited by Fabrice’s Aunt to spend the rest of the summer with his family in Gabon, Africa. After about a week of resolving multiple passport issues, working out boarding for Mommy Dog, rushing outstanding candle orders, and packing our bags- we were off. The trip is long and arduous. Especially in the time of Covid when airports and customs and different countries and continents all have wildly varying regulations in place. We flew from Jacksonville to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Paris, and after a 13 hour layover in Paris, we flew from there into Gabon.
We’re staying in the capital city of Libreville, a bustling city right on the ocean. The country of Gabon has a population of 2 million people. Over 700,000 of them live in Libreville. It’s a city that feels alive with growth, bursting at the seams, with road expansion and infrastructure struggling to keep up. One thing that struck me nearly immediately that I was not expecting, was the sense of something familiar here. Jacksonville is a hot humid beach city. The weather and the humidity are almost identical here. The sense of the beach always being at least semi close by. The feeling of being surrounded by constant growth.
So. We’ve been here over a week already with several more weeks to go. And while our orders are paused and we’re not pouring candles, I want to share with you some of the amazing things we’ve already done- seeing elephants in the wild, excursions into the rainforest, eating the best food on the planet, going to a nightclub opening in the heart of Libreville. I also want to share some of the things I’m learning. About the history, the culture, the economy and customs here. As our family experiences Africa this Summer, we’d be honored if you came along for the ride!