Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day – a not-so-unusual lull in the middle of the rainy season. We met Inayat and Conrad (expats who have been in Nigeria almost 3 years) and Steve (a new expat neighbor) at the front gate of our complex, unloaded their car, and crossed the street to the water, (Five Cowrie Creek), where our tennis courts and pavilion are also located. There, at the bulkhead, a boat that Conrad scheduled came by and picked us up and we headed ~ 20 miles northwest to a beach house on the Atlantic Ocean via the intracostal waterways and the Isahayi Sea.
We then traveled up intercoastal waterways, under bridges, past the yacht club, the container shipyard,
the abandoned ship graveyard,
several waterside villages
and the harvestable coconut palm groves
to an area of palms and small docks. We walked up a short trail through the brush and over the dunes to a beach house facing the Atlantic Ocean. Conrad leases the land from the local tribal chief, and hired him to build this beach house for them. It is a 2-story beach house, open on the bottom, with a storeroom and a large deck up top. It has an enclosed bedroom, and a covered sitting room – bar area, which is open to the ocean view.
There is also a large area of deck open to the sun, with two staircases, one to the ocean, and one to a shower and bath area. There is a private borehole with a water pump for running water. When planning a visit, Conrad generally text’s the chief, and then the house and surrounding sands are swept and made ready for his visit. We brought the food and drinks for the day, as there is no roads or electricity to the area. Occasionally, during the day, venders walk by with their wares: beads, baskets, table clothes, birds, and woodcarvings. There are no roads but lots of sand, water and coconut groves of palm trees. We walked, flew a kite, and relaxed. Conrad and Rocky tried out a boogie surfboard. For dinner, a couple of the local boys prepared and grilled the corn and meat that we brought. Overall, it was a very relaxing day with no traffic or city noises. When we left the children assisted us in getting our bags to the boat.
Here is a map to help you see our trip:
