Departure approaching!

Today, I called the Nigerian embassy, and hurray, our visa applications are about to be signed and sent back to us! (Need I mention that I got nostalgic talking to a naija person again?) You always need a few days of marginal, to see that you got the right visa and that your post office didn't forget to inform you that your recommended package has arrived. I've had all sorts of adventures happening to me just as I am about to leave, but my years of youth seem to be over as I no longer long for that "extra thrill"... I just want to get down there without too many complications!

That said, it shouldn't be long now before Nettus and I are back in the pulsating city Kano, where we will stay for a short while before heading 6 hours north to Zinder, Niger.

Being big on continuity, we will (hopefully!) stay at the same hotel as always-

... and if there is no Teem (soft drink) available that particular week, I will settle for have a Chapman.

36 hours after leaving Sweden, I hope we will have arrived safely in Zinder, our final destination, where some major projects awaits us. The place is totally green now, as my brother and sister-in-law inform us, making the picture above slightly misgiving as it was taken several months after the rainy season (when the grass had dried). But you get the picture. In two weeks time, Nettus and I will be living and working in the second largest city of the least developed country in the world. In case I never told you, Zinder is a large city if you consider the space it takes up, but there are only about 360,000 inhabitants. Which is great for a girl in love with the outback!

Before any of this happens however, I have about a million little things to do: one of which is to contact KLM and see why the tickets haven't arrived yet... Will be thrilled when I can put all these administrative details behind me and get to work with the things that really matter!

Hope you're all having a good week!

Ishtar