Benin

Logs on road to slow drivers
We crossed into Benin at the main border crossing on the road between Lome and Cotonou. Formalities on the Togo side were pleasant and quick. Benin police took their time filling in all our information into their books before we headed for customs to have our car paper stamped. Once there however the customs man refused to stamp our carnet unless we paid him CFA 5,000, we refused and left returning to the man who stamped our passports. We kindly asked him to stamp our carnet, he looked confused but we reassured him it was necessary because we are from Canada. He stamped the carnet, we left and I wrote in the required information. Our challenges in Benin had just begun.

We were not able to get to our first destination because the road had been dug up, so we headed for our 2nd destination Ouidah. Ouidah is one of the most infamous places in the slave trade on the Atlantic coast but it is also has a thriving and lively Voodoo cultural and spiritual centre. It was not long after we arrived in the town that we found ourselves driving through the market with the skulls of long dead animal, and other fetish objects all around us.

CONTONOU IN CHAOS

Abomey
After exploring the town we decided to head for Cotonou although not the official capital of Benin, it is where everything happens including the main port of Benin which is almost located near the centre of the city. Cotonou is known to be a difficult city to navigate, describe in one travel book as a city "not designed for pain free navigation" but nothing could have prepared us for the chaos, pollution, screeching traffic, with hundreds of scooters and mopeds weaving through the container trucks heading to and from the port, police blowing whistle, it was complete traffic blockage as the main bridge and roads in the center of the city were closed for repairs and all traffic was being detoured through the few remaining roads unaffected by the closure. At places it was deadlocked, trucks positioned so as to block entry, but with patience and some excellent navigation on Tom’s part we finally found the location of the hotel we planned to stay at, except that it was gone it had been demolished!!!

"Do a U turn" Tom said exacerbated, I hesitated as I saw the police waving his gun at me.

"Ignore the gun, turn now or we will be stuck here for ever"

"Tourist" I yelled out the window and did a quick u turn and we headed out of the chaotic mess of detours, traffic and people. In fact at one point we were driving down the railroad track along with other desperate drivers.

Catholic Missionaries

We won't be back in Cotonou if we can help it, although it could be really nice when all the new roads, flyovers and bridges are completed, but until then it defines chaos.

We decided to head north for Abomey one of the celebrated old towns in Africa. The road was bad with huge potholes making for slow driving. We arrived in the town in a thunderstorm, with lightening and flooded roads. People were running for cover as the torrential rainfall flooded stalls, potholes and it seemed our day of chaos was not over. Our plan to camp was over and we headed for a lovely aubrege where we spent the night. We were exhausted.

WALLS OF BLOOD AND THRONE ON SKULLS

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the remaining 2 castles from the Dan-Homey Kingdom tell a grim story. We had to take a guide and no photographs are allowed but the legacy of the cruel era is evident. The king's throne resting on the skulls of his enemies and a fly swatter made from the skull, jaw bone and a horses tail. The walls around the complex have brilliant bas relief pictures which tell some of the stories of the past. The walls of complex are said to have incorporated the blood of 41 Oyo slaves (41 being a sacred number). Animal sacrifices have now replaced the scarify of a man or women.

The Abomey Empire is also famous for its female Amazon warriors who were feared across the land. It is a solemn place to visit but the guide was good. We decided to head north where we planned to cross into Nigeria.

EUROPEAN SECOND HAND CARS

Little Beninese girl
Our trip north must have coincided with a container ship arriving in Cotonou with 100's of second hand cars and trucks all bound for north of Benin and perhaps Niger . Once again we were in a busy dangerous potholed road with cars of all shapes and sizes speeding past us. Telling the story of where they originally came from by the country code stickers D (Germany), CH (Switzerland) and others. We also encountered the most amazing slow down barriers, large logs, piles of tires, huge rocks scattered along the road, and traffic weaved from side to side. It worked traffic at times was grind to a halt as only one direction of traffic could proceed. Yet with any barrier or obstacle on the roads it causes accidents and within 200km we passed 3 bad accidents. Late afternoon we decided we would not make our original destination and stopped at a little motel south of Glazone as it seemed the safest thing to do.

AMAZON WOMEN

We stopped at Parakow to change some money and buy some bread. Tom went into the bank to change money and returned a little pale and flustered. "I just met one of the Amazon women from this area," he said. He described them as huge with a scowled, stern look, she said little other than tell him what to do. "I felt if I made one wrong move or said one wrong word she would lean over and pick me up by my neck" He went on to say, "They say these women cut off their breasts if it gets in the way of them firing a arrow so I did exactly as they instructed. I wasn't going to ask any questions".

Benin Exit Border
We turned off the main road and headed down a dusty track towards a little used border crossing, where we hope to cross into Nigeria. It was getting dark, the road was deteriorating into a track and we both looked at each other and knew what we were thinking. I hope this border crossing is still working and open.

Then just 20km from the Nigerian border we spotted a Catholic Mission. Perhaps they will let us camp in the gardens. No, they would not let us camp but they invited us to stay in one of their rooms. We felt so lucky to have found them. We sat under the full moon and decided to get our email in this peaceful setting. The priests and nuns were at prayer and they sang sweetly.

It was here that we learnt that Tom's mom had died the day before. We felt so far away from our family and friends, there was sadness in the air but we were grateful that she did not suffer. We will miss her dearly.