Day 1 - Settling In

It didn't take too long to get through passport control, we had one really nice guy at the final desk who stamped our passport, he welcomed us to his country and told us that he had a vision where he would meet a student from London. An interesting start to our trip.

Baggage was quickly collected, 3 suitcases and 2 tripods. We made our way to some seating where we would wait for Dayo's Aunty to pick us up, we were stopped by a couple of security staff who seemed more interested in checking mine and Sam's documents than anybody else, they were keen to see our Passports and Yellow Fever certificate (something I was incredibly lucky enough to get. Back home there is currently a worldwide shortage of yellow fever vaccinations, I managed to get the last one going at Gatwick Airport just two weeks before leaving, most other doctors I had got in touch with had already given away their last ones). We sat down briefly, for about 10 seconds before being told that we couldn't as the seats were for other passengers, local ones only. Ten minutes later and Dayo's Aunty had arrived, she had such a gracious smile as she walked up the lobby towards us. It was the first time Dayo had seen her in 7 months, after sharing a big hug Sam was next, they had already previously met the last time he came out. I made do with a polite hand shake, she was lovely and very excited to get us home, we headed for the car which was waiting for us outside...along with what looked like a blockade of people wanting to help carry luggage for tips, I had already been stopped by a few lads who wanted a photo taken with me, because I'm white, or just funny looking...probably both.

We were picked up by one of Aunty Ronke's personal drivers, Dayo sat in the front whilst Sam and I sat in the back with Ronke in the middle. Sam and I were positioned tactically next to the blacked out windows, something we're advised to keep doing throughout the trip, a guidance most Nigerians with white guests may follow. Apparently Dayo's Uncle once told the driver of a car Sam was in on his previous trip; "don't stop anywhere on the side of the road as you have a million dollars in the back of your car", I laughed as he told me although looking back I'm not sure I was totally humoured by it?

The drive took around half an hour to get to Ronke's home, off the main road we drove through a guarded gate to get into a richer estate. She lives in a spacious 3 story house with a swimming pool, not quite the accommodation I was originally expecting! Of course, plans have changed for this trip, Dayo was not able to get the flights he originally hoped for that would take us to Tinapa, the location of a Nollywood Film Festival that we were planned to shoot. So the first thing on our list of things to do was to get Dayo up and running with a Nigerian sim card so that he can organise new plans for the trip, with other shoots that should help his Nollywood Documentary (the main reason for coming to Nigeria). The only problem was...it was a Sunday, everywhere was closed. So we thought it would be best to use our first day as a day to prepare our equipment and organise it all with kit lists, take some test footage and chill out whilst settling in (my favourite part).

Ronke and her kitchen staff cooked us breakfast (well done eggs, plantain and beans on toast), plantain was a first time for me, it went down well although I doubt I'd be keen enough to get it myself back home from the corner shop in Charlton, the only place I've seen it sold previously. After breakfast the three of us unpacked and felt tired enough to nap, strangely despite Nigeria only being 1 hour ahead in time difference, we were all shattered from the journey. With it being an overnight flight, I had the most sleep catching only a few hours.

We slept till 13:00.

This afternoon was a lot of fun, the FS700 came out of it's bag and the trunks came on. Super slow motion footage diving in the pool. Dayo was enjoying his time with his family whilst Sam and I easily spent a good few hours taking shots.

Print Screen of Sam's Slow Motion Dive

This evening we had another good meal of chicken and rice in a tomato sauce with Dayo's Aunty, Uncle and Cousin. Afterwards we set up Dayo's cool light (only lighting we were able to bring with us on the plane) and tested out all of our equipment to make sure everything was ready to go. Kit lists were finished and test footage was logged, we're happy with what we've got and are keen to start filming documentary footage.

Test footage of Dayo (35mm with Cool Light)

Hopefully tomorrow will be a slightly busier one, although today was well appreciated. In bed at 01:30.

Print Screen of Sam and I during our first daily Video Blog