(1) To fly domestically does not require flight reservations - just more money. Choose an airline and approach their desk anytime before the listed departure time to get a ticket.
(2) Airlines and other businesses in Nigeria do not use credit cards. Cash only. The problem is that we already used all our US cash to pay for the conference lodging (also no credit cards). 1000 naira are worth about $10, so the cost isn't an issue for us, but access to cash is. After finally finding a bank with an ATM that took our non-Nigerian credit and bank cards, we maxed our daily withdrawal limit to buy our one-way tickets (they apparently don't sell round-trip domestic tickets).
Since I can't possibly be in control of this situation anyway, I quickly grow to like being the passive woman in the back seat while Nick and the driver search for banks and airline tickets. Don't tell anyone.
So, after much more hassle than expected and after some strange ticketing and security rituals, we get to Abuja in an hour. We know immediately that this is a different world - clean, friendly, clearer signs and instructions for what to do. And seeing Mike in this other world was a lovely treat. The sign along the road exiting the airport was one I wish I'd photographed: No urinating or feces. And then we pulled out onto Bill Clinton Drive. :)
