Day 148: Cotonou (Benin) – Ilishan (Nigeria)
It takes a while until we get everything back in the car, but we're on the road at 9:30.
Before the border we have to change money. 2.4 naira for a CFA – that’s more than yesterday’s cross-border commuters received. The naira is falling. In return, we get a worse rate than the others for our little old dollar bills. But whatever …
The border is not far and the border formalities are not much different and do not take longer than elsewhere. It gets annoying with the SIM card. We had chosen an older gentleman, but he was scared away by the “pusher” who went through the exit/entry and customs counters with us. He brings into play a guy who is completely difficult to understand and constantly communicates something different. It takes us a long time to agree on something like a fixed price for 2 cards with 10 GB each (30,000 CFA, at least 45 euros). Based on our experience with expensive eSIMs, we let it run like this. Our pusher gets nothing more from us in return. Let him get it from his SIM brother!
The first impressions of Nigeria are not so encouraging. We've often had chaotic and dirty places, but the dimension is different here and there's a slight basic aggressiveness to it.
Police and military and customs and whoever thinks they have to check something every 200 m leave us almost completely alone. Only once are we openly asked for money. Reaching for your cell phone helps immediately.
We are a little unsettled by the fact that hardly any gas stations are open. But it may be due to a truckers' strike (as we hear from Catherine and Ian, who drove to Lagos yesterday) and hopefully it won't develop into a permanent problem.
We get to Ilishan/Ikene, which is what we had planned for today, and are happy that this first part with the border and bypass of Lagos has been completed.