Marina Resort.

Calabar. Beautiful, quiet city. No wonder the residents like to say it means ‘Come and live and be at Rest’. You would not want to leave after staying a couple of nights/days in the city. Every Nigerian has heard about some of the tourist attractions in Calabar, so I will talk about one that is less known.

Marina Resort, located at the end of Moore Road, Calabar, is on the coastline of the city, and that is where it derives its name. The view of the lagoon – which pours into the Atlantic – can be seen from the resort. The whole length of the resort is barricaded to avoid any accidents that may result from horse play.

Driving into Marina Resort, you immediately feel the cool air from the lagoon and you are playfully ‘interrogated’ by the security guards. The resort provides limited space for parking, so quite a few people are dropped here – by taxis or friends – who come back later to pick them up.

This Calabar resort boasts of a cinema (Filmhouse) in a building – on its own – in the centre of the resort. The cinema has four theatres, with a lounge upstairs, so you can unwind here: watching a movie or just hanging out. The most impressive attraction in the resort are the different mini-restaurants, all housed in thatched-roof tents, which give the ambience of native life to complement the clean air courtesy the lagoon.

The different restaurants serve different food, each tent with a different menu (a tent for Nigerian dishes, another for Continental, another for drinks and small chops etc). Many people come here for the smoked – grilled, if you like – fish, and on tasting it, you would understand why. Accommodation is also made available on the resort

Even if the spaces in these mini-restaurants are taken up by other customers, there are other chairs and tables, beside the lagoon, where you can have your meal.

A fairly large part of the resort is free concrete, overlooking the lagoon, so kids – and adolescents – usually skate here. Before you think that the lagoon is completely out-of-bounds, let me allay your fears. Boat rides are on offer, and quite a number of people even come to the resort by boat (from the Tinapa lakeside, for instance).

If you are looking for fresh air, fresh food and looking forward to meeting fresh people, you should be here already. If you are new in town, charter a taxi, they are as cheap as you will find anywhere. This resort is definitely a must-visit location if you are heading to Calabar for the Carnival.