What should really have changed after crossing yet another artificial creation of man — the dividing line between one section of land’s wealth and culture and another — nothing should drastically change, at least not topographically. Yet it has, a little. Despite their small sizes and the close proximity of Togo and Benin, there have been changes to the coastal land and the Atlantic Ocean itself, as well as differences in the people’s physical appearance and their cuisine —natural cultural changes — they are subtle, but nonetheless, present.
Bribing our way out of Togo the way we had bribed our entry in — a result of overstaying our visas by mere hours — we continued along our coastal route and watched as the Atlantic became stronger and more varied, changing from deeper shades of turquoise, to lighter, more mint-green tints intermingled with sandy shades. These merging well with the golden sand of the beach and the pale green and earthy-brown squares of coastal farmland. We still can see roadside stalls stacked precariously full, predominantly with mangos, pineapples, bananas and avocados, but what is new and noticeable are the abundant stacks of marinated meat, largely chicken — red and crude in my vision next to the life and colour of the fruit. There are also piles of fried yams and potatoes alongside the usual balancing stacks of European-introduced stodgy white bread. The nutrient-dense yam tubers are cheaper than the conventional potato, providing nearly 30% of your RDA vitamin C per 100g. We observingly roll into Benin munching on the thick, slightly flowery flesh of this tasty and versatile West-African staple.
And then, Benin. Number 8.
Tomorrow → Day 42: 27th.April.2016 — African Nights
**For anything Benin-related, or if you’re planning on visiting the country, in particular Ganvié and its surrounds, get in touch with: Laurent Okou (Facebook) — email: okourent@yahoo.fr / phone: +229 94 46 23 97 **
*Check out Jørn and Lukas’ 3 videos created from the first couple of months of footage from the trip down below, before further footage was either lost or stolen:
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— Thank you for reading! —
♥,
Shani
