That was F**king scary. I had one of the craziest experiences of my life and I loved it. WOW. Okay, pardon my euphoria. Let me back up a bit. SO, a few weeks ago, one of the clergies in the house asked that I, my colleague and boss @seyipaul help him with his personal library. He had quite the collection and they weren't arranged properly so he decided to employ our services to get his books and documents sorted. A few weeks in, he decides to treat us to an outing. Go out for sightseeing and relaxing, get lunch of course. A "thankYou" sorta thing. Yesterday Sunday, was the time we had arranged for the outing and we decided to go to the famous tourist center in Nigeria; Olumo Rock.
Before we got into the 'rocky part', our tour guide took us to the art gallery. It was a large space where amazing arts by incredibly talented native artists were hung for sale. A whole lot of other items were also on display, ranging from handbags, beads, waist beads, books, magazines, books, tie and dye (known as Adire ), etc. Of course, I went straight to the bookshelf surveying what I would pick up. I saw the book by the legendary Chinua Achebe, but I had read it so I didn't buy it. The items were quite pricy, understandably. Considering the quality of the arts, I'd expect nothing less. There was also this cool water fountain at the entrance.
There I stood at the entrance staring at this monumental edifice, and wondering, "would I be climbing that?" We were told that the rock formed a pregnant woman lying on her back. The steps were quite a lot. There was also an artificial elevator for folks who don't want to get into the rock climbing adventure, haha. I did; was bloody scary though.
The first stage had an amazing view. You could see places across the city from this point. Places like the first church in Nigeria, "The cathedral church of St. Peters", amongst other places.
This caves hold a lot of history. It felt surreal to crawl and walk into this place. Decades ago there was an inter-tribal war in the state and this cave was a hideout for folks for years. It's insane. They carved out their own community underneath this rock. That was how the name of the city "Abeokuta" was formed. It's a language, "Yoruba" in Nigeria which means under the stone/rock.
There was also this shrine where sacrifices were being made to a god.
Oh boy, haha. I was a baby. So the tourist didn't ask us if we wanted to use the elevator, so he just about took us through this amazing rock structure. 'The adventure' he called it. I was scared. The rocks were a bit slanted, and the rocks were so tight, and I am claustrophobic. In the end, I looked back and thought, 'Fuck Yeah'. I was delighted I did that.
Top of the rock. Haaa yes, I made it. I can't believe it. I thought this would be my end, lol. It has a height of 137 meters above sea level. To imagine I was that high up, and I am afraid of heights, booooooooy.
yup, my goofy ass
I looked relieved here but I can assure you I wasn't, haha. I am a man of history. I value and appreciate history and I try to learn it every single opportunity I get, this was an experience of a lifetime. Thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Cheers
@seyipaul help him with his personal library. He had quite the collection and they weren't arranged properly so he decided to employ our services to get his books and documents sorted. A few weeks in, he decides to treat us to an outing. Go out for sightseeing and relaxing, get lunch of course. A "thankYou" sorta thing. Yesterday Sunday, was the time we had arranged for the outing and we decided to go to the famous tourist center in Nigeria; Olumo Rock.