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One of the truths of embarking on any quest in Africa is that uncertainty and adventure are always a viable outcome – even when unsought!  Travel in Africa brings one face-to-face with the realization that the social fabric that keeps many nations on this continent operating on a day-to-day basis, is held together by very thin threads, and that entire nations are operating balanced on a razor’s edge above chaos and anarchy.  Thus one should not be surprised when a country that was racked by war and military coup only a few year’s ago, can now emerge as a stable place for a Western tourist to visit.  Likewise, one misplaced step by the leaders of many of these countries, and they would fall off their precarious perches and quickly fall back into chaos.

 

It is with this backdrop that we decided to embark on a quest to see the remaining endangered Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat.  Today, there are only ~700 gorillas left in the world, located in two areas in the far southwest corner of Uganda.  The one area is completely encompassed in Uganda in an area named the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and is home to about 350 gorillas in about 32 different family groups that roam the mountains and ravines of the local rainforest.  The other group is located on the Uganda border at the intersection with Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.  This group lives on the rainforest that covers an ancient volcano’s slopes, and they move freely between the countries.  We chose to visit Bwindi.  The Mountain Gorilla population was decimated last century by trophy hunting, family killing to secure juveniles as pets, and habitat conflicts.  Today, the local residents dedicatedly guard this resource and the Gorilla population is slowly beginning to increase.

 

Originally, we, (Julie and Rocky), planned the trip for ourselves, extending invitations to any other adventurous souls that we knew.  The trip would be a “whirlwind” excursion, taking advantage of a 4-day weekend as a result of the Id-el-Kabir holiday.  At the last minute, our Shell neighbors, Guy and Sue Kent, decided to join us.  Our choices to get to Bwindi began with flying from Lagos, Nigeria to Nairobi, Kenya, and on to Entebbe, Uganda.  From there, we either had to fly a 12-seat “bush” airplane for 3 hours to a grass runway on the edge of the rainforest, or embark on a longer, (10-hour), but safer, route via safari vehicle.  We chose to travel overland as this also gave us the opportunity to see the local people and landscape, traverse a number of Uganda’s parks and wildlife preserves, and cross the equator more than once.  We began our trip by traveling to Lagos International Airport on Thursday morning, November 26^th – Happy Thanksgiving!  After a proper English breakfast of beans, eggs, toast, and sausages we began our flights.

 

We arrived at Entebbe Airport in the evening and were immediately impressed with the clean and modern airport there.  We efficiently received our Visas and exited to meet our guide and driver for the long weekend, Silver.  Silver lives with his wife and children outside of Kampala, and has been taking visitors on these trips for 11 years.  We proceeded on the 1-hour drive north to the city of Kampala, where we checked in to the Shangri La Hotel, tired from our day’s journey, and recognizing that tomorrow would be a long day.  We awoke on Friday morning, took breakfast in the Hotel Garden, reviewed our agenda with Silver, and set off for Bwindi via the southern route, through the towns of Masaka and Mbarara.

 

Uganda was not quite what we expected!  The roads, for the most part, were in very good shape (where they were paved), unless they were under construction.  The country’s infrastructure, including access to water and a working electrical grid, are in good shape.  People were clearly well fed, and we saw very few destitute or homeless people or beggars.  The countryside was lush and green with an abundance of bananas, pineapples, mangos, papayas, watermelons and jackfruit growing in small orchards and in large farms everywhere we looked.  The southern route through Masaka skirts along the shores of Lake Victoria, and so some of the area is swamp, where vast areas are growing with papyrus and reeds.

 

Banana Market

Meat Market

Jack Fruit Tree

Fruit Market

Papyrus in Bloom

Being in Nigeria, we are familiar with the Okada, or the motorbike taxi.  In Nigeria, they dominate the roads, weaving in and out of traffic, blowing their horns continuously, and stacking as many people astride the bike as possible.  However, in Uganda, the motorbike taxi has a different incarnation.  It and the bicycle are the dominant forms of transportation for locals, and the motorbikes here are law-abiding and courteous, and their passenger sits on the back of the seat in a very proper British sidesaddle! 

