Finally Here Safe and Sound

So, after a couple days on planes/trains/automobiles I arrived in Lagos - safe and sound. I figured that I would have to bribe the immigration officials and negotiate with customs what I could and could not bring into the country - but no! Suprisingly, everything went as smooth as could be imagined. They were nice and quickly processed my passport and on I went. I was met by a nice fellow who helped me gather my bags... I think it was the first time I was met at the airport by someone with a sign that had my name spelled correctly. So final step is to clear customs and I was still bracing myself... I walked through the door way that says "nothing to declare" and thats it! There wasn't even anyone there to check your stuff nothing! Super - so they take me to the Mobil bus where I happen to meet my new boss who is sitting on the bus with his dog. Once the last of the passengers is loaded on to the bus - we are off into Lagos. But, we are not alone! There is 2 police trucks with armed guards one in front of the bus and another behind - nothing like being subtle.


So out the window of the bus we see tons and tons of people - people everywhere! There are minivan busses all over the place with conductors shouting out the window to passengers; there are people walking with everything imaginable on their heads; there are trucks and cars and motorbikes everywhere weaving and bobbing through traffic, constantly beeping their horns. Lagos is definatley alive!


The roads are bumpy - most of the roads get damaged in the rainy season and it often takes months to get them fixed. The intersections some times have lights - not that anyone pays attention to them when they are working and most often they are not working. You see, Nigeria has terrible infrastructure and it is very common for the power to go out for hours on end.


So, everything has been very new and exciting so far - I'll keep updating as things come up - maybe a whole post on the exciting food!

Cheers,
RQ