The 3rd good thing about Northern Nigeria: I could swim in a nice hotel pool

Now, we have a very nice pool at our apartment complex in Lagos, so having access to a pool in Kano wasn't all that special, and this one wasn't quite as sparkling clean as our apartment pool anyway. But it was still refreshing after a day of touring or traveling to take a quick dip in the pool. I especially appreciated it when I saw the Kano alternative.

Maybe you noticed in the pictures of the city wall that there was a body of water inside the wall. In the old city, they had built a moat inside the wall, because, our guide said, there were some horses able to leap over the old wall and having the moat inside gave them an extra measure of protection. I guess having it on the inside also gave them the access to the water, which they wouldn't have had if the moat was outside the wall. Anyway, the moat is still there -- a fetid kind of cesspool that we could smell from a distance. Believe me -- it was a horrible smell!

Circling the edge of this body of water was a floating collection of garbage -- a really gross mess.

But what is that bobbing in the water -- heads of little boys! They were bouncing around and seeming to be having a grand time playing in the water.

And then to make the scene even more stomach-turning, the kids started coming in, bouncing and bobbing around right through the immense and thick mess of garbage! You are lucky you don't have to recall the stench when you look at these pictures!

When we were riding to the airport to leave on this trip, we got a call from the security officer of the company warning us that there was a cholera outbreak in the north and we should be careful of the water. I really didn't feel the need to worry -- but I think these boys should!