2022 was a blur for me. One minute I was resuming a new job at the beginning of the year, and the next thing I knew, it was almost year-end. I had gone athe whole year without a break, so I knew I needed to get out of Lagos and be somewhere less chaotic to recharge and breathe.
I finally got my chance to visit the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan with a travel group I met on Instagram. It was a journey of two firsts: my first time on the train and my first time travelling with a group. This made things exciting, and I was quite pumped.
With all this content, be rest assured that you have enough clips for reels, carousels, stories and possibly, a documentary. Also, note that you do not need to go above and beyond financially to have a good time, you can explore the soft life at home and abroad, whichever suits your aura.
At IITA, I was amazed by the beauty of the landscape, and the sprawling land, and fresh air. It reminded me of nothing like the bustling and closely built houses. Good stuff.
My travel buddies and I spent our days exploring the IITA campus, which is home to various tropical crops and research facilities. We also spent time by the lake where we had a picnic in the middle of ‘nowhere’ and played so many games.
One of my favourite memories from my trip was spending time in the pool with newly found friends and riding bicycles around the campus. We also had a picnic by the lake and took tons of great pictures. It was so relaxing to swim and bike in the fresh air and a great way to get to know my new travel buddies. Games Night was a refreshing way to spend my evening – laughing, eating, dancing, and playing games.
We also stepped out of IITA for a bit to explore Ibadan. We tried some local food, including Iyan and Egusi, and visited the famous Amala Skye! It was interesting to see how different Ibadan is from Lagos, but I also found that we were all connected by our shared Nigerian culture – our joie de vivre. Nigerians are a lively bunch.
I had a wonderful time at IITA, and it is one of my most memorable travel destinations. The spontaneity and uniqueness of the trip added to the memories. I packed my bags overnight to travel with strangers to a place I had never been, and I ended up having such a great time.
PS: I nurtured a couple of the friendships from the trip and over a year later it has blossomed into a beautiful, supportive circle.
Here’s to the next adventure, wherever that will be.
