Saturday, October 4, 2008

Okada Driver's at Rest


These guys make their living giving people rides, wherever they want to go, on these small motorbikes. They are called Okada's ( pronounced Oh-cot-tuh) The men know addresses everywhere. If we get lost, you can pay one of these drivers $1-$2, depending on the distance to your address and they will lead you there. You pay them after you arrive at your destination, not before! Think about it. Why would they lead you where you needed to go if they had your money. There are thousands and thousands of these in Lagos. All of the Africans who have any money at all use them to get places, quick.

We were surprised to see these men resting or sleeping on their bikes. Linda counted at least three or four on their bikes. One is resting or sleeping in the tree. We have never seen that before. They normally work from first light in the morning until after dark every day. This picture shows (in the back ground) the black and white concrete barriers that divide the traffic, otherwise drivers would go both ways on both sides of the street. We still see them coming head-on toward us, or we see them backing up against the traffic to get to where they want to go. It is really crazy to see these bikes or cars going the wrong way all the time. If you cross this street, Opebi Road, on foot...you must look both ways before you go to the middle of the road. You can only go 1\2 way, stop, look both ways again, then go the other half of the way across. As we were waiting in the middle of the street to finish crossing, we saw an Okada with a driver, and a passenger carrying a huge, live sheep\goat. It had long curvy horns like a mountain goat and longer hair like a sheep, but it was larger than the man holding it on the bike. Too bad the camera was tucked away in the bag. We love all the funny sights we see as we walk or drive around this city.

No comments: