Chevron, who's boats we came on provided 3 armed guards to accompany us on this trip and protect us from the pirates that roam the Lagos port looking for epats to hijack.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Badagry slave port
Sadly there are few noteworthy relics bar a little archway through which the slaves boarded the rowing boat to the point of no return.The buildings, fine examples of Brazilian/Portuguese architecture are all but crumling ruins and the townsfolk albeit very jolly and friendly have no sentiment to preserve this important part of African history.
Chevron, who's boats we came on provided 3 armed guards to accompany us on this trip and protect us from the pirates that roam the Lagos port looking for epats to hijack.
Chevron, who's boats we came on provided 3 armed guards to accompany us on this trip and protect us from the pirates that roam the Lagos port looking for epats to hijack.
Up the creek
...by boat to Bagadry, a village 45 kms up North from Lagos.
The trip provided a welcome relief out of the concrete jungle that is Lagos City and was a reasonable interesting day.
Badagry has an interesting if sombre history as the West African slave port (from 16th century to 18th century) where more than 300 000 slaves were shipped across the Atlantic to labor in the cottonfields of the New World.
It was also a key entry port for many missionaries. The slave market was established in 1502 and the sandbar across the lagoon which stretches all the way to the Benin border is the 'point of no return'. Slaves left the mainland of Africa by rowing boat to this strip of land between the creek and the mainland where they were herded along a sand path for a few meters to the waiting ships in the sea on the other side. This was propbably the last they saw of their African homeland. Legend has it that there was a waterwell from which the slaves would drink for the last time and that this water had some sort of magical effect that made them forget everything they new.
The trip provided a welcome relief out of the concrete jungle that is Lagos City and was a reasonable interesting day.
Badagry has an interesting if sombre history as the West African slave port (from 16th century to 18th century) where more than 300 000 slaves were shipped across the Atlantic to labor in the cottonfields of the New World.
It was also a key entry port for many missionaries. The slave market was established in 1502 and the sandbar across the lagoon which stretches all the way to the Benin border is the 'point of no return'. Slaves left the mainland of Africa by rowing boat to this strip of land between the creek and the mainland where they were herded along a sand path for a few meters to the waiting ships in the sea on the other side. This was propbably the last they saw of their African homeland. Legend has it that there was a waterwell from which the slaves would drink for the last time and that this water had some sort of magical effect that made them forget everything they new.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Not exactly the 'long walk to freedom'...
As I come to the end of this Sunday's uploading of my walking tour interspersed with military intervention (in case we are intending to take over the country) regarding us group of stupid whiteys who dare to take photos of the architecture, all I have left to say is that we should be grateful indeed to have been raised in a country were free speech is a given in my case and having lived for 30 years in a country that has enjoyed something resembling democracy which is now being threatened by a megalomanical 'youth leader'....without trying to sound negative-I have just once again realised that the human species is very flawed in general and I am ashamed to be part of it. War, commerce, the business of religion, hatred, greed and plain stupidity-all the same...and the innocent suffer.
I stop here before I throw up-politics is really not my thing.
But I did do my 10 000 steps today and am achingly pleased to have done something for my fitness. Thank you Lagos.
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