An Excursion to Ganvié and Ouidah:

Before anything, let me present myself: my name is Lara Courcelle and I am one of the very few Europeans who have had the opportunity to visit Benin. During my stay in June 2005, I had the great pleasure of going on a one day excursion on the outskirts of Cotonou (the economic capital of the country).

We left the Bénin Marina Hotel early morning and equipped with plenty of fresh bottles of water and sandwiches, we made our way to the minibus. First stop: Village Ganvié, 18 kilometres from Cotonou. One of the most original villages in the area, it is known for its houses built on piles. Indeed the whole village was constructed on a lake so pirogues are essential to make your way around. While on the 20 minutes boat ride to arrive at the village, our group couldn't take their eyes off young children (probably around five years old) paddling and fishing like professionals. Meanwhile our guide was explaining us how, to escape the King's men who were sent to capture them and turn them into slaves, they fled their home. After running for a long period of time, they arrived at a lake when they realised that the King's men had stopped: as a matter of fact, due to their religious beliefs, they couldn't get near the water so the men realising they were safe, installed themselves on that lake.




As the photos show, the place gives a strange feeling because if its great contrast between the greyness of the landscape and the happiness of its twenty thousand inhabitants. People were dancing to us from their boats, the floating market was filled with colourful fruits and vegetables and more strangely, we discovered Santa Claus hats are the fashionable accessory to have on you!

After the usual stops in different souvenir shops, we stopped "Chez M", a very new and cosy little hotel where rooms are rented for 5000 CFA (7.5 euros) a night. This is not only very cheap but definitely worth it! You can have a taste of local food at the little restaurant and then enjoy a calm night reading a book on the balcony of your bedroom while boats pass your window, heading for the "lovers alley" (the romantic meeting place for lovers).

Back on land, it was time for us to head towards Ouidah for a little history. We first went to the Ouidah history museum (built in a Portuguese colonial house) where we found out a lot we did not expect. Indeed not many people know that not only Ouidah is where voodoo originated from but so was slavery. In fact French, Dutch and Portuguese used to go there to buy their slaves. The museum was very much worth visiting as we learnt a lot from our guide as well was from explanatory pictures but we sadly realised that there wasn't much to see since most original pieces have been taken to the museum in Lisbon.

We continued our tour with the square where the slavery market used to be held and walked around the village which is still full of remembrance from the suffering of that time. In fact, we were very surprised to see how much time seems to have stopped since then. Of course there are no more slaves and Ouidah has been deserted since then but other than that, it is still as it was. We also followed the "slaves route" with the Tree of Forgetfulness, the Gate of No Return and other memorials that were part of slaves' rituals before they left their country for the American continent.



On our way back our tour guide had the great (or not) idea to stop by the Temple of Pythons. The reason for that is that royal pythons are worshiped in Benin and more precisely in Ouidah. If anyone reading me is planning to come visit Benin, it is really worth it but be aware! Royal pythons, although not dangerous, are sacred so they are more than welcome in Beninese households where they are fed when the doors of the temple are opened at night. The temple is small but impressive: in a twelve square meters room, u will find 50 adult (and therefore big) royal pythons! Even better, for those of you who are brave enough like my friend, u may put them around your neck, and for those who are less brave (like me!) you may just content yourself of stroking them.

To tell you the truth, my heart was still pounding from my heroic act with the pythons so when our guide told us it was time to head back to the hotel, I was more relieved than anything to go back to "safe land"! However, standing back at my experience, I can tell you that if I had the occasion to redo it, I would straight away!