A stop over in Kano, Nigeria.

February 15 1953 (Sunday) Land Mileage 2998

Mum and Dad were woken up at 04h00 with tea at the Railway Guest House in Kano!     Having discussed this with each other, they presumed some sort of mistake had been made and they had taken the tea to the wrong room; it seemed such an unearthly hour to wake anyone up!   We had previously ordered tea at 07h00 and it had duly arrived at that time.   We have often wondered since, if the person who was supposed to get the early wakeup call ever made it to his or her destination on time!     

We got up and washed and dressed in our own time, then met Mum and Dad just going into breakfast.  Afterwards I decided that this was a good opportunity to go to sit in the garden and do some work; I had brought some of my school books with me - talk about being conscientious!   The other three went for a walk and they managed to gain admission to the Kano Club as honorary members.  This was great, as it meant that we had the use of their swimming pool!   They came back and fetched me and we collected our swimsuits and stayed at the Club until lunchtime.  How we all enjoyed the cool water and the luxury of being able to swim once more!  

David diving from the high board

Afraid my style is not so good from the low board, but hey, David was quite a bit older than me!

It was very hot by mid-day and we made our way back to the hotel for lunch and a rest under the fans.   By this time, the management had managed to rearrange our rooms and we were all in the same building (see previous blog), so this was much more convenient all round.  Tea was ordered at 16h00 and sent up to the room, where we all met up again.   Dad then went off to have a good look over the Land Rover to see what might, or might not, need seeing to before we went on our way again.

In the early evening we went down for a drink before dinner.   Mum realised then how her feet had become used to wearing brogues over the last few weeks and her high heels were killing her.  She would have to learn all over again how to be a lady!   It was a very hot evening and night; despite the fans being on all the time, none of us slept very well, simply because we were too hot.   Only one week ago we were complaining we could not sleep because we were too cold; is one never satisfied?!

February 16 1953 (Monday)

Morning tea was delivered to the room at a respectable time today and then we all met up and went off for breakfast.    It was decided that we would go for a drive around Kano, have a look at the sights and do a bit of shopping.   We also left some films to be processed.    Mum tried to buy some shampoo, but didn't have any luck. I wonder what people in Kano use to wash their hair?   She did manage to buy a pair of sandals, so the high heels could go back into the case until she was ready to try wearing them once more.   David, Mum and I then went for a swim, while Dad took the vehicle off to the garage. 

Myself kneeling hiding my face! Mum and David at the pool

He joined us not long after and we all had another refreshing swim before going back to the hotel.  It was a really hot walk, but we had no choice, as the Land Rover was hopefully being checked over.    After lunch and a rest, Mum and Dad walked to the Nigerian customs office to make sure that all papers were in order and to see how work on the Land Rover was getting along.    David and I both went off to the Club for a swim and my folks decided to have a walk around Kano.   Unfortunately, everything was closed, so there was not much to do and they ended up back at the hotel again.   That evening, on going for yet another walk, it sounded as if there were hundreds of birds everywhere.   We had not heard them before, so made an enquiry as to what they were.   It turned out that the noise was coming from some burrowing insect; we never did find out what they were called.  I wonder now if it was not some type of cricket.

The Great Mosque in Kano.  The  mosque was built for Muhammad Rumfa in the 15th century. It was made of mud, and was of the soro, or tower, variety. It was moved to a new site by Muhammad Zaki in 1582, and rebuilt in the mid 19th century by Abdullahi dan Dabo. It was subsequently destroyed, but rebuilt in 1950, with British sponsorship and to a local Public Works Department design.

February 17 1953 (Tuesday)

Following the usual start to the day,  we collected our passports and went back to the customs offices to fill in various forms.   We were beginning to wonder how many forms we would have filled in by the time we reached our destination!  We then went and checked up again on the Land Rover, to see when it would be ready.   Finally we got back to the hotel hot, tired and more than ready for a swim, having left my father at the garage, talking about cars!   Dad came back and joined us for lunch having arranged to collect the vehicle at 15h00.  On looking in his briefcase, he found that £70 had been stolen while we were out.  I can assure you that in 1953 this was a great deal of money.  The police were notified, but they said the chances of recovering it were very small.  How right they were!    The vehicle was duly collected and paid for, as luckily we managed to cash traveller's cheques in Kano.   We then started to pack up again, feeling pretty depressed after the loss of the money.   It was rather a miserable ending to an otherwise much needed break.   We had a last evening walk around before going to bed, knowing that we would start back on the road the following morning.

