Benin- First Impressions

Benin is one country you must visit if you ever want to do a tour of Africa. It has definitely got to be one of the most interesting place I’ve ever been to. It is so diverse within itself where you have Christianity, Islam and Voodism as well as it being one of the ports used for the transatlantic slave trade. Currently, they even have a floating village (basically everything is on water from church to markets and you need a small boat to travel across) which I took a boat to go and see for myself.

The floating village

Standing in front of the monument which represents the 'door of no return'

If I’m honest I didn’t pay it much attention before arriving. I have a friend who suggested I meet up with a friend of hers who lives in Togo/Benin and my aim was only to go there to party (I was told the parties there are lit!)  for the weekend then move on. However, I ended up staying there longer than planned!

I really have quite a lot to say about Benin and I don’t think it will do it any justice by having it only on one blog post so I will try to break it down into a few posts so please stay with me!

After some difficulty of trying to get past  border control (again!), I went from lazing along palm fringed beaches to a more organised and structured country that had a yellow colour code for all the motorbike taxi drivers to wear. In Benin,  taking a motorbike as a form of public transport is so common (and can I say really safe)  that they had a whole lane for taxi drivers just like in London we have bus lanes. I was a little bit scared at first to use them but as I got used to it, I began to even  bargain with drivers about the cost of the trip!

Benin is actually the birthplace of voodoo and is also home to the Dahomey Kingdom ( a fascinating history which I shall talk about in another blog ) which still sits a  king at present. It has a tremendous amount of history and it is one of the few African countries I found that had maintained well physical evidence of their history.

The food was amazing (Francophone African countries I must say has the best food I’ve had in Africa) and what was even more special to me was that besides their own music, they actually loved Congolese music! After spending six weeks in Ghana it was quite refreshing to hear Congolese music which I am an absolute fan of, and not just on the radio or TV but they had certain bars which would have nights live music Congolese nights.

Something I also didn’t know much about (and I must study more on) was that many Brazilian slaves actually came from Benin who then later returned and brought the Brazilian culture back to Benin just as they had taken Benin to Brazil. I was always under the impression that the African slaves taken to Brazil were actually from Angola and parts of the Congo. You can find most of this history in the city of Porto Novo where there are guides and museums to guide you through and they have an extensive amount of knowledge.

Benin or rather Cotonou was the only place in Africa which felt like I was back home in Kinshasa, Congo. The food, vibe, ambience, music, nightlife and of course the fact that they spoke French made me feel closer to Congolese soil. It’s a country definitely worth visiting and I even found I have family there!

My new found family in Benin