kano; first impresions

the flight home was full. there might have been two empty seats on a plane that could carry up to 250 people. i was surprised that i only knew one person on that flight. usually i would drop into old friends, but i guess the middle of the summer holidays is not the best time for people to be coming to kano. we had an interlanding in abuja, the new nigerian capital, during which the passengers that were flying to abuja would get of the plane and the ones flying to kano would be moved for a few hours into a waiting room while the plane was cleaned and the crew was change, fresh and rested ready for another trip to amsterdam. only a handful of 30-35 people filled the waiting room and i started to wonder if in the years to come klm would still be flying to kano if such a small % of people went flew there. the trip from abuja to kano takes 45 minutes by plane.
i arrived at the small ruined aminu kano airport that hasn't changed during the time i can remember it.(i've been flying into it for 22-23 years) only the arrival times have changed. as i took the first steps off the plane to the metal transportable stairs that lead onto the runway i was astonished that it was actually cooler then both poland and holland have been in the past few days. soon i was among the scattered herd of a handful of people rushing to get to the passport control. i guess we all remembered what it use to be like when all the passengers would get off in kano, and only the fastest runners, or those with a special agent would get out of the airport in a bearable time. the special agents were people that you would pay to do all of the formalities at the airport for you. if you were lucky someone would get your passport from you right as you got of the plane, and you would leave the runway through a back gate. usually though they would meet you right before the passport control take your documents, and get everything done for you. all you had to do was wait at home for your luggage. only one such agent was there this time, and i'm happy that he was there cause he's a friend of mine that i was glad to see.
the drive back home made me realize that there are no street lamps anywhere in the town. the only lights on the roads come from the houses that line them. it's funny how we forget things that are so obvious in one place but not so obvious in another. the first thing that hit me when being back home was air conditioning in every room, no water in the pipes, no light other then the one we were creating in our very own generator, no telephone cause it got switched off, no food in the fridge, and no car because it stopped working when no one used it. but i am home. no where else do i find so much peace. i attach a few pictures of normal creatures i find on my front porch.