Map of Benin at Musee da Silva, Porto Novo.
Portuguese-style architecture at Musee da Silva, afro-brazilian museum, Porto Novo.
Our kitchen, Porto Novo.
The bathroom.
The living room. Spacious!
The front door and porch area.
The house, I think there are six apartments in all.
The loaded taxi.
Dusty roads in Ketou.
Bright blue on the dusty roads in Ketou. On the way to a burial.
Egouns. The burial. These guys wear the most artistic clothing and dance at burials of the Yoruba. They are supposedly the incarnation of the person who passed away. The Yoruba always come back to dance.
Egoun.
Another taste of Afro Brazilian influence at Bahia Cabana, a hostel in Calavi.
What a charmer.
Judith and Gildas, his best friend.
Hangin at the house.
At a celebration in Allada, where Judith's family lives.
Allada.
Judith's father and another man. Love the white clothes.
Judith's mom and aunt.
Judith's uncle, Jean-Marie, and me.
Gildas and me.
Statue of Toussaint L'Ouverture, leader of the Haitian revolution. He was a descendant of a Beninois.
Dancing.
Friends cooking in Allada.
Judith's sister had the same appendectomy at the same clinic. This is me trying to comfort her.
A peacock at a zoo outside of Porto Novo.
Lion.
Jacques, the monkey.
Judith and the ostrich.
Smiley boy.
The streets of Porto Novo. Paved thanks to French colonists.
Porto.
Riding the zemidjan, the taxi moto.
The public pool. Delightfully abandoned most of the time.
Gildas and Mohammed, a neighbor kid.
What's that fly doing in my beer? The backstroke.
At our favorite bar, La Salsa, Porto.
May 11, the celebration of Bob Marley's birthday. Always a big deal at the university in Calavi.
Clinique Fifadji. Sitting for a short course.
The clinic.
Consultation room/office.
Consultation room/treatment room.
Delivery room. Yes, all the women give birth on a piece of cloth on this table.
Romen, a lovely girl who lives at the clinic.
The courtyard next to the clinic.
Cutting a mango.
The pharmacy.
Dressed more traditionally to go to Allada.
Judith and our nephew, Mayel. This is his brother's (Igor's) newborn.
Members of the family and extended family to celebrate Estelle's first communion.
Judith with malaria. But he only had it one time between January and July, a new record!
Judith finishing his thesis.
Porto Novo.
At La Salsa again.
Good to the last drop.
Me, Novignon (Rik's wife, from Togo), and Prosper.
This was during Rik and Novignon's visit to Porto.
Going to Colette's village.
On the pirogue to Colette's village.
On the muddy banks. I point to mud on my toe.
Judith pumping water to wash our feet.
Rik and Judith.
Rik and Novignon.
Judith.
Near Colette's village.
Judith paddling to Colette's village.
Talking to Colette, the first girl to attend school in her village. She wants to be a doctor. She's exceptional. She's brilliant. I absolutely love her.
Listening to Colette.
Colette in her village.
Paddling away.
On the way back.
Judith cooking in Porto.
Apron courtesy of wonderful care packages from Terry!
Picking up Mom and Gary at the airport.
Judith's dad, Gary, Mom.
The whole gang.
Add in Judith's brother, Igor.
Judith drumming with our new drums from the Adjarra drum market, just north of Porto.
Getting coffee in Ouidah.
Ouidah.
Coffee= Nescafe + sweetened condensed milk + hot water. mmm... (that's not sarcasm either)
Historical Museum in Ouidah. One of the best museums I have ever been to in my life. Also included many cultural links between Benin and Brazil.
Museum, Portuguese style. This was actually an old fort site but it all burned down when the Portuguese got the boot so they rebuilt it and turned it into a museum to show the tragedies of the slave trade.
Judith acting so sacred in the Sacred Forest, Ouidah. Beautiful.
Large tree and statue of Legba.
Temple for vodoun (voodoo in English. Not all just pins and needles). Ouidah.
Beautiful moss and ruins in Sacred Forest, Ouidah.
This tree was once a man. Now people make "wishes" at it and leave a little tip at the trunk.
Judith and Mom at the sacred tree.
Judith and me at the sacred tree.
The Sacred Forest is dotted with sculptures by local artists depicting different aspects of vodoun.
There's your pins and needles Hollywood.
Hotel in Ouidah, right on the beach and almost all to ourselves. Wonderful.
Beach in Ouidah.
Poolside, Ouidah.
Baywatch, herd style.
Chillin out maxin relaxin all cool.
Poolside again, Ouidah.
The pool was amazingly huge. So were some of the bugs in it.
Beautiful sunset.
The Point of No Return and probably the only time you will see an African running TO it. This was the point at which the slaves had no hope of not getting on a slave ship.
Mom and me, Point of No Return.
Royaume Hotel d'Allada. Allada is where Judith's family lives. This was the time with the in-laws. Very fun (again not sarcastic at all).
At the carver's in Allada. Where mom bought a sweet giraffe.
Chillin at the carver's.
Judith's old high school and precisely where he sat. Allada.
Judith mastering all subjects.
Place Goho, Bohicon. "Goho" means meeting. This is where Abomey's king Gbehanzin in the late 19th century told General Dodds of the French that they would gladly sign a treaty handing over their people and all their history to colonial rule. But, well, they ended up firing on the Frenchies and blowing them to smithereens. I love this statue.
On the "Three Rocks of Dassa." Dassa-Zoume.
The Virgin Mary was said to have appeared at these rocks in Dassa. This is us heading to a sacred place on the grounds.
The chapel at the rocks of Dassa.
Eating a great meal in Dassa and watching Gary try on his fanny pack rain guard as the new fashion. I can dig it.
In the North you head into Somba country. The tata somba (houses of the Somba people) are built like mini-castles. They are absolutely beautiful, intriguing, and efficient in their use of the ground right below them for construction. It was the introduction of cement that makes many modern buildings in Benin much hotter than they should be.
The Atakora Mountains driving in the North between Natitingou and Tanguieta.
Beautiful views.
Baobabs. Love em. And their juice.
At a bar in Boukoumbe, where nearby are many tata somba.
I was trying to move in on his beer. This is him suspecting it.
A closer view of a catholic church built in the tata somba style.
Kids that watched us traversing some of the treacherous points in the roads between Boukoumbe and Tanguieta.
The falls of Tanongou, near Tanguieta.
Senior portrait.
Falls.
Mom being assisted on the hike to the top, where the largest waterfall was found.
Mom and Judith with only one shoe on.
Gary taking pictures (this was a common view of Gary).
Mom and Gary by the falls.
Judith and me by the falls.
The descent from the largest falls.
Judith playing northerner.
Judith playing northerner again.
Lazy lion at the same zoo outside of Porto Novo.
Back in Porto at the house.
The clothes Gary had made by our tailor. Tres chic.
A common view of the last few days: Gin Rummy!
Papa and Papa.
Papa and Mama.
Papa Papa Mama.
Me dancing and Papa.
Waiting for an entire day in Abomey for an important document. We had no money so we sat at this cafeteria all day and... what did we do? I played Snake on the cell phone. Lame.
The tailor who makes our great outfits. Porto Novo.
The taxi on the way back to Porto from Abomey. A good summary.