 As we crossed the Equator into the southern hemisphere, we recognized the familiar “disguised” charcoal stands on the side of the road.  Currently, Ugandan’s are permitted to fell trees and make charcoal, but only if they “plant a tree to cut a tree”.  Of course, there is no enforcement, and this is one of the reasons that the rainforest habitat is under environmental pressure.

 

Charcoal for Sale

The people of Uganda are a mix of Islamic and Catholic, but apparently with respect for each other’s beliefs and customs.  We observed a very large cattle industry in the country, with herds numbering from a few head to thousands.  The preference in this area is for Longhorn cattle, (very long horns!), and they are valuable enough that all herds are tended by herders that stay with them full time. 

Along the way, we saw zebra, antelope and a huge number of Marin storks, (5-6 ft tall!).  At lunch, and at every stop, we took occasion to sample the local beers, including our favorite, the “Nile Special”.  Although we were not novelties, we clearly were the only Muzugus, (white skin people), around.  As we moved away from Lake Victoria into the Great Rift Basin and nearer the headwaters of the Nile, the landscape became more agricultural with huge plantations of bananas and miles of tea crops as far as the eye could see, all harvested by hand – of course – three leaves at a time.  Tea is Uganda’s number one export.

Banana Plantation

Hillside of Tea

Hand Picking the Tea

We spent the afternoon entering the hills and mountains of western Uganda, home to Lake Edwards and the great Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we encountered elephants, Kobe, impalas, waterbucks, baboons, and velvet monkeys. 

Lake Edward

Baboons

Velvet Monkeys

We had hoped to spot lions basking in the local trees, which is unique to this area of Africa, but were not so lucky.  By this time, the roads had turned to dirt, the sun was setting over the hills, and we were forced to traverse the final leg of the journey to Bwindi in the dark over washed out roads.  We were met at our “hotel”, The Gorilla Resort, by uniformed staff, hot towels and cold juice.  The hotel is a rustic by very nice permanent tented camp perched on the side of the Ravine valley facing the Gorilla rainforest on the other side. 

 

We had a hot meal of tilapia from the nearby lake, a bottle of wine, and headed off to bath and bed.  We were pleasantly surprised that each “tent” had a veranda overlooking the forest, two double beds, a complete en suite bath including a Victorian claw-footed tub, and hot water bottles under the covers of the bed to ready it for our well-deserved night’s rest.  Tomorrow we would search for the Mountain Gorillas.

We’ve known for months that FIFA had finally approved awarding the 2009 Under-17’s World Cup to Nigeria, and that the approved stadiums for games in the country included Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.  The posted calendar included the local playing of not only Group B matches in late October, (while we would be in the U.S.), but also both Semi-final Matches on Thursday November 12th.  We asked friends to try to find us information about tickets while we would be gone, but there was no way to predict who would be playing. 

Now, you must understand that nothing in Nigeria has common ground between it’s diversity of tribes, socio-economic classes and religions, other than futbol, (soccer to us Americans)!  It is the single passion that unites the country and evokes tears of disappointment as well as of joy and exhilaration among all natives.  Nigeria was the defending Under-17 World Champions, but over half of their prospective pool of players were ruled ineligible by virtue of being too old as determined by MRI bone scans of player’s growth plates.  In a country where few births are registered, not all children attend school, and government records are what you pay them to be, determining age is not a trivial matter.  There was real concern that the eligible remaining players would be unfamiliar with each other and too inexperienced to defend their title. 

So while we were in the U.S., our friend attended a Round-of-16 game, reported that the adventure was “safe”, and obtained 3 tickets for us as well as 6 others for himself and friends.  Imaging our surprise when the two semi-finals would match Columbia vs. Switzerland followed by Nigeria vs. Spain.  We promptly bought Nigeria jerseys to wear to the match, recognizing that the semi-finals would now bring a massive crowd! 

