#30 before 30

Hey people! Firstly i want to thank every one for the feedback! My last post #Sometimes you never see it coming got more attention than i expected and even though there was a problem with commenting (a problem that i think i have fixed, hopefully) people still took time out to send emails, some even suggested related topics and i had long conversations with random people, thanks a bunch! kisses and hugs for y'all!!...

                                   

So like most random people i have a bucket list and i'm pretty sure like most random people No.30 on my bucket list is on their list too, it may be No.12, 2 or even No.101 on theirs but i'm pretty sure more than 50% has it on their list. It is "No.30 - Travel round the world; visit at least 30 countries before i'm 30"  hahaha, i'm laughing cause i can feel my bank account's sarcastic laugh right now. My corper salary isn't even enough to get an international passport! haha! But somehow i'm going to make it work, i still have some years before the 'Big 30' to make it work. 

The other day a friend of mine arrived back in Nigeria for the holidays, we went out for a drink, he is 27 and as far as i'm concerned he is a certified world traveler 'cos he has visited more than 30 countries! as expected i was whining him about how he is my role model and bla bla bla but then he got all serious on me, he said and i quote "it's really easy to travel round the world, agreed you need money but you do not need to be Dangote or Richie Rich to see the world" i was like yeah right! easy for you to say, but then he proceeded to ask me questions, questions that got me thinking. He was like "You have to start from somewhere, okay you wana travel round the world, you wana experience and learn other cultures, the uniqueness of their traditions, you wana taste their food, you wana meet new people, people with diverse beliefs and all but how many of that have you learnt here in Nigeria" at this point i knew he was about to 'wash me' so i respected myself and kept quiet, he proceeded to ask how many states i have visited in Nigeria, my brothers and sisters i have only visited 2, we have 36 states right? i live in lagos, i visited my cousin in her school which is in Ibadan and i'm currently serving in Abeokuta so technically that's 3 (covering my face in shame) hahaha. Then he proceeded to ask how many tourist centers i have visited in these 3 states, my brothers and sisters, NONE! and the worst part is my house in Abeokuta is 5 minutes away from a popular tourist centre; 'Olumo Rock'! (covering my whole body in shame) hahaha! Anyways my conversation with him led to some kind of epiphany, thus i decided to rewrite No.30 on my bucket list, here it is

No.30 - Travel round the world; visit at least 30 countries before i'm 30/visit at least 30 tourist centres/states in Nigeria before i'm 30 it sounds kinda corny but i'm going to make it work! (so help me God!) So on the 10th day of December 2015 i took the first step in fulfilling 30 before 30, i visited "Olumo Rock Tourist Complex, Ikija, Abeokuta!" Yes!

OLUMO ROCK

The fact is most of you went on an excursion to Olumo rock in primary school which i probably did too but i'm not sure and even if i did i can't remember anything about the excursion but as a grown up i'm a nature and art lover so naturally i had a great time! pretty sure it's an experience i'm not going to forget for a long time if ever. So i'm going to share briefly my experience in pictures, hopefully seeing the pictures would inspire to take time out to go on a tour too(not just Olumo Rock) and enjoy the wonders of God and Mother Nature!.

Top L-R: Entrance, Hall. Down L-R:Park, Gallery.

I'm not a certified tourist yet but i'm pretty sure you have to pay a particular amount to enter most tourist centres, Olumo was the same, entrance fee is 700naira but we paid 500naira 'cos corpers get a discount provided you show them your identification card. Olumo Rock is a complex on its own, it has a park where you can chill before or after your climb, there was an event going on at the park that day, if you look closely they were setting up the canopies. There's also an hall there if you prefer your events indoor. It also consists of an eatery and a gallery, a plate of food(jollof rice) is 500naira(i didn't buy though went to my normal joint to buy Ewa agoin and Yam). hehe!

