Piet went to Port Harcourt, Nigeria, with three collegues for a project he is working on currently. It was the second time he visited (see post of 27 April 2016), and little had changed. It was nice to meet up with friends and the social part of the trip was definitely the best. Port Harcourt remained a chaotic, dirty city, heaving with people, motorbikes and Nigerian tuk-tuks, making the Shell camp a peaceful oasis. The main difference was the air quality, which has deteriorated significantly and is a real concern for the people living there. This is apparently caused by the nearby local refinery, forest fires, and military action against illegal oil theft, resulting in a lot of soot in the air. Piet and his colleagues were lucky, as the raining season had just started, and the air was relatively fresh.
Transport was still with mini buses and armed escort, with limited opportunity to take some pictures. Some impressions are shown below. On the way back they landed in a typical Nigerian scene: an electrical problem had caused an issue with the runway lights a few days earlier, and in the end the Air France pilot refused to take off in the evening. There was a lot of confusion, and near midnight they were put in hotel in town, and finally the flight left 10 AM the next day. As a consequence Piet was home Saturday evening late, to start his City-Piet-City half marathon the next day. This was not an ideal preparation, but he managed to finish in 1 hr 54 min, in a personal record (although it was his second half marathon only!).
A horse in the Shell camp, the Port Harcourt Residential Area
The local shop in the Shell camp
Port Harcourt, on the way to the airport
Lot's of little markets on the street
Street scene
All pictures were taken from the mini bus
It is very lively in Port Harcourt
Piet passing the 10 km point near our house
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