Lagos

Lagos, Nigeria. 18 million people. Holy crap…
Lagos is enormous, one of the biggest cities in Africa, if not the world. For that matter, Nigeria is (population-wise) also one of the biggest countries in Africa, around 150 million folks. That’s half the US population, and more than most European countries.

Lagos sort of reminds me of Long Beach, California. Lots of commercial sea-going traffic (counted 75+ large ships waiting outside the harbor the other day), some skyscrapers, brown skyline. But the similarities pretty much end there. Yachts and hi-rises and clubs next to shantytowns and extreme poverty. The economic disparity here is plain to see. You either have the coin or you don’t. It used to be the political capital, but they moved it to Abuja about 20 years ago. So Lagos is the New York of Nigeria and Abuja is the D.C.

We don’t get to go out much here. Between the traffic and criminal elements, they keep us on the ship or the pier. But we do get to go to the US consulate (think embassy, light). They have a nice bar, pool, and other similar amenities. And the Nigerian Navy has a large presence here. Been to their shipyard and base. It’s good to get off the ship for a while, but it’s also nice to get back to our bit of the US. A dichotomy…

It’s also weird following the current Shuttle mission from the outside. Haven’t done that in quite a while. Good job on finishing the truss NASA-folk.

Fair winds…