Apologies folks for the lack of postings. We have been up in the hills since early Friday with little or no signal. We have been staying at a place inland from Lagos called Barao do Sao Joao. It’s a quaint and very quirky little town inhabited largely by Arty folk, Musicians and Hippies.

It has a very ‘alternative’ style. Lots of street art and characterful bars and cafes serving typical great quality and reasonably priced food. The bars have live music in the evenings and one in particular ‘Atabai’ has a wood burning pizza oven, the pizzas are amazing! We had to sample them of course although we only managed ten minutes of the Blues Band we’d gone to see as their amplifier blew the electrics!

We came up here mainly to see the Hippie Flea Market which is held monthly. We had heard good things about it and our friends Diana and Philip were exhibiting their art work. The market was very different from anything else we’ve seen. It was very colourful and vibrant, more like a mini festival really. The musicians were absolutely wonderful. I’m definitely getting a hair braid and sparkly face paints (I did neither!). There were hundreds of children around, playing happily with hula hoops and juggling balls, dancing around, not an electronic device in sight. They were all beautifully dressed and just being kids having good old fashioned fun. I’ve never seen as many dogs of all breeds and sizes. They wander around, tails wagging, making friends with no hint of aggression.

The market sold everything from jewellery to unusual clothing, circus toys, art works etc. Very interesting stuff. There were so many fabulous food stalls too. We tried loads of different things, all claiming to be organic, lots of gluten free and vegan products as you would expect. Had the best Mojito at a stand mixing cocktails .

When the sun went down we were invited to bring our own bowls, sit around the fire and eat Mongolian goat which had been cooking for 3 days apparently. A group of guys were jamming, the sound was really cool and the atmosphere warm and friendly. These are interesting and intelligent people who seek an alternative more peaceful lifestyle. There are many different nationalities. The guy doing the cooking was extremely charming and articulate. He had been a chef running his own business in America, a trendy Sushi Bar out of an Airstream. He had appeared in The New York Times. We chatted to him for ages, he had a great story to tell. They made us very welcome, we had a special time. Theirs is not the way I would choose to live my life but we are all different and if this trip has taught me one thing it is not to judge others.

Back at base now with a lovely large G and T. Planning our route from here. It’s time to move on methinks. We have lots of people to catch up with along the way. Kev and Annie (and Kez), Naim and Arlette, Prad and Cat to name but a few. Happy days!

As they say around here, Peace and Love ❤️