On Eleko Beach
Waves make the only sound
On Eleko Beach
There’s not a soul around.
On our trip to Nigeria, Chuck and I took a short visit to Eleko to explore the beach and surrounding areas. It was a beautiful, tropical beach mostly empty of people.
The very few people who were around were swimming, fishing, riding horseback or praying. There were young boys with nets in the water and riding horses, older boys out on the boats fishing, and a large contingent of Muslims who came to pray on the beach.
The beauty of going to a beach in Nigeria is that the intense humidity of the area just instantly drops away when you arrive. Then your ears get treated to that glorious sound of ocean waves crashing along the shore. Then the sweet breeze and welcoming faces envelop you making you want to stay forever.
A small group of guys follow us to the beach to collect coconuts for us. They actually went and climbed the palms along the beach to collect a couple for us. Then they chopped it up with a cutlass and passed it over. And It. Was. Delicious. 🥥💯
I then took a short stroll up the beach, picking shells. There were plenty! And found a big old oyster clam shell. No pearl tho. Dammit!
Later, a fishing boat came to shore and everyone around dropped what they were doing to help haul it in, empty it out and carry it up the beach.
As for the water, I doubt I could have gone deeper than three feet in without being swept away. But the kids on the beach…no big deal! They are renegades in the ocean…and on their horses…and scooting down the the beach on an ATV with one foot skipping along. Like, yikes! 😬
This beach experience, mixed with a visit to an open-air market earlier in the day and then ending it poolside with super cold, super large beers and cigars was *chefs kiss*
