the Lighthouse beach: a cool and natural spot

connecting between mother Earth and Heavens

Waves are crashing remorselessly on the sand of the ocean-shore beach, westward of the entrance of Lagos harbor. This stretch of sand is protected by the stone wall which extends into the sea up to a lighthouse to signal the entrance into the Lagos lagoon. As a result, the water current is deviated from the coast such that sand declivity into the water is minimal. It is a good place to safely go into the water.
A group of women, aligned on the sand, stands on one leg. They are looking at their yoga instructors who are currently standing on their heads. The women, who wear the same dark blue sweater, after having exercised for ten or fifteen minutes soon retire under their light shed to have some food and some drinks. The two instructors, meanwhile, carry on executing more advanced positions.

a fairly quiet sea

The sun has actually disappeared behind a thick layer of clouds forming to the outer rim of a storm positioned on the mainland somewhere between Badagry and Epe. The sky is very dark over mainland but the rain does not come up to ocean shore. The wind becomes very cool, which is quite a nice and unusual feeling compared with the usually heavy heat from the ferocious sun. The sheds are very basic, a few wooden poles to which a rectangular cloth is tied in order to provide some kind of shade, which is welcome.
This side of the beach has always had very few of those sheds, but it looks like development is in the air. A long raw of wooden poles has been erected in the sand, a white hut has been built in the nearby dunes with Heineken parasols. There is beach service with a food and drink laminated menu which never fails to take off with the wind. The plus of this place is its tranquility. It is remote from Tarkwa Bay where most beach-goers congregate because of the quiet waters in the bay. Jimoh, the man in charge of the sheds is very polite and helpful. He informs us that a direct boat service from Walter Carrington in Victoria Island can take us instead of landing in Tarkwa Bay and trekking all the way to the ocean front, which is anyway not an unpleasant stroll.
As we sit in our long chairs a few meters away from the water, the ears full of the sound of the crushing waves and the wind, it feels like being somewhere else than Lagos, on a private stretch of beach. Of course, the horizon is populated by the ships waiting for their turn to go to the container port to load and unload their wares.


a minimalist and secluded place

Two years ago, there was a ship wreck being dismantled on the beach, it has since gone but another long rusted one has been stranded along the stone jetty leading to the lighthouse. It looks like a gas or oil tanker. Its dismantling is underway, judging be the presence of gas bottles littering the surrounding of the wreck. The boys are working in the morning, so it does not collide with the visitors to the beach and yet it is an interesting show of strength and ingenuity.

remote from Eko Atlantic's future hustle and bustle

The beach of the lighthouse is a very good place to go, a few minutes away from Victoria Island, where one can swim, have a sense of privacy and adventure at the same time. As all things in Lagos, it is to be enjoyed while it lasts!