OLUMO SOUVENIRS

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the gallery but they had pretty nice souvenirs, i got the customized band for 500naira and the shirts for 2,000naira each(discount price),my friends got beads(1,000naira).

OLUMO ROCK TOURIST STARTER PACK

It was a very windy and sunny day but thankfully i took my shades and local hat which i bought 50naira (discount price too! hahaha to be a world traveler you need to learn how to get things at a cheaper price but thankfully i'm good at that! hehe!) i got the hat outside the complex though but they usually sell inside the gallery, sadly i forgot to ask for the price. I never leave home without my water flask unfortunately i forgot but our tour guide made us buy a bottle of water each before we started our tour so it was all good, though you might need more than a bottle if you choose the long way up which we did. Olumo has a lift but it hasn't been functioning for a while, the lift is supposed to take you to a particular level and then you take the stairs to the top of the Rock, that's the easiest way but i would rather sit down at home than take the easy way up. The tourist experience is supposed to be in the climb, agreed it is somewhat scary but the experienced tour guides are there to help you. We got a tour guide and a photographer, the photographer takes step by step pictures with your phone(s) so you can concentrate on enjoying your tour, my advice though is that you agree on price before you start your tour to avoid drama later, they charged us 1,000 each but we bargained and agreed on 1,000naira for both of them and we were a group of four so we donated 250naira each hehe!

Make A Wish!

Our tour guide asked us to throw a coin into the water fountain and make a wish but no one walks around with coins in their pockets in 2015 not even mallams so i improvised with a stone but he wouldn't let me throw it in 'cos apparently it is a sacred place and not something to joke about so i just pretended to throw a coin into the fountain for picture sake, heh!

T-B: Final resting place of the Guardian & the Miracle Water

So according to the tour guides the tomb above is the guardian's final resting place, he lived in Olumo Rock for many years before he died on the 23rd day of january 1953. He was in charge of the general care of the surroundings during the Egba War Time, meanwhile beside the tomb is a huge rock that drips medicinal miracle water, according to the tour guide it drips rarely and can cure anything even HIV/AIDS (okay so he didn't say Hiv but he said anything, so...).

They hid and worshiped here

Okay so according to our tour guide Abeokuta was named after Olumo rock (Olumo is short for Oluwa lo mo meaning God molded it). The real inhabitants of Abeokuta were Egba people but during the inter-tribal wars in the 19th century they hid under the rock for 3years, when they finally came out of hiding they attributed their survival to the Rock, hence, they christened the town 'Abe Okuta' meaning under the rock, they worshiped the rock for they believed the rock protected and gave them victory over the war which gave birth to the 'Orisa Olumo', there's a chamber dedicated specially to this effect, people come from far and wide to worship the rock, as a matter of fact while we were there some people were doing the necessary rites involved in worshiping inside the chamber, we didn't wait to see the ceremony though.

Abeokuta from the Top of Olumo

Finally at the top! Sadly, i had to compress the picture above, but you can imagine, the climb was so worth it, the view was breath taking! i think i took more than a thousand pictures of the view, i felt like i could see the whole of Abeokuta. The best part of the view was the outline of 'Old Abeokuta' and 'New Abeokuta' which is divided by the popular Ogun River which leads to Ikorodu in Lagos, Osun State and down to the Atlantic Ocean! Pretty amazing,yeah? totally! I feel like some kind of transportation system should be made out of the river. 

                                        

As i stood there staring at the beautiful town of Abeokuta i was suddenly overwhelmed with nostalgia, suddenly i felt like i understood the idea behind the popular Egba Song, the video above was my attempt at expressing it. heheheh! Enjoy! You can also watch the somewhat detailed youtube video of the tour below or visit So absolutely unprofessional Snap story of our Olumo trip! (Don't forget to like and subscribe to our youtube channel xo)

                                                

                                             

                               

It was a great experience! And i hope you go on a tour to Olumo rock and other Tourist centres in Nigeria. You can visit their website to know more OLUMO ROCK 

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