Welcome to paradise

Let me clarify. Calabar is paradise.

The Paradise City Hotel in Calabar is anything but.

We camped in their empty carpark (although a few of us retreated into the truck as it started bucketing with rain and drenching us through our mosquito net tents!).

We also had access to one of their rooms where there was: no electricity with cables sticking out of the cracked walls;

a dead rat in a wardrobe; and a single working tap in the bathroom. I didn’t mind the bucket shower but had a bit of a fright when doing my washing in buckets in the bathroom. A tranny appeared at the door shouting out someone’s name and when I emerged from the bathroom, didn’t look very pleased. I quickly held up my wet washing and explained I was only here to do washing – not to ‘meet’ anyone!!! Fortunately we moved hotels the next day and I upgraded just to avoid the rain and hang up my washing.

Calabar was all uphill from there. We had another incredible experience through Ivy’s contact, Reggie, and met Mimi, Nigerian TV and radio presenter on Good Morning Cross River & MC at the Governor’s events, who took us on a tour of Calabar. I missed the first part (of being interviewed again and visiting the Minister’s offices to see photos of last year’s Carnival), as I went to the Cameroon embassy with Kristy and Dom to lodge our Cameroon visas. But then Dom and I joined the group in the afternoon for the rest of the tour where a cameraman continued to film our group all afternoon. Our first stop was Tinapa, Africa’s Premier Business Resort and the only retail and tourism based Free Zone in Nigeria, made up of four areas, each the size of two football fields.

As far as I understand it, it’s still awaiting funding, but there are several large shops, and in one of them, I bought two new much-needed tops (I really didn’t bring enough clothes – instead, I brought too much medication!). They had a large Games Arcade there and paid for us to play several games of mini basketball – though we sadly failed to beat the high score. Nollywood studios are also just across the road though we didn’t visit them.

We then drove in our private minivan to the slave museum which was again very moving, particularly the model of the ship cut open down the side revealing slaves shackled lying down head to toe so they couldn’t conspire.

Again another incredible experience in Nigeria – thanks Mimi!