West Africa Odyssey 21012 - Benin and Togo

Benin: Cotonou, Togo: Lomé

April 11 – 12, 2012

Aboard National Geographic Explorer

Wednesday, April 11 we were in Cotonou, Benin for a full day of sight seeing. There the official language is French. The region was referred to as the Slave Coast from as early as the 17^th century because so many slaves were shipped from here to the New World. The last Portugese slave ship left Benin in 1885. The French took over when the slave trade ended and ruled until 1960 when Benin gained its independence. It became a democratic country in 1991.

The morning tour took us to a fort museum and then on to the Sacred Forest of Kpasse, which is located in a residential area but has special meaning for the locals. It is lined with statues of voodoo gods and is used in religious ceremonies. There was a local group dancing which made the visit more interesting.

In the afternoon we drove out to Abomey-Calavi where we boarded motorized pirouges (10 people per boat) to travel out through Lake Nokoué to the lake village of Ganvié. This village was established back in 16^th and 17^th century as a safe haven for the local people because those looking for slaves would not go out into the water after them. 

The homes are built on stilts and about 30,000 Tofinu people live there. It was put on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative list in 1996. The main industries besides tourism are fishing and fish farming. There was a local band playing at the site where we got off the boats and visited a couple of shops. It was fascinating how everyone used the small dugout boats for transportation, and in the afternoon they put up small sails to speed their return home.

Thursday, April 12 we were in Lomé, Togo. It is another long skinny country to the west of Benin, and it is another part of the “Slave Coast.” Germany claimed it as a protectorate, and then transferred it to France at the end of WWI. It gained its independence in 1960. French is still the official language.

The morning tour started with a visit to the largest Fetish Market or “pharmacie” in Africa. It stocks all the ingredients needed for traditional tonics and fetishes in the voodoo culture. While it was definitely not a tourist destination, it was indeed fascinating to see all the dried animal parts and dolls. Some even purchased good luck and travel fetishes.

The next stop was an Artisans’ Village where many different artist work and their pieces are available for purchase. I did buy a lovely batik from one of the artists. The last stop for the morning was the Hakuna Matata Cultural Centre were the famous Totolese puppeteer, Danaye Kanlefei, performed for us.

After lunch back onboard the ship we headed out for the afternoon to visit the Akato Viepe Village. Along the way we stopped at a local school to see the classrooms and royally disrupt their school day. The kids were fun and loved to have their pictures taken. The ship donated a lot of school supplies to them.

As we arrived at the village the women were sitting in one area waiting to sing and dance. There was a procession with the chief and his family who also enjoyed the dancing. I even got in some aerobic exercise trying to keep up with the dancers who were probably older than I am.

Back at the dock everyone had noticed that there was a Mercy Ship (hospital) docked nearby. A team from the ship came aboard to share what they do. They will be in Togo for quite a while performing special medical services around the country.

After dinner we were honored by a musical performance in the lounge by King Mensah, a very famous singer and musical group. There were other local musicians who came on aboard for evening performances before we left the dock.

Next we headed on to Ghana for stops at two ports over two days.

That's it for now. Grace and Paul