Gembu, Nigeria to Banyo, Cameroon

My phone wasn’t fully charged in the morning. First I thought that my New Age cable is already broken, then I realized the power was off at night. At about 6:30am someone knocked at the door. Took me a while to realise that the person was knocking at my door, after all I was in […]

Bali, Nigeria to Gembu

I woke up at night when the light was cut off and the fan stopped working. I was all in sweat. Of course water was not running from the tap and I didn’t fill the bucket in the evening. Then, a muezzin started his chants and I was glad because I thought if was already […]

Ogoja to Bali, Nigeria

Bali in Nigeria is pronounced Bæli. For first time in long time I didn’t wake up by myself at 5am but an alarm clock woke me up at 5:30am. I was so sleepy I kept snoozing it until 6am. I took okada to the junction outside Ogoja, the one on the main road, N300. When […]

A Saturday in Calabar

I got out of the room late. Everyone on the internet is praising a bakery that’s across the road from the hotel so I went there. Bought a ginger cake and a “golden bun”. Ginger cake didn’t even lie next to ginger. Golden bun needed coffee to dip it in. My hotel has a very […]

Benin City to Calabar: a day with AKTC

I found a website for a bus service I once used, not sure even when, 2008 or 2009, coming from Owerri to Calabar. ABC transport. It advertised a N6500 bus from Benin to Calabar at 11am. But when I walked around Benin City and asked around noone was able to tell if that’s true, the […]

Happy new week in Lagos

People also wish you happy new week in Nigeria. Although I don’t know if it means they want something from you or they are just friendly. I waited until travel time shown by Google for the distance of 13kms to Ericsson office will decrease from 1hr 15min to something more bearable. After 9am the time […]

Visa no. 14: Cameroon in Lagos

I applied at 11am and collected the visa after 2pm. The visa costs N45000 and they give out only “temporary” visas valid for one month after the stated date of entry. The man at the reception asked for 2 photos and passport photocopy. He also insisted that the only way to cross to Cameroon at […]

Happy Sunday in Lagos

It’s often you hear people wishing you “happy Sunday” in Nigeria. I was told it means they want something from you. At 7am, when I was deep asleep someone knocked at the door of my room. It was a woman with a tray with breakfast. A simple toast and tea. I took it, went back […]

Porto Novo to Lagos

I planned to arrive at the border early in the morning. The sooner I got to Lagos the better. The plan of course didn’t work. I slept too long, the darkness in my room helped. I took a 200cfa moto to what I thought will be some gare du Nigéria but instead we rode for […]

Friday in Freetown: no more rainy days

Morning became a routine already. Out by just before 11am, chatted with the tourism men who are here again. Breakfast a stew green with rice at Jeska Mac, off on a moto to Nigerian Embassy. As I walked in I saw two young men, possibly Nigerians, entering the compound and snapping photos all around. Photos […]