The Great Zou/Collines Tour

I took advantage of all my friends being at my site to launch a tour of some of the sites I hadn’t yet visited. A week of adventure and travel!

Day 1: Azovè to Bohicon

We woke up early and mobilized. The Djakatomey fête was finished, and all the volunteers were heading home. Realizing I had nothing to do this week, I decided to tag along to see some of the sites I haven’t yet visited. My friends helped me sweep, kill some ants, take care of our dishes, close the windows, while I quickly packed for two weeks away. We made efficient work and left the house by 9:45, arriving at the Azovè gare by 10:00. Because there were so many of us, we quickly filled a taxi and left for Bohicon. Unfortunately, our numbers did lead to the eviction of a woman who was waiting to leave before we arrived. 

Azovè to Bohicon is a quick and uneventful trip, and we were sat at Sky Bar by noon. A burger, fries, and ice cream. After that, we travelled a bit further to meet Arthur at his site. Arthur was a gracious host, and he doesn’t often come to social events, so it was great to see him and catch up. He took us to his CEG, sharing about his school clubs: handball, football, African fighting, and English club. We went to his favorite spot to get a soda. Sami had the idea to order paninis from a delivery restaurant in Bohicon, which turned out to be an excellent decision. 

After that, we went back to Arthur’s house, where I set up my new projector, and we capped the night off with a showing of the Barbie movie.

Day 2: Bohicon to Tchetti

The travel this day wasn’t great. It was hot and cramped, and one of the tires on our taxi popped, resulting in a thirty-minute delay on the side of the road. Eventually, we landed in Savalou, where the journey to Tchetti began. Tchetti is about 45 minutes by zemidjan. It’s a paved road, so it’s relatively quick and uneventful. The only thing of note is the amount of cows I saw and the number of speed bumps we went over.

When we arrived, Henry and I met Cassi and Sarah at a small restaurant that served the best igname pilé I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. Igname pilé is pounded yam, usually served with a peanut sauce, and wagashi, an incredible local variant of cheese. It’s by far my favorite Beninese dish, so it was a real treat to eat such a soft pilé with a sauce that was just a little spicy and full of flavor. 

We spent the night at Cassi’s house, where we met her new puppies! Capers is a grown dog now and has four young pups of her own. It was so sweet to see Capers mothering her little balls of fur. We also spent time talking with Cassi’s neighbors, who love her and her dog a lot. It was so nice to catch up with one of my closest Collines friends, talking late into the night, a pounding rain ringing off the tin roofs.

Day 3: Tchetti to Ottola

I had heard dreaded whispers about the road from Tchetti to Ottola for months. After a lunch of igname pilé, I took a deep breath while I got on the back of the motorbike. I didn’t find the ride to be that bad, honestly. There were rough portions, and it was a long ride, but thanks to the downpour from the night before, the sandy parts of the road were easily traversed.

I was too busy being aware of the quality of the road to take any pictures or videos, but I wish I had. We passed some stunning hills, and the entrance to Ottola spread out before me like a scene from El Dorado, the village perfectly framed by the curved hill behind it. Ottola is a predominantly muslim community, which isn’t the case for my own community, and I was excited to see all the mosques and hear the call to prayer. 

Henry has a gaggle of children living in his compound who love him dearly. They equally love messing with him and being loud, as children tend to do. Henry’s built really meaningful relationships with his neighbors, and everyone was thrilled to meet me. The kids helped us clean up Henry’s house, which had been a bit overtaken by dust and a single mouse. After clearing out the mouse with a lot of jumping and screaming (mostly on my part), Henry made me pancakes, and we enjoyed a night in.

Day 4: Ottola to Gouka

The road from Ottola to Gouka was literally the worst road and zem ride I’ve taken in my life. I knew this road was rough, but I was nonetheless astonished. My jaw tightened with every bump and grind, and my abdomen started getting sore from trying to hold myself in position behind my driver. For the first half, I was enjoying the novelty of what felt like an adventure, but it got old about 45 minutes in. About halfway, we crossed a dry riverbed that threw me back into my whitewater rafting days. Looking out at the ten-foot drop and ascent contained within about thirty feet, my adrenaline started pumping. I saw the other side, and my vision zoomed out, taking in the obstacle before us. My zem driver handled it expertly, though, easing us down and up the viable lines of the road. I’m just grateful that the river wasn’t full. I didn’t miss the rickety, wooden bridge, with a width of about four feet, that would have been our route if it were. No thanks.

After an eternity of small villages, muddy roads, and whispered prayers on my part, we made it to the goudron (the paved road) in Gouka. We arrived gratefully to Sami’s chateau, cooking a nice pasta for dinner and watching about eight hours of TV. It was really nice to return to Sami’s house. I hadn’t been since November.

Day 5: Gouka to Grand Popo

A terrible travel day. Gouka to Bohicon was fine enough. In Bohicon, we had to wait an hour to leave, and before we did, our driver loaded a cow on the roof of our car. My purple hard-shell suitcase was also on the roof, resting against the calf. It was hot, and the ride was slow. We were sardined in that second car, as well.

We had to briefly swing by my site to pick up a few things we wanted. We found another taxi to get us to Come in the south. That ride was a lot more comfortable. After that, we caught zemidjans and finally made it to Grand Popo. It’s always a relief to arrive at our favorite hotel in Grand Popo. Staring out at the ocean with the stars shining bright was an experience that reset me.

We came to Grand Popo to do a TEFL team retreat, all six teaching volunteers meeting up to enjoy ourselves before we head to our training in the Mono department next week. A weekend full of rainstorms, sand, pizza, late-night laughs, and reading on the last of my phone’s battery. It’s been a week of adventures, and I’m grateful for my friends willing to host me and show me around their lives.

With love,

Lena

The content of this blog post is mine alone and does not reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Benin Government.