Going local

This weekend Queeny and I went to the China Town of Lagos. It is in a red sand courtyard and has many shops which all have identical merchandise. Your choice is lace, clothes, or knick knacks. There was a bakery and I got so excited because I thought I smelled steamed hum boa. But, it was a Nigerian bakery and I was bummed. My imagination tricked me.

My favorite store was a jewelry store called Hello Sweetie. It made the whole visit worth it. I ooohhed and awweeeeddd over every piece and tried on just as many. The style was like something you would find on NW 23rd in Portland or on Pacific Ave in a little funky store. It was a mixture of eccentric and vintage. I seriously went crazy trying everything on and buying most of it. Here are a pair of earrings I bought and a few other pieces. I don't want to show too much because you might be a lucky contestant and be taking home your very own piece, right after these messages from our local sponsers.






After that market we headed to a food market to get vegetables, dried crayfish, garri, pumpkin leaf, and chicken for our egosi soup. Also we needed red beans for our moi moi. Queen Lizzy and I were going to cook up a feast for two to satisfy our Nigerian taste buds.






That night I was still trying to arrange for the final details of my mountain biking trip. I needed to borrow a bike of a friends friend. Even though I had asked about a month ago it was Saturday morning and I still didn't know if it was going to work out. Saturday night late I arranged for a ride, had procured a bike and was mentally preparing my lunch menu for the next day. I joined 11 other people for a bike ride in Omo forest. We loaded into six cars after picking up the military guards at Exxon Mobil. I got to sit in the jump seat next to the tires. It took us three hours to make it to the trailhead even though the estimated time had been 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The roads were really washed out so a ten minute ride quickly became a 1/2 hour. No problem though because when we arrived there even the drive was worth it. The vivid green of the forest was like a feast for my eyes.




We set off for the 5 hour ride and were set to have lunch at the camp ground. But, no one ended up making it here. Some of us were just too plain pooped to continue all the way and others knew they wouldn't make it in time for our estimated return. I was in the too pooped category. Riding a bike once a year through the gravel route of Forest park in Oregon doesn't prepare you for the rocks and boulders and man eating puddles we went through. It was wild and it was fun!

About 1/2 way through the ride I was going downhill and my bike tires were stuck in a rut. I freak out and panicked and tried to slow down and get out of the rut but instead I flipped my bike and was thrown off. While on my back and stunned I didn't want to worry the others so I hollered down to them, "I'm ok! I'm ok!" But I was floundering trying to discover which way was up and was trying to turn around with my backpack on.I looked like a turtle on it's back. Did you know that this is one of the only ways a turtle dies. Their enemies flip them on their backs and they die of starvation. I was scrapped up pretty bad but my confidence was the shaken even worse. The rest of the ride I took it easy and was more cautious than I needed to be.



We piled back into the cars right as a powerful, pouty thunder storm broke loose. The ride home was gratefully uneventful with no traffic. At home I walked my bike through the garage and the guard said, "Why you no ride?" I said, "Look at me, I am covered in mud and scrapes and bruises. That why I no ride. I dey done now." Do you like my broken pidgin and English. I use it often now without even noticing.

Seeds I stopped to collect from a broken dead branch. I'm always on the look out.