A short post about our visit to the Nigerian Conservation Federation site in Lagos. Miriam had a morning meeting at the facility, and we were to go from there to the airport to fly back to Abuja, the capital, so we all got up at a reasonable hour and went to the property together. The federation owns some acreage, and has put in elevated walking trails out through rainforest / ocean savanna. It might be altogether a mile in length, with branching walkways off the main loop, going to birdwatching sites or the like. So Mary Ann, Chris (our driver), and I walked the path. You remember the old African jungle movies, where the guy was slowly, tediously hacking his way through the overgrowth with a machete? That's how it was. Thick, dense growth, with most of the firmly rooted trees and plants used as climbing supports for vines and ferns. The palms providing moist pockets for ferns at the bases of each frond was pretty amazing.
As you might have noticed in the picture above, there is also a treehouse along the pathway! Must go up 50-60 feet or more, most of it inside a vertical ladder cage. No, I didn't.
We crossed paths with a monitor lizard - hard to see in the picture below, but he is there stretched out horizontally on the tree trunk. They enjoy eggs, mostly - bird eggs, so birds have had to get ingeneous about where they lay them, like in houses, or cars, or such. 
Back at the center, we laughed at the peacocks - silly creatures, with REALLY small heads -
and then we came face to face with a really large
tortoise. He just came wandering out of the brush, seemed quite intent on getting across the lawn, stopped now and then for a few mouthfuls of a particular flowery weed, and finally ended up under one of the buildings in the shade (buildings are 4-5 feet off the ground, on concrete pillars). Amazing creature, and didn'r seem the least bit concerned about us.A few other pictures -
Palms can grow this big in less than a year.
All for now.
Love, Mary ann and Jim
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