C'est l'Afrique

And the journey continues! We made it to Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) this morning at 2 am (3am Benin time), and collapsed into the welcoming (and air-conditioned) beds at the SIM guesthouse. I was able to give Jaimie a proper West African travel experience complete with waiting 4 hours in the midday heat for our mini-bus to fill with passengers at Tanguieta (Benin), squeezing into a full bus at the border, and icing on the cake, our bus broke down at midnight in the middle of the very dark and quiet countryside. I layed down on the side of the road with the other 60-70 passengers, and Jaimie curled up in her seat on the bus for a nap while we waited in the dark. Safety in numbers when you travel in West Africa, so no one was really all that worried or upset, a few heated arguments took place between the bus driver and some well-to-do passengers, but as my friend Mahomet put it, arguing won't repair the bus or change our situation any more quickly than just waiting patiently. I agreed, and decided to just lay back and enjoy the uninhibited view of the stars in the black night. A couple of hours later, a mechanic arrived, bus started up, and we continued on our less than merry way to Ouagadougou. The usual chaos ensued at the bus depot in Ouaga, even at 2am, the taxi drivers and various biscuit/soda vendors all jockeying for our attention, pulling us this way and that. 

Thankfully our taxi man was familiar with the SIM mission guesthouse, however the night guard could not be woken with my calls over the wall, so in my exhausted state, I decided that the approach would be to hop over the wall and hunt down the guard to get the keys to our room. I'm pretty accustomed to jumping over any sort of wall/fence/gate, so no problem, but as I landed on the other side, the sleeping night guard was about 10 feet away in his chair and he woke with a start at the sound and sight of a person jumping over the wall. Although Mr. night guard was sleeping on the job, he deserves credit for waking instantly and rushing at me with his machete (large knife/sword) in hand. I was impressed, and thankfully the sleep cleared from his vision and head as he closed the distance between us, I assured him I meant no harm, that I really was a guest here. We had a good laugh over it, as I can explained he was sleeping so soundly, the sound of my voice could not wake him, but clearly the rattling of the gate was enough to bring him to his feet. 

Oh, and an interesting side note on our trip to Ouaga, we thought we would have to spend the night at the border, since our mini-bus left so late from Tanguieta (4pm), however one of my good friends from Cotonou   (Mahomet, track athlete) just happened to also be on his way to Ouagadougou the very same day! The bus could not stop for us in the small town of Tanguieta, so I waved at him from the side of the road where we were waiting for our taxi to fill up. An hour later, he called me and said that he had convinced the bus driver to wait at the border for us, since our taxi was only going as far as the border, we really were not sure how we would make it to Ouaga or even Fada (small town with mission guesthouse) before the next day. The entire bus of 60-70 passengers waited at the border for over an hour while our little mini-bus chugged along at 60kph, and it really was a blessed sight to see my smiling friend Mahomet waiting for us at the border! :) I was not looking forward to camping in a bush village at the border. As luck would have it, we still ended up sleeping in the ditch for a couple hours, but at least it was with a full bus of other people and not just the two of us. 

That was yesterday. The weekend in Parakou went by far too quickly for me, but I am really thankful that I was able to connect with many of my soccer girls and friends around town, enjoyed afternoon coffee and visits with old friends, went for a run at my favourite stadium, cheered on some of my girls in their high school soccer tournament, and just enjoyed catching up. Best part of this trip so far has been reconnecting with the girls I used to coach, seeing how they've progressed in school, university, sports, started families, etc. 

A couple of "before and after" shots with my friend's kids, three years really is a long time!

My Parakou nephew (Kelly, as in R.Kelly), all smiles and grown up 3 years later! :)

My other nephew, he's the baby on the right in first photo, he had a great time with "Tantie's" camera. His sister was a little more camera shy, but she's in the photo below with her mom. 

Visiting more friends around town.

Hard to leave Parakou after just a few short days, especially when my former soccer kids (now grown up teenagers!) were eagerly asking what time Wednesday's practice would start, and promising to show up on time! :) A few noticeable changes in Parakou over the past 3 years, but even with the changes some things stay the same, such as the warm welcoming smiles and greetings from friends, inviting me to sit for a meal or a soda, and the endless hospitality and generosity. Achi densu mes amis de Parakou! (until next time!)

From Parakou, we took an early morning bush taxi to Natitingou, making excellent time even with the miserable "road" conditions, our driver was quite skilled at navigating the pot holes, driving mainly in the ditch. Nice visit and stay at the Litweiri (sp?) Centre on the mountain with the Baynes, there's definitely something special about the view from the mountain top. By 5:30am we were on the road with our driver and park guide, headed up to Pendjari Park to hunt wildlife with our fancy cameras. I was a bit skeptical of the sofa chairs tied on the roof of his truck, but they proved to be quite secure as we rumbled through the park, scanning for random animals in the tall grass. The only animal we didn't manage to spot was of course the main attraction, lions, but otherwise we saw hippos, buffalo, elephants, warthogs, baboons, and every imaginable species of deer, antelope, and gazelle.  

Our accommodation for the night was definitely the highlight of the park tour We stayed at the newly opened Pendjari Lodge, an eco lodge/tent on the top of a hill overlooking the park. The lodge is run by a French family, and they seem to have thought of everything with solar energy for the tents, running water (showers/toilets in the tents as well), wifi internet, cold beer, French cuisine, and lovely rock veranda overlooking the valley. I highly recommend it to anyone traveling in Benin area, much better than the other Pendjari hotel in the park. 

