Abjua

I haven't seen much of Abuja but everyday we drive past the Central Mosque - which is beautiful. There is also a very modern central church.

Travelling to Nigeria

I was rescued on the way to Abuja by a very nice lady I met on the plane – and I didn’t even know I needed rescuing!

Mrs S is the Head of Chamber in the National Assembly and had been to the UK to learn about British parliamentary procedure (like we are any kind of good example!) She was concerned about my welfare and took me under her wing when we arrived at the airport ... organising porters, whisking me through baggage collection and passport checks. This was fortuitous as the promised driver failed to arrive so Mrs S’s driver shoved her 3 big suitcases, my 2 and assorted hand luggage into her official car. Then she brought me to my hotel, interrogated the night clerk (we arrived at 4.30am) – who denied having a reservation for me – and inspected the room before declaring it fit for my use. She exchanged my dollars for naira and even sent her driver back the next morning with a mobile SIM card and airtime – extracting a promise from me to call her if I had time to visit the National Assembly this week! What a kind and hospitable person!

The hotel is fine – circa 1960s, the AC rattles like a drum and most of it is clean! I’ve been to the gym and in the pool in an effort to stay awake – my body is still 8 hours behind me so it’s hard not to sleep and I didn’t get much rest on the plane. Just how many small children is it possible to get in business class??
The other fascinating thing about the flight was the size and number of pieces of hand luggage brought on by most passengers. Nearly everyone had 3 large carry-on cases and some had all kinds of big bags and packages! It took the cabin crew some time to stow it all before we could take off.

I asked Mrs S about it and she said “We Nigerians like to shop and shop and shop!”

Blue Ice

John has loaded the full photo set to Flickr - if you want to see more ... he's a happy boy! Click here John224488

New blog name?

I should probably call this blog On my way from Vancouver! The news never seems to be about Vancouver at all - just what I'm doing when I'm away from there.

Ok, let's change that. John and I have just bought a boat! She's currently called 'Blue Ice' and is a 32ft Bayliner Avanti power cruiser with 2 VERY big engines. John has been wanting a boat ever since I've know him - not much call for them when you live in Francistown or Windhoek though! So at last his dream has come true - which is nice. I had no intention of buying one but when he persuaded me to go and see some, I got on to this one and just loved it from the first moment - It's a bit like a caravan inside. I've left him at home fretting about moorage and insurance and all that good stuff. I'm sure it's going to cost us a fortune - but you're a long time dead and we decide it's about time we made the most of living in fantastic british Columbia. We're hoping to get a 'slip' (note nautical term) at a marina about 15 mintues drive from our house - from where we can get to lots of interesting islands and coastal places.

His plan is to drag me out of the house every weekend I'm a home (well in the summer anyway) to stop me from working all the time. Sounds like a plan.

Any of you who are planning to visit - remember to bring your sea legs!
It's just 2 weeks before mum and dad head west - looking forward to that.