I've just returned from my fourth trip to Lagos. It was a brief overnight trip but Lagos is always fascinating. It's noisy, extremely crowded and extremely dirty. It is akin to looking at a car wreck. It's not a pleasant sight but you can't stop looking at it. It is, however, very interesting to me that a people that lives in such adverse conditions can be so warm, friendly and optimistic.
One of my favorite things about the trip is the ride into downtown from the airport. This trip can take anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours, depending on the weather, and the time of day. When the traffic slows down, vendors converge on the road selling everything imaginable as they walk among the 3 lanes of halted traffic, holding their wares above their heads.
I have been making notes on some of the more unusual things that are for
sale. They include:
cola nuts, sausage
rolls, socks, newspapers, phone cards, surge protectors, belts, thermoses, towels, hot water bottles, sets
of flatware, computer
keyboards, snacks, screw
driver sets, hedge
clippers, and my two favorites: engineering
math software and toilet seats.
Crossing the lagoon that separates the mainland from the islands, one sees many small canoe-like boats fishing the waters. There is a very large community of houses on stilts in the water, where the fishermen live. These houses look very small and are packed together very densely. It could easily be that there anywhere from twenty-five to fifty thousand people living in this place. There is no way to be more precise. I expect to going to Lagos once or twice a month and so hopefully I'll have some new stories and a couple of photos soon.
Yes, definitely some photos.
Posted by: RONW | August 28, 2005 at 02:36 PM