02-Nov-2008 -- Sharon, myself (Jonathan), our driver (Kazeem) and our guard (Ayo, required by company when leaving Lagos) set out early Sunday (8 a.m.) to 'catch' the Confluence. We had our country map (1:900,000), a hand drawn copy from Google Earth, and our new GPS (Garmin Colorado).

The trip out of Lagos on the Ibaden expressway was the usual madness, with a major "go slow" to get past a burning tanker. We managed to get within 5 km of the Confluence on paved roads. On Google Earth we had seen what appeared to be a bush road through the forest and after talking to some locals, we managed to find it. We encountered a lot of strange looks from the locals as we went down the track, children either ran toward us waving or ran away from us (Kazeem said they though we were kidnappers).

We bumped down this track for 5 km, at which point we were within 2 km of the Confluence. Kazeem and Ayo didnt really 'get' what we were doing and I was asked several times if we would see something special at the Confluence.

The hike to the Confluence was wet and involved a lot of bushwhacking. It took 2 hours to get to the Confluence. Ayo stopped half way, as his shoes started to fall apart and he was exhausted.

The Confluence was in a cocoa plantation. I took the required photos, we finished the last of our water and we ate some of the white fruit inside the cocoa pod.

The trip back to the car took 1.5 hours. When we got back, we were exhausted and thirsty. We returned to Lagos ~8 p.m. in the dark. On further confluence visits I would take a machete, long pants, and more water. The whole experience was a lot of fun.