With the Explorer in Africa.

[drron]

And the very thoughtful gorillas-

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and the youngsters-

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The last of the gorillas-

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[RB]

Thanks again Ron-another great read

 

[drron]

Next it was to the Botanic Gardens,a variety of trees planted by the Germans more than 100 years ago.But we were there for a cultural show.As we walked in everyone was getting ready-

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There is no doubt that Africans are born with rhythm.You cant help tapping your feet.An entertaining show-

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[drron]

Next the men get to dance.Most of the masks you see in gift stores throughout Africa do come from Cameroon-

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These two took the prize for putting everything into the performance-

Of course when you are performing in public be careful what you do.You will be caught-

And mrsdrron seems to be taking to some parts of Africa-

 

[drron]

As a bonus we got to see a golden weaver male making a nest.He does this to attract a female.but once she is in residence he starts on another nest to attract another female and repeats this again and again-

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Whilst the performance was happenning ther was some very light rain.There had been thunder and lightning all morning so we were lucky.They did serve some snacks.I had some.Wrong decision and once again I paid for it.Fortunately for less than 24 hours.
I was glad to see the Explorer-

That night was the Venetian coughtail party and dinner.I got to wear my bow tie for the second time-no it is not necessary but I just like to.
The next day fortunately was a sea day.Took it very easy.Did put down a floating deposit as there is a cruise we would really like to do on the Explorer in 2015.
A good lecture by Roddy on conservation and an enjoyable International buffet lunch.After this just two more days-Benin and Togo.

Tuesday and it is Cotonou,Benin.Again a change of timing.Another ship had taken our berth.Apparently the second time this has happened in Benin.The freighter's Captain has usually negotiated a commercial agreement.The crew though have their contacts so only an hours delay to the program.
The busses were waiting-

We berthed in front of this car carrier which was offloading second hand cars-

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We set off with our police escort plus an armed policeman in the bus.Outside the gates of the port it was hectic-

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But we were soon outside the city with it's typical roadside commerce-

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[drron]

We passed their main soccer stadium.Built by the Chinese as usual-

And some nice restaurants with sidewalk dining-

And of course you could buy just about anything-

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And evidence the world is catching up in Benin-

We are off to Lake Nokoue where we will get into boats to tour the village of Ganvie which is built on stilts.We are warned that some of the villagers do not like tourists.We arrived at the embarkation point which was really jumping.It was also quite dirty.The cattle didn't mind quietly munching on the reeds-

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It was then into the boats-

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[drron]

The water was shallow here so power was of the traditional variety-

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And the power comes from all age groups-

The embarkation point was where all the locals got on and off their boats too.

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And the police came with us-

It didn't take long to find evidence of the villages major occupation,fishing-

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And the many different ways of doing this-

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[drron]

Reactions to us differed greatly.Some would just turn away.A couple of times our group was shouted at.Not sure what they were saying yet at other times the reaction was as always with smiles and waves.This is a good example.The two paddlers in this canoe turned their heads away but the fellow with the net wanted his photo taken and used his net for every boat that came past-

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So to continue with the fishing scenes-

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and the more traditional fish trap-

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The locals cruised past us-

Then some of the crew-

Whilst a couple of kingfishers hoped there was something left for them-

As did the hawks overhead-

 

[docjames]

Great, as always.

 

[drron]

And then we arrived at the village-

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There were some new homes-

The waterways were a hive of activity-

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And this young lady didn't mind our visit-

Now this would look good at an AFF do-

 

[drron]

Some more shots of the village-

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And a very large building being constructed-

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This is the fresh water supply-

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[drron]

The highlight of this tour was coming to Madame Em's Auberge where we were to have a performance of excerpts from traditional dances plus be able to visit her craft shop and bar.Here she is-

The craft shop sold "local crafts".Funny that at the back were packets of African batik labelled-Made in Indonesia.The jewellery in packets was-made in china.oh well.
The dancers though were magnificently attired and really put a lot of effort into their performances.So here they are-

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More of the dancers-

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[drron]

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Of course they needed music-

To sustain myself I partook of a couple of Beninois beers-

I thought I had had too much when I saw this fellow-

But it really was a doll's head on top-

So relieved I once again enjoyed the performance-

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[drron]

So the last of the dancers-

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Now this fellow really did use up some energy-

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I was exhausted so went and checked out the bar-

So the show finished and we made our way back to the boats.So a few last shots of Ganvie-

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More children were around when we left-

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[drron]

How much can you fit on a canoe?

And this must be Ganvie's hottest night spot-

As we returned to the busses the sky looked ominous-

Others seemed to want to get there faster-

But Stefan was unpeturbed-

And this fellow demanded we take his picture but then sped past-

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By the time we got back to the landing point it was very dark-

When we left the boat there was just a couple of spots of rain.However we were no sooner on the bus when the heavens opened up.

 

[drron]

We were now headed to a beach resort for lunch.To get there we had to turn off the main highway on to a major road.However the Chinese had offered to upgrade the road so two months before the wet season was due the bitumen was ripped up.The road was now a quagmire so it was a very slow trip.It was also dangerous.if we had been 30 seconds earlier this truck may have overturned onto the bus-

It certainly affected business as people were sheltering from the rain-

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We also passed a very large cemetery-

The rain stopped but the road was still a problem-

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The market was in full swing-

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[drron]

Away from the lake the people were as friendly as ever-

The road probably got worse the further we went-

Certainly din't worry the locals-

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Now you may notice that in one of the pictures there is bitumen.This started in sight of the toll plaza-

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One of the few in the world blessed by a Pope I would imagine.
Unfortunately as the bitumen started people obviously released their frustrations at the slow journey-

 

[drron]

From the toll plaza to the beach the road was fortunately sealed although narrow.However we then had to drive another 7 kilometres to the resort along another unsealed road with potholes that would fit a small car.Extremely rough ride.Along this road were small fishing villages.Here they bury their family close to where they lived so small collections of graves along the road-

The resort certainly had a great position-

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With lots of evidence of the locals occupation-

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With a colourfully restored vessel at the resort-

The amenities were fine but the place seemed deserted.Not even the gift shop was open even with a hundred tourists coming for lunch.

The rooms were in buildings that had two rooms each.

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[drron]

One of the room's was open so got to look inside-

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Great view from the porch-

The resort's name was the Casa De Papa resort.Lunch was ordinary but the liquid supplements were fine-

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We had time to kill so we walked to the other side of the complex.Lots of options-mingolf,tennis,volleyball and at the lagoon there were kayaks and paddle boats.Just no people-

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But we did see walking fish,mudskippers-

Then we had to endure the 7km back to the sealed road.No wonder the place was dead.

 

[drron]

At the end of the paved road is an emotional site for Africans.It is now a World Heritage site-

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The place of no return-

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The point of embarkation for the slaves.The sealed road is the route they were taken from the nearby town.
Our guides gave a moving account of the story-

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Next to the monument is an abandoned resort-

But that doesn't deter others from following in their footsteps-