Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

After a good ten hours of sleep I woke up at 8.30. The only thing planned for the day was a trip to The Icoyi Club so Todd could swim laps as he’s in training for a Triathlon. I planned on watching from the sideline, because despite having slept like a cat, I was still walking around in a fog of jetlag.

The Icoyi Club is the most exclusive club in Nigeria. It has tennis and squash courts, cafes and two swimming pools. When we got there, our host proudly showed us around. We had to climb over a fallen tree being cleared away by men wielding machetes to see the tennis courts. Todd and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised, as we negotiated the cactus bushes while avoiding manually produced wood chips hitting us in the head.

Next to the pools was a big sign that said No Shoes Pool Side. We were again confused as it seemed the pool side was made from enormous grey, pitted concrete slabs. Did they have trouble keeping them clean?

I took a sun lounger under the blue plastic awning and watched as Todd made me feel tired just watching him swim up and down, down and up.

I saw a few lizards, but being told off by someone from the club for having a camera out meant no pictures for me. Thanks that iPhone hasn’t made it here yet, I managed to get a couple pictures for your viewing pleasure.

With it being 30degrees and about 95% humidity I wasn’t really capable of doing much, so when Todd had finished his work out we headed for the comfort of the food service area and placed ourselves directly under a ceiling fan, it was the only air that was moving. Even the trees looked overheated and sweaty.

After lunch, our driver Mike picked us up to take us back to the house, but seeing as it was only one in the arvo, we wanted to see some other stuff first. You know places tourist may wanna go. Shopping centres, museums, places of interest.

There are none here, apparently.

So I said, ‘Mike, could you take us to a motorbike shop?’

Having seen many motorbikes on the roads here is various states of repair I was curious about new ones. Mike laughed and said he could that.

We drove off the island of Icoyi onto the mainland. This isn’t good. As soon as the air con units stop hanging out the windows, you are an area that doesn’t have funds to pay for power. These are areas that rarely see white people or ‘oyinbo’ as we are known as to the locals.

After a short while the streets were lined with people and vegetable stalls. Mike informed us this was Iddo Market and where local people shop. Then he asked if we wanted to stop.

Too right we did. Not sure about safety I only took my little clicky camera. I couldn’t resist, the colours where glorious even though the sun was hidden behind a layer of cloud. Baskets of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, yams the size of your head drew Todd’s attention. The smells of spices, dried veggies and dust had the senses going haywire. We decided that we could buy dinner for the next day and started talking to stall holders. Soon Mike jumped in on our behalf when we nearly paid over the odds for some dried fish.

After that we got back in the car and went to the Goyingbo Market. This was were the fruit and canned goods were for sale. There is no formal supermarket chain here. No Coles or Woolies, all food is purchased in markets by the house staff. The majority of the shop owners we met and dealt with in the markets would never have spoken with a white person before.

We turned into a side street and parked the car. Behind was a row of containers with motorbikes parked outside the front. These were the motorbike shops. No brightly lit showroom with sales desks and accessories. Here the accessories hung from a piece of nylon string tied to rust hole above the door. The helmets hung forlornly, all second hand and dirty. Indicator lights imitated bunches of grapes from a vine.

The bikes themselves, propped up on the centre stands had the seats and tanks covered in bubble wrap and plastic. Most of the 100 and 125cc from such brands as Boxer, Jincheng, Honda and Daylong, starting price 70,000Nairas, that translates to about $511. No need for a licence, don’t have to have a helmet, but if you do want one, you can have a second hand one for 1000Nairas, that $7.50.

Sonny Best, proprietor was very happy to talk with me about his shop. He’s been selling motorbikes for several years, he wouldn’t give me an exact number but he did reveal that he had at least three other shops around Lagos run by family members. This makes him a very wealthy man. And yet he sits outside his rusty container with old helmets and a ditch full of dirty water full of mosquitoes every day of the week.

Via | TravelPod

Popularity: 1%