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On 8th April we set off from Cotonou in Benin to Lagos, the capital of Nigeria. We had arranged to rejoin the overland tour in Kano in northern Nigeria. After considering our schedule carefully we decided that we would fly from Lagos up to Kano since the journey sounded boring and time consuming. On arrival at the domestic airport in Lagos we found that there was a flight to Kano leaving in twenty minutes. We frantically rushed around to change money on the black market and buy the tickets. A few minutes before the scheduled departure time Paula and I were running across the tarmac to get to the waiting jet before they pulled away the boarding stairs. Exhausted we rushed up the stairs, the crew closed the main door behind us and before we could find our seats the plane was taxiing to the runway - only in Africa!
1992 Diary - Africa (Part 2)
Gjcmcclurg2005-12-23 14:25:40
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ivory made the city one of the richest in the world. The city seemed and exotic blend of African, Indian and Arab life. We decided to take a tour of the old 'Stone Town' and the 'Spice Tour' with a local celebrity, Mr. Mitu. On the 5 hour tour we visited the site of the old slave market and administrative buildings, one of the Sultans Persian Baths, and a herb and spice farm. At the farm we saw lemon grass, mint, pepper, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, soap tree, henna tree and coffee bushes, all growing in a small area.
After a few days in Zanzibar town we decided to cross the island and visit one of the tropical beaches of the east coast. We spent almost a week at the beach of Bwejuu, staying in a basic but comfortable guest house. During the days we occupied ourselves with sunbathing, swimming and cycling on rental bicycles. In the evenings we would indulge in the abundant and cheap supply of great seafood. We felt that our time lazing at Bwejuu was a well deserved rest - traveling can be exhausting!
After our little rest in 'Paradise', we traveled back to Zanzibar town. From the main town we caught a boat across to Changuu (Prison) Island to visit the giant tortoises. We hiked around the tiny coral atoll, which took about an hour, and spotted some of the tortoises - they were huge measuring up to a meter in length and half a meter in width, and some being over 100 years old! On 18th June we flew from Zanzibar to Mombassa in Kenya. We decided that the 50 minute flight in the Foker 50 would save us a good deal of time and give us a chance to enjoy some of the Kenyan coast, including the famous island of Lamu.
I had intended to go diving off the coast near Watamu, but the ocean was too rough, so we headed directly Lamu. The main town on the island of Lamu dates at least to the 14th century. Through the centuries the island and the surrounding archipelago
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See photographs from:
Zambia Gallery
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Tanzania Gallery
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Malawi Gallery
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Kenya Gallery
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Zimbabwe Gallery
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Cameroon Gallery
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Burundi Gallery
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Botswana Gallery
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Nigeria Gallery
