My First Trip: Day Seven

Disclaimer: This is an edited version of my diary from November 2000. Some information contained may be incorrect, and opinions I expressed then are not the opinions of Aaron Rowe in 2006. I have posted it purely for the Novelty value.

Sunday 26th November 2000

The idea of breakfast at the Sheraton hotel was very appealing so I persuaded D... to take me there.

It was a very customary European affair there, Even down to yesterdays telegraph on sale in the shop. (BTW I noticed some snooty woman won Millionaire in the last week) There was a buffet with lovely things like pineapple, pancakes, hash browns, bacon, sausages, egg, tropical fruit salad, coffee, Danish pastries and fruit juice. I had a nice time.

After breakfast we went back to the house to change for the beach, I think its called Elekko beach. It's the same stretch of white sand that begins near the house, but we were taken about 20 miles or so along it to a certain spot, preferred for its bar and restaurant. This stretch of sand goes for about 200Km so its pretty much the biggest beach I've ever been to. The sea was fantastically warm, warmer than my shower this morning. The waves are very powerful and the sand drops off very quickly from the beach. You can only get out 4 or 5 meters before you have to start treading water. If you are out that far you might get swept away with the undertow so it's not a good idea unless you fancy a trip to South America. Also the water is very sandy and it crystallises with the salt on your legs when you come out. If you get it in your shorts you have to shake out the pebbles out before you sit down. I bought a few presents for some of you guys so If I don't decide to keep them myself you may get to see what they are.

On the way back from the beach we stopped off at a place called Tarzan's where they have live African music and dancing, very interesting to see and hear. The dancing seemed a bit too energetic for me though.

After Tarzan's, we headed out to Planet 44 to have a meal. I had a great big steak cooked perfectly covered in a spicy cheese sauce. Yummy. Being good customers we get credit here now, so E... our accountant just has to sign his name and we get as much food and beer as we like. Fabulous.

Now I'd managed to get very drunk again, so I went straight to bed, and tried to type some of the last few days diaries, so If they seem a little weird. blame the booze. The local beer here is actually quite good when it's cold. I'll try to swipe a few bottles before I leave. It's great. You can get a crate of 12-just-more-than-a-pint (600ml) bottles for 600 Naira which is only about £3.50 - two pints in the UK at most!

Nigeria - tourist paradise by the year 2050? Probably only for the brave but it's possible.