Hurricane Ike

On September 13, Hurricane Ike made landfall in Galveston, Texas as a Category 2 hurricane after wreaking havoc in Haiti, Turks and Caicos Islands and Cuba. We watched CNN coverage of the hurricane while in Lagos and worried about my friends and family that chose to stay in their homes, as we would have done. The effect of Hurricane Ike in Texas was huge. It also impacted our home (currently rented). Below are some photos of the sweet gum tree that fell on the house and the garage (and our tenant's car) which was hit by a very large pine, a small pine, and a cypress tree. On a half-mile section of our street 35 trees (mostly pines) fell and thankfully no one was hurt (most rode out the storm in their homes). I heard that just after the hurricane the street was lined with piles of tree trunks and branches, making the street more like a tunnel. I traveled back to Houston the week of October 13th to meet with the insurance adjuster and contractors. So far we are happy with how our insurance company has dealt with the problem.

Lagos Marathon 2008

The Lagos Half Marathon will be held on December 7 based on the Glo Website http://www.glolagosmarathon.com/main_mara.html.

I was hoping to run it but I may be out of town, vacationing in Senegal or Ethiopia.

Check out the GLO site for photos from last year or my blog post from last year.

Durbars in Kano and Katsina - celebration of Eid al_Fitr (End of Ramadan)

A durbar is an annual festival celebrated in several northern cities of Nigeria at the culmination of Muslim festivals Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. We visited the durbars in Kano and Katsina, both famed for the pageantry as the traditional rulers greet the Emir of Katsina and Kano, which consisted of a colorful parade of decorated horses, dancers, acrobats and musicians, and ending at the Emir's palace (where we had great seats with a view). The women had a opportunity to visit with the Emir's second wife in the palace.

This trip was run by the Nigerian Field Society and lead by Paulette, a resident of Nigeria for 27 years (from Belgium). The durbars were the main attraction but we also went shopping in a market, toured the oldest indigo die pits, visited the traditional men weavers, a pottery village, and a Fulani village, went to a camel and cow market (not for those with a weak stomach), and had our hands/feet painted with henna (those who wanted it anyway). The trip ran from Saturday September 27 to Wednesday October 1.

I will be posting more details and pictures soon.