Ouidah follow-up

12 Aout 2007

So, yesterday’s trip to Ouidah was really so much more. We started the day not in Ouidah, but further North at another Songhai Center, one dedicated to agriculture. After being on the bus for a few hours, we headed to the administration office compound for a quick potty break and lunch. After that, we headed to the farm which was about 20 minutes outside of town. We got a tour of the farms which grew rice, corn and had a fish hatchery. We got to meet some of the people, mostly the kids. We took their picture and left some with them at the farm thanks to a Polaroid camera our teachers brought with them. After the farm, we gave a lady a lift to the next village along with her two baskets of tomatoes and then headed to Ouidah. On the way there we passed by the Togo border and learned that we were only 20 kilometers from the border crossing. We’ve now seen into both Togo and Nigeria during our travels.

At Ouidah, we started our ventures with a trip to the Sacred Temple of Pythons (across the street from the Catholic Church), which is pretty much what it sounds like: a temple full of pythons. It is an ancient Voodoo temple site. The buildings and trees there are sacred as well as the snakes which are allowed to roam free. The snakes leave whenever they want to feed themselves, and when someone finds one in town, they bring it back to the temple. I’m pretty sure I’d be going the other way. I did gather up some courage though and let them put a python around my neck. I’ve never seen so many pythons in one place! In the snake room, there had to be over 40 of them. One mass had so many curled together, that you couldn’t count the number. It was fun to see a little piece of the Voodoo faith. The temple followers go there to ask for help/aid for things they would like. One room was sort of a Voodoo version of a wishing well.

After the temple, we headed to the beach where there was a monument to the slave trade. Ouidah is the site in Benin where slaves were transported to the Americas or wherever else the slave traders sold them. The monument was very simple, but powerful in its simplicity. It consisted of a sand path that led to a raised cement platform. On the platform was a large archway through which you saw the ocean. It was carved with scenes in relief, and there were statues all around it, both metal and plaster. It was pretty amazing to see how much was conveyed through the art which was pretty sparse in its construct.

After checking out the monument, we headed across the sand to the beach. I went into the water with Sarah. It was so nice that it was tempting to go swim. I was close; I misjudged how high the tide was coming in and ended up wet to my mid-thigh instead of just my feet! I set off down the beach to see a little more and ended up being convinced to dance on the beach to some drum playing with a Beninian man named Coolio. It was so much fun. He taught me some African dance moves. I am continuing to try and embrace new opportunities as they present themselves. What’s the point of not trying new things and missing out because I’m a little nervous? I’ve had so many great adventures so far because I was willing to step out of my comfort zone! I hope that this is something I can continue doing at home instead of only while I am out of the country.

I made some great buys at the market on the beach getting a hippo carved piece and 2 paintings. It was fun to do more bartering, but also to watch my friends barter for what they wanted. Everyone is getting great at using all their language skills to communicate what they want. Again, I’m reminded that many of the merchants actually know quite a bit of English, whether they tell you or not.