Despite our brief stay in Benin, we managed to squeeze in a visit to Ouidah and the Ganvie stilt village.
In Ouidah, we parked outside the Temple des Pythons hence it was natural to start there. I translated from French to English for our group.
Voodoo is still prevalent here, as can be seen by the 600 year old sacred tree and purification stone on which they make sacrifices every five days. 41 virgins used to put water and leaves into a bowl here and bless it, but now we were told 41 virgins are hard to come by, so they opt for 41 menopausal women instead!
As you’d expect from the name, there was also a python temple.
Interestingly, the pythons are let out every night to forage for food – mostly rats – and then either make their way back to the temple in the morning or get brought back by locals whose houses they’ve slithered into. Our guide went in and brought out two snakes and casually draped them around our necks. I was a little nervous, particularly when one snake’s head began to wander around my chest and another around the nape of my neck!
Josh (or Joshy as he shall be called from now on) managed to somewhat overcome his fear of snakes a little more than in Marrakech.
Fears overcome, we then walked down the Route des Esclaves (slaves walk) with interesting sculptures along the way. One example being this chameleon, representing a man whose road to becoming king was so long it was compared to a chameleon slowly changing colour.
It was a long, hot 4km walk down a dirt road and it was harsh imagining what the slaves went through before, during and after their time here. At the end of the walk, you reach the ocean and the infamous Porte du Non-Retour (Point of No Return).
Our boat trip to Ganvie stilt village was a little more light-hearted, with colourful locals rowing past in their pirogues and fishermen casting their nets.
Unfortunately it was hard to get many photos as the locals were so opposed to having their picture taken.
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