We left Pendjari yesterday morning and arrived in Ouaga late last night (or early this morning...) and now we're taking a couple days to prepare for the next leg of the trip through southern Burkina and northern Ghana. More wildlife parks and villages visits on the itinerary, hopefully not as many "exciting" transit stories, but "c'est l'afrique" (that's Africa) so who knows!

West Africa: Week 1

A fon gandia! (Greetings! in Fon language in Benin) We've been in Africa one week now, and it feels good to have the warm sun on my face and the gritty dust in my eyes.

I'm traveling with my friend Jaimie from Boston, and I have to say she puts my traveling experience to shame with her "minimalist" packing skills and extensive globetrotting travels. It's not often that I meet a fellow traveler who also thrives on exploring the path less trodden via any means possible, and can handle hours of discomfort riding on cramped buses, trains, and motorbikes with for me, traveling is about the journey, the people I meet along the way, both new friends and old, and the "destination" is just wherever I happen to be for the day.

For this trip, the destination is really close to my heart, because I'm in now back in Benin! My main goal is reconnecting with many of my friends and former colleagues, and West Africa is new for Jaimie, so we're taking in as many of the local cultural sights and activities along the route. 

Highlights so far include:

- Dancing and drumming on Labadi beach on the coast of Accra until far too late

- Confusing & crowded tro tros of Accra, making friends along the way (a lady tried to take us home with her)

- Peace and tranquility of the secluded KO-SA beach resort 20km outside of Cape Coast

Cape Coast KOSA beach, Ghana

- Surviving the crashing waves of West African coast and swimming in the ocean

- Fresh coconuts (coconut juice!) and playing frisbee with kids on a deserted beach in Ghana

- Exploring Lomé (Togo) with a soccer friend I met in Berlin last year (Discover Football)

- Staying with Marianne in her village in Saxwe-land (Benin), and eating at the restaurant on stilts on Possotomé Lake

- Riding on zemidjens (motorbike taxi) at terrifying speeds through chaotic traffic in Cotonou (Benin)

First zemidjen ride in Benin (going to Possotomé Lake)

- Meeting up with Parakou friends now in Cotonou

- FAN MILK ice cream and TAMPICO!! (or Fandango as Tampico is now called) 

That brings you up to speed on the past week, we have officially been in Africa 7 days now and have covered a lot of ground! Today my friend from Parakou took us out to Ouidah, a coastal town with a lot of history on the slave trade and voodoo origins. The main road to Ouidah is under construction, we had already traveled it on our way into Cotonou the day before, it was bumpy, dusty, and very unpleasant in general. My friend suggested that the "road" along the beach would be best, so off we went on his motorbike and Jaimie on the hired zem. Planned to leave early, but had to dash across town at 7am to buy our bus tickets for the next morning to Parakou, so by the time we left for Ouidah it was after 8am and the sun was already high in the sky. 

My friend Mahomet (Parakou athlete) who took us to Ouidah

Beach road from Cotonou to Ouidah

Main point of interest for us at Ouidah was the "Gate of No Return", the point where the captured slaves passed through on their way to the ships carrying them to Europe, America, and the Caribbean  According to the self-appointed tour guide, approximately 15 million slaves went through this gate, mostly to the Americas. Benin is the birthplace of voodoo, so it was from this gate in Ouidah that voodoo spread across the seas to the Americas with the slave trade in the 1500`s through the mid 1800`s. The tour guide actually did very well explaining the history, most of which I had never heard before, and then I did my best to translate to English for Jaimie (I got a bit brain-drained in the midday blazing sun, somewhat dehydrated as well).

From Ouidah we tore back to Cotonou on the red dirt road, and then headed onto the famous Ganvié fishing village on the other side of Cotonou. Covered in fine red dust, still haven't finished my morning cup of coffee, it's noon and we haven't had breakfast, but decide to head out on an open boat to tour the village on stilts in the middle of a lake in 45'C midday heat. Our tour guide was very eager, I didn't have the heart to tell him he couldn't come, so he joined Jaimie and I on the motorized pirogue (wooden canoe) and chatted away at us about the local folklore on how the village on stilts came to be.

Slightly sun-stroked and covered in a what felt like a month's worth of travel dust, we made it back to Cotonou for Lebanese late lunch, picked up our passports from the Burkina Faso consulate, sped back to our host home (couchsurf) just minutes before a lovely tropical rainstorm blew in. Cool rains definitely welcomed for our 8 hour bus trip (hopefully with a/c) to Parakou tomorrow morning, where we'll be spending the weekend before continuing north to Burkina. Excited to see more friends in Parakou, 3 days is much too short, but it will be nice to spend time with good friends even if just for a brief time. 

Until next time, maybe will update after our safari tour of Pendjari Park once we arrive in Ouagadougou (Burkina) and have a decent internet connection again. 

The Beginning of a Journey to...

Boston! 

Ok and then onto Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Burkina. Niger was a hard sell, what with the constant "travel advisories", kidnappings, scorching heat, dust, etc., So I'll wait at least until after the next coup d'etat to stop by Niger (sorry to my Niger friends!). 

Stay tuned for more stories, this trip is purely for leisure, no work, no projects, no stress. :) Looking forward to exploring the touristy side of some of my favorite countries, catching up with many of my favorite friends, and just enjoying the month long road trip around West Africa. 

A bientôt mes amis!

Travel route highlighted in blue.