Now, we could have tried to get VIP tickets and sit in the ultra-secure area under the only covered section of the stadium, (which holds about 40,000 people in total), but instead we took general admission tickets, (at a ridiculous cost of $3.50 each), and sat with the average fan. The first of two semi-final matches would start at 4:00pm, and we had planned to leave the office by 3:30pm.  Beside ourselves, we took our Nigerian driver, and our group include two other expats, one of their 14-year-old daughter, and two Nigerian friends with one of their 15-year-old son – nine of us in total, travelling in 2 vehicles.

The adventure began in frustrating manner, as we were delayed in getting our group together and we ended up not leaving until 4:45pm.  We were following our friend, Scott’s, vehicle when our entry to the highway was blocked.  Soon after, the escorted Spanish and Nigerian Team buses passed by us, followed by 1000’s of okadas.  Once they passed, we were allowed to follow the VIP caravan all the way to the stadium, where, by virtue of having our own automobiles and showing our tickets on the inside of its windows, we were escorted into the VIP parking lane and parked in a secure lot for 200 naira, ($1.50).  Outside the stadium, the crowd was celebrating with horns, shouts of “Up Nigeria”, and general anticipation of the game to come.  It was quite a festive atmosphere, and we hired an official “escort staff” to guide us to our seats.  Entry to the stadium required traversing five different checkpoints where tickets were shown, and armed guards scrutinized us.  All the way along, fans saw us as special guests coming to support their cause, and they all sought a handshake or a thumbs-up or sign of encouragement from us.

 

We reached our seats easily enough, halfway up the stands, behind the corner flag and directly above the fan-base’s drum and trumpet group.  The horns and noisemakers were continuous and deafening, as fans danced on their seats, and celebrated with passion as the Swiss destroyed Columbia in their second half of the first match.  It was clear we were very much novelties, as all manner of fans continually requested to have their pictures taken with us.  As the Swiss game ended, the victorious Swiss players circled the track and waved and threw souvenirs to the already frenetic crowd.  By the time the Nigerian Team took the field for the next match, the stadium was full, and the crowd had already completed 20 rounds of the wave, sang a variety of songs and was giddy with anticipation.

 

The only time the noise stopped was for the Nigerian National Anthem, which needed no microphoned singer to lead the 40,000 voices, that rose up as one in pride and patriotism.  And then the game was on!  The noise rose and fell with the Nigerian play, and reached a peak when the Nigerian Team broke the scoreless deadlock on a brilliant goal in the 31st minute.  On that goal, the crowd simultaneously rose to their feet, and let out a roar that shook the concrete structure.  From that moment on, the party was in full swing.  When Nigeria added a 2nd goal in the 2nd half, and then a 3rd with 10 minutes left in the match, we took our cue to begin our exit.  By this point, everyone we encountered was in full rapture, some with tears of joy in their eyes, satisfied that they would be in the finals, and proud of their young “Golden Eaglets”.  Their team played a positive, technical, and entertaining style.  And, although the Spaniards would pull one goal back at the end of the match, the Nigerians looked positively dominant in their march to their title defence.

 

As we threaded our way through the crowd and out of the stadium, we were assayed by continual handshakes, hugs and pats on the backs from all manners of local fans who sincerely appreciated that oyibos would come out to be with them to support their Team!  Up Nigeria!

 

Once out of the stadium, we returned to our cars, exited the VIP parking lot and drove home through streets whose only activity now were the fans celebrating running down the street, waving flags and dancing with anyone they could find.  The experience for us had been exhilarating and wonderful, but exhausting, as we returned home completely worn out.

