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...
cont'd
Last Days.
After many toasts on
the terrace of the Grand Hotel overlooking
the River Niger, the support crew, plus
Greg, got into taxis and headed for the
airport. A few days later the "terminators"
(as the last of the crew to leave are called)
accepted the invitation of U.S. Ambassador
Barbaro Owens-Fitzpatrick to stay at her
residence.
The grounds on the edge
of the river are green, peaceful -and filled
with birds and animals, including hedgehogs,
guinea fowl, two peacocks, an enormous tortoise
- and now, Dino, who loves chasing lizards
and playing with the Ambassador's two kids,
Masha and Sasha, and their oversized and
continually voracious golden retriever,
Willy.
From this peaceful home
base, we have been playing out the last
few days in Niger. Eric, assisted by a crew
of French, Hausa- and Djerma-speaking Nigeriennes,
managed to load the cargo in two days. We
are in the process of constructing a storage
shed for our trucks and expedition supplies,
which will stay here until the next expedition.
After weeks of anticipation,
and all efforts to the contrary, the crates
containing the skeleton of Jobaria
were delayed in Benin for two and a half
weeks - causing no end of chaos for the
Jobaria event. Shepherded, finally,
by an American Embassy representative, the
containers crossed the Niger border and
arrived in Niamey late in the night on Friday.
The skeleton rose on Saturday and yesterday,
despite the delay and confusion, Jobaria
was dedicated on the grounds of the National
Museum.
In addition to the Minister
of Higher Education and the Museum Director,
the event attracted the Ministers of Culture
and Tourism, the Ambassadors of the United
States and France, and a host of amazed
foreigners and locals alike.
Paul, with Didier translating
into French, spoke of Boube Gado and Issoufou
Kouada, two people who had been integral
in the cooperative agreements and the creation
of national laws that protected Niger's
fossil patrimony. He traced the history
of the discovery of Jobaria - and
reminded people that as magnificent as Jobaria
is, it is just one of a host of amazing
dinosaurs from Niger. The next steps will
be to erect a home in Niger, not only for
the skeletons that will return over the
next decade, but a curated collections building
for the fossil bones.
U.S. Ambassador
Barbaro Owens-Fitzpatrick (left) has a laugh
with the Minister of Culture (center) and
the Minister of Tourism (right) in the shade
of Jobaria after the dedication ceremony.
Later this morning we
will meet with schoolchildren from around
Niamey. For many of them, this will be their
first look at a dinosaur skeleton - we can
hardly wait to see their faces..
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