Weekend in Benin

Well, last weekend, I finally made it to Cotonou, Benin! The trip got off to a bit of a rough start...We had a big group of people and things were a bit rushed as we left the ship...and in the chaos of everything, I lost my yellow fever card :( So, that wasn't too great since I sort of need it to get into South Africa in September..but thankfully, I was able to contact the health department to have another one sent.

We spent our first night in a place called Grand Popo. There was a full moon and we all just went out on the beach and sat next to the ocean...it was really peaceful and so beautiful! It was nice to just be able to have a quiet night and a time of fellowship with good friends!

Grand Popo during the day

Hanging out on the beach at night

        

The next day, we headed off to a place called Bab's Dock, which was a popular mercy shippers' getaway last year when the ship was in Benin. In order to get to the dock, you have to take a boat ride through the lagoon, which felt a little bit like Disneyland, especially when we were passing under the archway of trees. Once we reached the dock, we were greeted by the owners, a french couple who know Mercy Ships well because of all the visitors from the ship last year.

Getting into the boat to head to the dock

Do you see the resemblance to Disneyland?

   

The nice thing about the lagoon is that the water is only about knee-deep all around. So, after a nice lunch and some time relaxing under the umbrellas, we went out in the kayaks and then played volleyball in the water (the net is just above the lagoon). After taking in the sunshine for a few hours, I headed back out on the boat with a few of the girls from our group who were also heading to Cotonou.

 

    

I had made plans to meet up with an African friend who is from Benin and wanted to give me a good tour of Cotonou. While I was waiting, I went for a swim with the girls at the hotel and then watched the sunset over the port. It was really beautiful and for a minute, just being in the big city with lots of nice buildings around (there's not too many of those in Togo), I almost felt like I was back in America. Sometimes, you just need a little taste of home!

My friend showed up a little later and we had a nice motorcycle ride around the city. I was a little nervous about riding around Cotonou on a motorcycle at first, especially since there's a ton of traffic and there seem to be quite a few accidents there, but my friend made sure to be safe for me, so I was appreciative of that! My favorite part of the "tour" was driving into the dock where the ship was last year and seeing all the fisherman's boats and big ships around. I had seen pictures of the port from friends who were on the ship last year, so it was kind of surreal to finally be there myself. The port was beautiful with all the lights reflecting off the water. But, unfortunately, I didn't get any photos since I didn't have my camera with me. 

The next day, I met up with my African friend again and we got to visit the artisan market and then spent the rest of the day at "Obama Beach." I am always so amused by  the obsession Africans have with Obama. They sell  Obama bags and even boxers in the market and if you look at the right places, you can even find "Obama biscuits." I think it's quite amusing.

Obama beach was nice, but definitely not like the beaches in the states. The current is so much stronger here in West Africa. Thankfully, I was still able to swim at this beach, although I wasn't out too long since I was so worn out from swimming against the current. After hanging out and relaxing on the beach for awhile, we came across  some girls from France who were playing soccer on the beach. So, my friend and I went over to meet them and then joined in their game. They were all really sweet girls and after playing soccer, we all ended up hanging out for a couple more hours. I really enjoyed listening to everyone speak French and realizing how much I actually understood!

After our time at the beach, we headed over for some genuine African food (the kind you eat with your hands!) and called it a day! We headed back to Togo the following morning feeling energized again after three really amazing days in Benin!