 

In prologue, we have been asked if we felt unsafe or unprotected in our adventure?  The whole time, we never came across any situation that we felt was unsafe, as everyone we met were friendly, helpful and nothing but courteous.  Like many other situations in Nigeria, our profile was low, our support for Nigeria was clear, and the locals saw and appreciated our participation at their level.  We had a great time and are very glad we took the unique opportunity to participate, and that the local population welcomed us into participating in a small part of their lives.

In an alignment of the futbol planets, two days later on Saturday, Nigeria’s National Team improbably qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa by beating Kenya, and by Tunisia’s devastating loss to Mozambique!  The weekend’s futbol wrapped up with Nigeria’s Under-17’s losing to Switzerland 1-0 on Sunday in a gruelling Championship game, denying them their record 4^th Under-17’s World Championship.  What a week for futbol!

Up Nigeria!

The combination of southern proximity to Antarctica, the meeting point of two oceans, and the meeting of the sea with the landscape of Africa, had to come together to provide the Cape Town area with an amazing biodiversity of flora and fauna that is a pleasure for the senses.  The promise was met from Day One, when only hours after arriving and while driving along the coast of False Bay, we spotted whales casually swimming only ~60 meters from shore.  Not once, but numerous times we would stop to watch these gentle giants make their way down the coast.  Farther on down the coast past Simonstown, we stopped at The Boulders, where a resident African Penguin colony can be observed in its natural habitat up close and personal.  Later that day in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, one could see herds of Eland and Waterbucks grazing nearby.

Whale under the surface at False Bay 

Penguins at The Boulders

Nesting penguin

If fact, Penguins, Seals and Antelope are fairly common all around the area as they could be seen at many places while driving along the coast or hiking in the parks.  Also, since it was just the beginning of “Spring” while we were there in September, numerous flora were in bloom.  Amazing bushes 6 meters across with hundreds of full yellow blooms, and delicate red buds springing up between rocks welcoming the direct sun were everywhere we went.  We do not know what their names were, but we know that they were beautiful, and we very much enjoyed them.

  

One morning, we drove to a Wildlife Outreach Program hosted by Spier Winery and Resort located south of Stellenbosch, to the west of Cape Town.  Here, there is a privately funded program aimed at protection and reintroduction of both birds of prey, and of African Cheetahs.  It turns out Cheetahs are very much endangered in Africa, since their habitat is shrinking, and they are increasingly in conflict with the growing South African Cattle and Sheep industry.  Until recently, Cattlemen would deal with any Cheetah problem by killing them. But, this Outreach Group provides rehabilitation to injured Cheetahs, and provides free herd dogs to ranchers as an alternative means of control.  It turns out Cheetahs prefer flight to fight, and a protective guard dog is all that is needed to keep the Cheetahs at bay.  In order to be able to afford the dogs and their training and to provide this service to local ranchers, the Outreach Program uses some of their locally raised cats, which are not suitable for being returned to the wild, as part of their human education and fundraising program.  We watched as three 4-month-old cubs were fed, played with and socialized to humans, as future ambassadors.  Then, Julie and I were allowed to enter a Cheetah enclosure and pet and meet close up a full grown, non-tethered, 14-month-old male Cheetah named “Peter”.  He was an energetic, but beautiful animal, clearly enjoying the human touching, as he “purred” a low rumble, and playfully rolled on his back.  Likely, a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for both of us.

