…..As the capital of Nigeria, Abuja is only about twenty years old and is still being constructed and developed. The surrounding countryside, likewise, has not been developed and there are very few tourist destinations here. Everything I found in guidebooks suggested two very large rocks were the prominent features so on Saturday I arranged a ride with the embassy motor pool and visited them. “Visiting” is a loose description since there are no facilities at either location; no hiking trails; no interpretative centers; not even a scenic road side park.
Abuja is pretty much central to Nigeria and we started at the nearby Aso Rock and then drove north up to the Zuma Rock—about an hour’s drive from the city.
Aso Rock towers over the city of Abuja and the President, whose name is Goodluck Ebele Johathan, has his palace at the base of the rock and the military has a small outpost on top—accessible only by helicopter according to my driver.
From there we drove north on a major highway that is about 70% completed. It is designed as our Interstate with two roads separated by a median and is in very good condition except where they are still doing construction—which causes major tie-ups and really leads to the crazy driving Nigeria is so famous for.
The countryside is beautiful—very flat here with extreme hills that appear to have been virtually thrust up out of the earth in some former geological period. Some are low-lying hills while others are very much like our Devil’s Tower, only smaller versions.
At one point we passed a large hill that marked the exact geographical center of Nigeria. As we approached Zuma Rock—the most famous in Nigeria—the view was made difficult by the smog. This is also true in Abuja as there are no landfills or dumps and people burn their trash everywhere and it literally leaves a permanent haze everywhere.
The closer we got, however, Zuma came more into focus and the famous “face” became more easily to see.
Basically we drove up to the rock, turned around, and headed back. Still, I’m glad I got to see it and it was good to get out of the city for a couple of hours and see the countryside.
Before returning to the hotel, the driver stopped at a craft village where I wandered around awhile and bought a wooden mask. It was constructed with African huts along a walkway and was really a nice place to visit. I’ve been to craft markets all over Africa and most are dirty filthy, unorganized and filled with overly-aggressive vendors who will literally grab you and try to pull you into their stalls. This place was much different and enjoyable to visit. I managed to bargain down the mask by the usual 30% and was happy with my purchase.
After returning to the hotel, I just took it easy the rest of the day and am basically doing the same today (Sunday). I have two 2-day programs at the embassy this week and fly back around midnight on Thursday—arriving in Houston early Friday morning (seven hours time difference in reverse this time). I have been pleasantly surprised with Nigeria and, while not one of the more exciting trips I’ve made, it’s been a good one so far…..
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