Just a romantic walk on the beach!
The local cruiseline
On Saturday, we had the chance to go to Eleko Beach for an ” I Survived the End of the World” party. There were t-shirts and everything! The beach hut was rented from the village Chief and the village prince was there to, well… He was supposed to be there to help out, but it seems like he was really there to get bossed around. No wonder no one likes us here… The beach house was full-on island adventure hut. Coconut tree posts, palm frond roof, bamboo fence.
“Well, you know that the 2 fronds is the standard. We have a solid 5 frond roof.” Did you know that?
We walked along the beach, only to look back and see our police escorts following behind, with their AK-47s gleaming in the sun. Utterly surreal to walk hand in hand with The Hubs down a beach with an armed guard behind us.
And then there was a man on a horse offering to give me a ride (I declined, as I didn’t want the news report to describe the missing American and then the horse, in the same paragraph. Just kind of embarrassing.) and a number of local villagers hanging out at the water. One of the women came up to me and said I was beautiful, which took me aback a bit, especially considering that she was gorgeous.
Love them!!
My favorite part of the trip was giving out lollipops to the local kiddos. It gives our host the opportunity to see the kids and recognize if any of them have things like ring worm or infections. He then sends them to the doctor and covers the cost. Certainly a kind act for a group of people that could use the help. And there was a moment where The Hubs got mobbed by the kids because he started handing out extra lollies, but decided to get lax in that whole “stay in a line” thing. We have some things to work on before we have kiddos.
The Hubs trying to retreat!
The village is, to quote my kids at school “way off in the cut, yo.” In fact, we had to pay a “toll” to get into the village itself! 200 Naira each…not exactly steep when you look at it in USD, but it would add up for an average traveler. We guessed that the toll was not used toward road maintenance 🙂
Dips so severe, they were 3/4 a goat deep! (I’ve decided to use goats a standard measurement. Go and spread it throughout the world!)
Without a doubt, the beach trip will stick in my mind as one of the stand-out most enjoyable events in Nigeria. I’m glad that we were invited to attend and hope that this is the beginning of adventures out in the community. My only regret is that I cannot capture for you in words the sights, smells, and experience of it all. So here, have some pictures:
This is me with a coconut. It was retrieved just moments before and opened with a machete. It was subsequently dropped by me moments after this picture.
Word quickly traveled that there were folks at the beach hut. We walked away with two tablecloths, napkins, and a basket. The Hubs went through a hard haggling process for those wares.