Peter, cheetah ambassidor, Cheetah Outreach Program, Spier Vineyards

4 month old cheetah cub at play

Peter purring away while Julie and Rocky pet him

No trip to Cape Town would be complete without at least some sampling of the local wine country.  Just west of town are the prolific wine regions of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek.  We did not have a lot of time on this initial trip, so we tried to give preference to wineries that were recommended, but unfamiliar to us, and that were off “the beaten path”. Initially, we went to Spier Winery and Resort just south of Stellenbosch, not for their wine, but for their Animal Outreach program.  Then we went on to Rustenberg winery north of Stellenbosch, where we explored a beautiful tasting room, antiques buildings and lawns, as we sampled 6 wines of our choosing.  Their wines span an excellent range from simple table fare to classic cellar wines.  From there, we traveled to Franschhoek where we had lunch at a fine restaurant named La Petite Ferme.  While waiting for our table to be readied on the veranda, we sat on benches on the garden lawn overlooking the valley and distant mountains beyond while enjoying a delicate house wine.  Here we sampled some local fare, including Springbok Bobotie, a ground meat and spice mixture baked in a soufflé – simply delicious!  From here, we journeyed just north of Franschhoek to Dieu Donne Winery where we were greeted by a tasting room that opened to a great view of the valley and vineyards below.  Before leaving Franschhoek, we stopped at Morrison’s Vineyard, where we sampled their wide selection of excellent sparkling white wines.  Finally, as the sun was waning, we traveled north to Paarl where we went to Fairview Winery, famous for its homemade goat cheese.  Here, we tasted wines and sampled cheeses until closing, when we collected our purchases and headed back to Cape Town.  So many wineries to visit – and so little time!  But, we think we made the best of it, and we would recommend any of these locations to our friends.

Rustenberg Vineyards, Stellenbosch, over 300 years old

Rustenberg tasting room, formerly a stable house

Julie sitting on the lawn at La Petite Ferme, Franschhoek, awaiting lunch and loooking down on Franschhoek Valley.

Springbok Bobotie, a favorite South African dish of a delicious mixture of lightly curried meat and fruit topped with an egg custard.

Dieu Donne Vineyards and Microbrewery in the foothills of the Wemmershoek Mountains, Franschhoek.

Moreson Vineyards tasting room, Franschhoek

Fairview Vineyards and Cheese, Paarl

We had often heard from our traveling friends that Cape Town, South Africa was on of the most beautiful places that they had been, but we have traveled to many beautiful places from the coast of Brazil, to the plains of East Africa, from the valleys of Yellowstone to the shore of the Caribbean, from the roof of Hawaii to the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean, so we were a bit skeptical.  However, after our first visit there, we are convinced that the juxtaposition of the area’s natural beauty with quality lifestyle and entertainment is clearly world-class!

 

When one talks of the natural beauty of Cape Town, it falls into two regions – the meandering coastline with its beautiful beaches, quaint villages and historic points; and the soaring mountains which rise from the sea and provide a crown of weather, views and adventure for those who reside below them.  We started our journey along the western coast of the peninsula which forms the east side of False Bay.  This area is ringed with quaint, sleepy villages, (Fish Hoek, Glen Cairn & Simonstown), home to sailing, art and antiques. 

 Fish Hoek town center

As one travels south to Cape Point, there are an abundance of isolated coves, offshore rocks and scenic overlook restaurants where one can sample local seafood.  The coastal road eventually gives way to an ascent to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, and eventually Cape Point.  This is the southern-most point in Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, and an area of numerous sailor’s tales and lost ships. 

Two oceans (Indian & Atlantic) meet at Cape Point South Africa

A hike to the lighthouse provides a spectacular view of the area and a chronology of ships that continue to be lost in this area, as they choose to hug the African coastline to avoid waves and weather, but risk the submerged rocks lurking below.

 Cliffs at Cape Point & Atalantic Ocean

We turn our travel north on the western-side of the peninsula, finding many of the beaches where surfers build their skills.  On this coast, the sleepy villages are replaced with the tuna boats and shrimp trawlers of fishing towns, such as Hout Bay, and finally we arrive at the city outskirts at the picturesque Camps Bay.  Passing this point and coming into view of Cape Town, the shadow of Table Mountain towering over the city dominates every landscape view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whitsand Bay

