Here's another round of photos from our trip back in April.
In the next few photos, you can see us playing beach volleyball with some of the other guests. There was a tournament going on, so we went over to join the fun. We didn't sign up for the tournament teams though. We played casually at a separate court at the side. Yes, that's Richard flying for the ball!
Ryan helped the players by throwing the ball in whenever it went out and at the end of the tournament he got a beautiful medal for being "The Best Thrower". There was no actual competition to be "The Best Thrower" - his award was made up on the spot, just for him. During the game, one of the Club Med crew (one of the GOs) asked us for Ryan's name without telling us why and of course, the reason was so that he could call Ryan out at the award ceremony as having earned a medal. That was a real nice touch. Thanks, Club Med!
Here he was, stepping up as his name was called out! You can tell by the way he is walking that he understands that he is being honoured!
Of all Ryan's tokens of achievement, I particularly like this medal because of what it stands for - the value of collaborating and uniting for a common cause. It didn't involve competing against someone else and trying to be better than someone else. It was the exact opposite of setting himself apart from others. It was, instead, a recognition that he'd made himself a part of a community and had shared in their efforts. It was a celebration of the good in him, rather than how many people he beat. I really like that.
I think that is the magic of Club Med, really. It is such an inclusive community. There are so many opportunities to be part of something and you are always welcome. The Club Med crew take an interest in you; they take the time to talk to you. During mealtimes, if you have space at your table, you can bet that one or two Club Med crew members will sit down to eat and chat with you. Nobody cares how much/little you make, what car you drive, who your father is. Everyone gets a place at the party and everyone is on the same team.
This was our last evening in Club Med and we spent it in the usual manner - watching the stage show after dinner. They put on a different show every night and it is always hilariously funny. This time, at the end of the show, all the children were invited to go on stage to dance! Babydoll got picked up straightaway by one of the Club Med GOs. She's pretty irresistible!
After that, we adjourned to the beach for a beach party and some limbo! While waiting for them to set up the limbo, everyone started dancing (yes, dancing again!) at the small beach restaurant. After what seemed like a very long time, they were still dancing and the limbo was still non-existent. It was getting a little late for the littles so we went off to have some quiet family time in our room.
Here's a short video of the children dancing on stage. Don't expect any slick dance moves or anything like that, yah! It was just good fun for the kids. You can see Ryan faithfully following the instructions for the dance moves (he's the one in orange). Babydoll is being carried by the GO and she's grooving with her hand actions!