To be continued :-) 

I have put this section of my life story on Kindle if you should be interested:-

 

See

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-GREAT-1953-TREK-ebook/dp/B008KK0KHU/ref=pd_ys_iyr1

Driving through Zinder and arrival at Kano

February 13 1953 (Friday) Land Mileage 2675

We attempted to make a start at our usual time, only to find we had a deputation outside!   The locals had brought us some onions and  were delighted when we gave them some cigarettes and matches in exchange.  We had been told that the latter two items were good bargaining products, which is why they were aboard the vehicle!   They moved off happily, with their faces wreathed in smiles.    The roads continued to be very bad and dusty, as we set off on yet another day of our expedition.

At 11h30, we pulled up for a wash and general clean up, plus a much needed drink.   David took a few photographs of the villages and the camels. On roads which were not improving, we arrived at Zinder at 13h00, to hear the usual story; everything was closed until 14h30.   The advantage of this bad timing was however, that we were at least not driving in the full heat of the day and we had an enforced rest.

Arrival in Zinder. That looks like a Citroen sign, on what must be the front wall of the garage.

Zinder in those days was quite a large village, with a hotel, petrol station, stores, garage and even a bank!   Here we had to report to the Police, Chef du Cercle and also the French customs.   The contract that had been signed in Algiers, for us to cross the Sahara was now at an end and we had to have it cleared before moving on.   As everything was closed, we made our way to the hotel for the magical cold drink we hoped we would find there!   

Zinder Hotel

It seemed that in Zinder, everyone, including the Police, worked the hours that suited them and it was most annoying to find we were hanging around after two thirty, waiting for everyone to return to their offices.   We finally got our passports stamped at 16h15 and pretty fed up with the situation, we finally got moving again, only to decide after one hour on the road, that we really should pull off and set up camp for the night.

We had very little sleep that night, as we were in territory where drumming was on the 'top of the pops' list.   It was a very noisy night, with lots of shouting, all keeping up with the throb of the drums.    We could see fires in the distance, but the sound obviously carried and it seemed as if it was right outside the vehicle! Perhaps there had been a wedding, or similar event, as it really sounded like a full scale celebration.   When the partying finally came to an end in the early hours of the morning, the family dogs took over and barked their way through the remainder of the night.   We were really very grateful when dawn came and we could pack up and move on our way again!

February 14 1953 (Saturday) Land Mileage 2855

We had yet another early start to the day and we were on the road by 07h00.    The road here, although dirt, was really quite good by comparison with some we had travelled on.  We passed through the small village of Takieta and 42 miles further on we came to the British Nigeria / French Niger border.   Passports were brought to the fore yet again and then we were through the border into British territory.   Here we almost had our first accident of the trip; exciting stuff- Dad had forgotten that we had changed from driving on the right side of the road (European rule) to the left (UK rule) upon crossing the border, and we suddenly found a large truck bearing down on us on the same side of the road that we were.  It was a close encounter and a near miss, but miss we did.    The road gradually improved and 50 miles before reaching Kano, we found ourselves driving on tarmac.  This was the first real piece of tarred road we had been on since leaving Ghardia and definitely cause for celebration.

We stopped the Land Rover and found some warm orange juice to celebrate our arrival in a new country.  We dusted off the Land Rover as well as possible and then had a wash ourselves.   We continued along on a very flat stretch of road and eventually arrived in Kano.  Having decided that we deserved a break from travelling, we thought we should book into a hotel for a couple of days.    This meant leaving the guns somewhere, so we decided to report to the Police first, and then ask them if they could keep the guns under lock and key for a time.   This did not prove to be a problem and we then went in search of a hotel.    On arrival at the hotel we managed to get two rooms, but in different buildings.   As the buildings were next to each other, it proved not to be a problem and my folks knew that I would be safe with David there to look after me.

First on the list was to have a really good bath and wash our hair in plenty of hot water. Bliss, has water ever felt this good before?    Finally clean, shiny and dressed, we all met up on the verandah for tea and sandwiches.   This was a real treat as we had not seen fresh bread since Algiers.   We all decided that we would enjoy a rest and we would meet up later in the main building of the hotel. 

Catching up with some news in Kano

We were fascinated by the lizards, which were everywhere; they were all over the walls of the hotel, as well as the trees outside.  They were amazing colours with green, blues and browns, dotted and diamond patterns over their bodies, all very new to a family from England!   We went for a short stroll around the gardens after a delicious dinner, before yawning our way to real beds for the night.   We had mosquito nets in the rooms, which were a necessary part of the good night's sleep and large fans turning constantly overhead to keep us cool; it was very hot there, even at night so we discovered.

My Mum experimenting with the timer on the camera while waiting for Dad. My face looks a bit in awe at what is going on, but it obviously worked!

To be continued :-) 

I have put this section of my life story on Kindle if you should be interested:-

 

See

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-GREAT-1953-TREK-ebook/dp/B008KK0KHU/ref=pd_ys_iyr1