Camps Bay from our room at Primi Sea Castle

Table Mountain is a spectacularly “flat” mountain at ~1050 meters high, which rises nearly straight up from the coast.  To go up to the top, we took the Cable Car to the summit of the Western Table, from which numerous hiking trails emanate.  A 2 ½ hour hike took us across Platteklip’s Gorge to the Eastern Table and the mountain’s highest point, MacLears Beacon, at 1088 meters.  We were lucky with the clarity of the day, as the mountain creates it’s own weather, and can often by restricted by dense fog and high winds.  The trail is a combination of rock steppers, alpine meadow boardwalks, and cliff-edge trails with spectacular views of the coast and city below. From our residence at Camps Bay, we could daily see clouds roll in from over the mountain, drop down over us, and promptly lower our coastal temperature 10 degrees Centigrade. To the north of Table Mountain are Lions Head Mountain, and Signal Hill, both popular and challenging outdoor adventures to hike up.  One can drive up to the top of Signal Hill where there are unparalleled views of Table Mountain and the local Coast.  Every day at noon, they still fire a single cannon from the mount, a signal and tribute to the city’s colorful past.  At the northern base of these mountains is Cape Bay, with its bustling and renovated Victoria & Albert Waterfront shopping, Green’s Point Soccer Stadium and gateway to the Atlantic Seaboard.

Cable car to Table Mountain high above Cape Town

Table Mountain from Signal Hill

Table Mountain – West Table as viewed from the East Table

Signal Hill from Camps Bay

V & A Waterfront, Cape Town

On our brief but first visit to South Africa, we were impressed with the passion of its residents.  Everywhere, there was a huge pride that bound the country together in their commitment to bring the World to their shores for Africa’s first World Cup in 2010.  It was especially impressive to see a country where apartheid ruled only 20 years ago, lift itself to new levels of cooperation, trust and respect.  The spectacular Green’s Point Soccer Stadium rises on the shores of Cape Town as a local symbol of this commitment to demonstrate to the world that their country is ready to take a respected seat among the leaders of the world.

 Green Point Stadium

Although Progress has been made, the country preserves its painful history, so elegantly reminded through the World Heritage Site at Robben Island.  Robben Island is a low limestone island in the bay off Cape Town that was originally named for the seals that inhabited the island, and is a half-hour’s boat ride from Cape Town waterfront.  In the 1800’s and early 1900’s, it was used to isolate international lepers in a colony and later as a criminal prison, and political holding area for enemies of the state.  Today, the only marked graves remaining on the island are a small plot from groups of these diseased souls who not only lived out their lives in the small space, but married and had children who were taken from then since they did not have the disease.

 

Robben Island from the ferry

Also remaining on the island are the prisons and supporting structures for what grew to be a political prisoner holding area during the latter 20^th century.  Housed on the island was the State internment area for Robert Sobukwe.  Mr. Sobukwe was a black leader during the apartheid years who was arrested and had served his full prison term sentence.  However, instead of being released, the government wrote a specific constitutional phase in that allowed them to hold him here in an isolated room-building among only dog kennels for the rest of his life to prevent him from influencing others in the country or any of those also imprisoned on the island.  For years, he was never allowed to talk with another person.

Robert Sobukwe House (single concrete room on the left) and dog kennels (middle and right).

During the growing anti-apartheid movement of the 1970’s and 1980’s, many political activists were jailed here, although the cell blocks were limited to only male persons of color only. 

Most famous of these was Nelson Mandella, who was interned here for 17 years in the highest security area – Cell Block “B”.  He later was held on the mainland for another 7 years for refusing to renounce violence as a means for ending apartheid, until his release and pardon in the 1990’s.  Our tour through the prison was especially poignant given that it was led and described by Mr. Itumeleng Makwela, himself a prisoner in cell blocks “A” and “F” for 10 years, and one of the prison’s cooks. 

In 1980 he was arrested for distributing weapons to the dissidents and served his sentence while Mr. Mandella was there.  He talked of sleeping on a floor mat in the early days before beds were finally allowed. 

