Arrival in Lagos

 View from the airplane: Well, it's about what I expected. Happy to finally be landing, but not so certain about returning to Lagos. It's been 27 years since I last arrived in Nigeria and apprehension is taking over. Ready or not, here we go!

THE AIRPORT: I have been through many airports before, but there is nothing quite like arriving in Lagos, Nigeria. Stepping off of the airplane, you feel it, that wave of heat and humidity that hits your body like a smack down in the WWE. The air feels thick and heavy and you try to avoid the urge to start gasping for air. You feel the sweat begin to trickle from your brow and other places you don't care to mention. "Oh yeah, this is Nigeria. I remember this."

As you make your way into the terminal, the masses of people start shuffling in behind you, in front of you and all around you. Personal space is not an issue here. While the passengers head to Customs, those in uniforms of several types start to move closer ushering people here and there, shouting and intimidating those who seek to make it through the line. Luckily for us we had an expediter. Beverly was a kind and no nonsense kind of woman. She was short, with a sturdy build and by the way she moved, you knew you didn't want to mess with her. She met us before we arrived in Customs, grabbed our passports and our forms and proceeded to plow through the masses. We quickly followed her knowing that she would be our guardian angel getting us through the process as unscathed as possible. She knew most of the people at the airport. She waved and smiled with a purpose. You could tell she had spent years building up relationships to make her job easier. We had no plans to leave her side. When we got to the Customs areas, she quickly completed our necessary paperwork and, with passports in hand, approached the desk. Not quite knowing what to do, we stood to the side about four feet from where she stood. A tall African man in a beige uniform approached us shouting, "Why are you standing here? What are you doing here?" We pointed at Beverly and told him, "We are with her." He turned around to see her and then began shouting at other people. Thank goodness for Beverly! Once through Immigration, we went to gather our luggage.

 The Airport: Nice looking from a distance; inside is a step into another world. Watch your purse, watch your bags, watch yourself and in general, just watch out!







BAGS ANYONE: Finding bags in chaos! I didn't know this at the time, but don't always expect your bags to be on the carousel. Sometimes they are taken off and moved into other areas. We were left forging through a thick tangle of bags smashed together only occasionally broken up by passengers squeezing through trying to find and rescue their precious possessions. Thank goodness we had a little help from Beverly otherwise we might still be searching.

 ON THE ROAD: Here we go. Shanty towns dot the roads as we travel in a bullet-proof vehicle (no vehicle is truly bullet-proof) towards Lagos. It is a long drive made worse by the traffic and pot-hole filled roads. Even with the air conditioner on, you can feel the temperature of your body rising. The heat seems to permeate everywhere. Of course, it may have been the fact that the car was packed with luggage and people, but it was another reminder that we had officially arrived in Africa. I guess they do serve sardines here after-all. :-) PS: I was going to take a picture with my phone, but was mentally exhausted from the flight and was afraid someone might bulldoze me down and steal it away. Irrational? Maybe!

 POLLUTION: Pollution is a problem in Lagos, but along the route from the airport, there are whole villages that are engulfed in what looked like smoke. Our driver said they were burning garbage and plastic. It's a safe bet to assume that nobody is wearing any kind of face masks there. Not a place you would want to be. So sad :-(

HOME AT LAST: We made it! I won't show a picture of the outside of our apartment, but I will show the view of the night sky as we arrived. I'm so glad to be "home" and look forward to our time here. After all, life is what you make of it. Let the adventure begin!