And he talked of long evenings as the inmates would hide near the only light in the bathrooms, teaching and educated each other to read and write, and to learn of the value and of the price of freedom for which they struggled.  Their days were spend at the island’s limestone quarry, where they broke rocks by hand, initially to provide road material for the country,

but later to simply provide a hard toil for them  At the time Makwela was released in 1990, was being paid 5 rand per month for being a cook.  He is one of the dwindling survivors of this place who still have a personal story to tell, and we felt honored to have had the chance to listen to him.  No one ever escaped from Robbin Island, and it was closed in the early 1990’s, and eventually turned into a memorial and Heritage Site.  Today, approximately 127 people still live on the island, many of them families of both the guards and the inmates who spent much of their life in this place.

 

Back on shore, one marvels at how far the country and its people have come in such a short time.  South Africans of all races freely demonstrate their native cultures and peacefully discuss their differences and their joint aspirations.  We met a number of visitors from Australia, England and New Zealand who were former residents of South Africa, and who left the country during its violent period 20-plus years ago.  They were coming back to revisit and reassess their country, as will the world next year.  The wounds of the past are healing, and the country is an exciting place to visit as the voice of recent freedom still echoes clearly in the air here.

Capetown and Table Mountain from the bay

 This weekend as we traveled through the port of Lagos on the way to the beach we encountered a “RO-RO”  Roll On – Roll Off – in otherwords a ship full of new vehicles.  It is like a large floating rectangle with a window.  There is an ramp elevator on the side and one at the rear.  We were like a micro-machine next to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We found a washed up bouy – massive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here is what is left of a dead palm tree.

 It was windy and the salt spray obscured the view, but a very comfortable day for a beach walk.  After 40 minutes we had 3 dogs that found us.  As we walked they chased the hermit crabs on the beach – a game for them.

 

Lastly, the gentlemen and their boats (which are loaded with Sand [that they have dredged up]) are tethered together and being driven by one moter – slow going.  It’s difficult to tell but there are 14 boats here. 

 

 

            It was Thursday and the weekend was rapidly approaching.  With rainy season upon us and a free Saturday coming up we decided to join up with a Nigerian Field Society, (NFS), for a local excursion to the Nigerian Railway Corporation, (NRC).

 

            The trip was jointly sponsored by NFS and a group called “Legacy” which focuses on maintaining historical infrastructure.  We followed directions to the Ebutte-Metta Junction Station in Lagos where we met ~ 70 other people to take a train trip “Down the Line” to Ikojo, a town located 40 kilometers away.  The trip was scheduled to depart at 9am, but, as is common in Nigeria, we didn’t have a diesel locomotive until ~9:45am and thus left late.

 Our train

            This route services over 7,000 commuters each week as 3 trains of 9 coaches each travel it 5 days a week.  For our excursion, on Saturday, the NRC brought out its special coaches, including a Barcar, an air-conditioned 60 passenger sitting car, a 25 passenger recreational car and NRC’s lone dignitary salon car, complete with black leather sofas, lush red velvet drapes and climate control system.  In order to power this extravagance, a diesel generator car was also attached.

  The Bar Car

 Passenger Car

 Salon car

 

            With everybody on board, we began the hour-long journey out of Lagos.  One is immediately surprised at how Nigerian life has moved right up to, and in some cases over the train’s tracks.  We traveled through busy markets, squatters villages and along a corridor showing a cross section of typical life in Nigeria –   many poor people marginally making a living on the edge of disease and ruin.  But most Nigerians are hard workers and they move on, building a life for themselves and their families the best that they can.  Venders who are set up on the tracks move to the side as the train passes.  Market stalls and umbrellas are only inches from the train as it passes by at ~40-50 km/hour.  Walls that were built to protect residents from the train’s route have simply fallen down and serve as hills on which children play and business takes place.

 

On the tracks

 

            We arrive in Ikojo at ~11am and are greeted by a town delegation of immaculately dressed men and women in Nigerian Finery and are serenaded by a loud local drum corps.  The train stops, we disembark and are escorted through town to greet the Oba, the town’s equivalent of a Mayor, Chief of Police and Judge all rolled into one person.  After pleasantries are exchanged, gifts are given, and many handshakes and photographs are taken, we walked back to the train for the trip back.

 Greeting at station

 Drum corps

 

Oba

 

            On the train we talk to one of the Conductors, Augustine, and to the NRC’s Chief Engineer, Abdul Sanni.  Abdul explains that the weekly commuter trains are blue and that the coaches in which we are traveling are green, and that everyone on the ground knows that the green train is special.  This is why so many of the locals are taking notice of us as we pass through their communities.  We are also told that this train line goes all the way to Kano in the North of Nigeria, a 2-3 day journey.  However, service is currently suspended because the number of reliable locomotives that NRC has available today does not allow for it.  Like much of the infrastructure in Nigeria, maintenance has been ignored and the consequences are now undependable service.

 

 The station

We arrive back at Ebutte-Metta Junction at 1:00pm, as promised, and complete the morning’s journey/adventure.  Today was just a small glimpse of the country from inside of an iron horse left here by the British before independence was given.

 

            As we documented earlier, we joined a local sports club in Nigeria located on the island of Ikoyi, only a short distance from our residence.  It is a comprehensive club with 18 bars and restaurants and facilities for 12 major sports.  Our prime focus there has been the 18-hole golf course, which is currently closed for 3 weeks while the rainy season runs its course.

 

And so, for the past year, we were “Junior Members”, meaning we had membership use of the facilities, but were on “probation” until such a time as the Club’s Committee decided to invite us to become full members.  Last week, we were finally invited to the Official Member Election event, a formal throwback to British Colonial ceremonies that are part of the Club’s founding heritage and traditions.

 

The Ceremony Event begins with a check-in queue requiring both us and our Member Sponsor to be present and to be appropriately dressed:  Matching suit and tie for men and cocktail dress for women – no blazers, no jeans and no casual wear.  Once presented and introduced by our sponsor, we proceeded to a receiving line of the entire Executive Committee of the Club including the Director, Functional Chairmen and each Sport’s Director.  After we greeted and conversed with each representative, we proceeded to pick up our gift, and then moved to the drinks and hors d’oeuvres, while under strict instruction that leaving the room early or having one’s cell phone go off would disqualify us from membership!  We met some new people and participated in “small talk” until the last member had been received by the Committee – over 2 hours later!  Then the Director addressed us and inducted us into the Club as full members, and we were finally free to leave.  We found the attention to such antiquated customs both curious and refreshing.  It demonstrated clearly how historic customs and traditions are adapted locally, although they are culturally curious and serve only to preserve a comfortable familiarity with the past.

           No, Monday Night Football has not moved nights, we have simply begun a local version of our own entertainment here at Queen’s Drive in Lagos, Nigeria.

 

            Months ago, Rocky built two small soccer goals, (40 inches tall x 55 inches wide and 55 inches deep), out of PVC pipe and old soccer nets we brought from the USA.  We placed these on our apartment’s outdoor basketball court in hopes that the local residents and their children would begin to use them.  Instead, we sparked interest in the complex’s guards and staff, which motivated Rocky to organize what has now turned into a regular Wednesday Night Football Match, mixing Nigerians and Expats, drivers, guards, staff and residents’ and creating an event which has taken over the complex’s tennis courts every week on Wednesday evening.

 

            The matches are played 5 on 5, with usually about 12-18 people participating, including an average of about 2-5 “Oyibo’s”.  Most of the Nigerian players are in the 25-35 age range, and all are technically skilled with a soccer ball at their feet.

 

            Some of the more amazing aspects of the game are the fact that some players play barefoot, and some play in flip-flop sandals!  How they run and control the ball with this lack of footwear is  truly amazing.  Every game ends with a quick beer or water for the players and the session’s group photo – a pictorial record of an event that has no social, political or economic overtures.  The world’s sport!

 Notice the bare feet

 Even the guard who was on duty wanted in the picture!