Benin
The King and I Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Thursday, 22 December 2011
King of Pobe, Benin

This is a picture of one of my fondest moments in Benin. I'm standing next to the King of Pobé, and as you can see from the smile, I'm happy. Benin retains extensive royalty, and at most public meetings of importance you can expect a king or two to be present. They are treated with extreme deference and legitimate respect. "But what role," I thought, "can they possibly play in a nation also having a president, a National Assembly, regional representatives, and a dozen ministries? I found out, in Pobé.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 December 2011 )
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Porto Novo, the Almost Capital Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Porto Novo MosqueThe Portuguese sailed past the port entrance at Porto Novo in 1473 in their progressive journeys along the African shore searching for a sea route to India. And 633 years after the Portuguese first landed, I passed through for a look at its old architecture, much of which has been inspired by the New World and transported by freed slaves returning from Brazil.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 16 September 2010 )
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Views of Benin and Cotonou Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Tuesday, 04 May 2010

Behold, this is Cotonou in six images.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 24 December 2011 )
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Pas Loin de la Barre Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Thursday, 11 March 2010
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The bar, the shifting bar: Sleeping menace, slumbering hippo. A cat beneath the carpet, slinking eastwards, never in the same place twice. Now the waves are breaking in deeper water, but as soon as you paddle out they're behind you; turn to chase them and there's a monster rearing on your tail. The tide drops and the swell builds, now lumpy and gentle, now peaking with enough force to lift you off your board. The wind picks up, scattering the water's skin in a confusion of spray and chop. The bright sun makes a beeline for the zenith, penetrating the sea, now turquoise, the foam blown white and bright.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 11 March 2010 )
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Lac Aheme and Possotome Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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The sun fell behind the Possotomè hills as it does in the tropics: quickly. The shadows stretched over the lake, and we dined on lobster and grilled flatfish over rice. The hotel's restaurant stood on stilts over the lake surface, and the water lapped gently beneath us as the lights reflected over the water.

I retired to the extreme edge of the dock with a whiskey and my journal, where I saw something I hadn't seen in ages: stars. We see some stars in Cotonou, but the lights of the capital preclude much of a show. Here in the countryside, there were few lights to speak of, and the sky was ablaze in a moonless night. Orion reclined over the lake's eastern shore, and Mars and Sirius glowed like embers beneath his shoulder. In the distance we heard the drums of a celebration, or a Vaudoun rite.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 January 2010 )
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Live from the Mouth of the River of Death: Life in Cotonou, Benin Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Thursday, 26 November 2009
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It's hard not to evoke Cotonou's name in the local language, Fon, because the expression "River of Death" turns heads. But in Benin, West Africa, the past and the present are the same, and the future and the present are indistinguishable. So it is that, irregardless of what Cotonou is today, it will forever retain the soul of an African slaving hub at the mouth of a river that carried an unfortunate cargo down to the waiting slave ships. And for the moment, Cotonou is my home, and this message is coming to you live from the River.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 31 March 2010 )
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Colony's End in Gran Popo Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Saturday, 15 August 2009

colonial architectureIn August 2009, Benin celebrated its 49th year of independence. For an American whose country was last the colony of another nation 233 years ago, that's pretty impressive. It's a sobering trip to walk east from Gran Popo along the shores of the Mono River through what remains of that village's now ancient, colonial architecture. Blame economics, neglect, differing priorities, or the simple avarice of the Atlantic coast's shifting coastline. But the little that remains of France's colonial influence in Gran Popo is not far from oblivion. That makes it an inspiring destination.

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The Mono River Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Sunday, 09 August 2009
fisherman mono riverThe elephant ear of Africa stretched endlessly to our north through deserts and rubble. A young Fon by the name of Mathieu was at the tiller of our small outboard; he was an entrepreneur of the sort Africa's economic future desperately depends, and had proposed the trip to us with a hand lettered brochure on which he had painstakingly illustrated the boat trip's highlights. The Mono, sleek with the ripples of the morning's southwesterly wind, slipped beneath us to the hum of the outboard and the whisper of the morning breeze.

As our low craft slipped through wooded islets it was hard not to appreciate the tenacity of the river's march towards the rumpled Atlantic. The river's course widened appreciably in our descent: low villages of concrete and adobe huts watched us from the river's edge, children splashed each other in the warm water, and men strained to push their wooden craft in, laden with nets...

Last Updated ( Saturday, 15 August 2009 )
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The Pines of Cotonou Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Monday, 27 July 2009
Cotonou with Pines, 1943

It's easy to be nostalgic about the past, overcome by a false affection for the simplicity and cleanliness. But the following is undeniable: a century ago, Cotonou was significantly better shaded. The picture below is an image of Cotonou taken in the 1940s when Benin was still known as Dahomey, and Dahomey was still a French possession. It would remain so for another 20 years. It was still, by any stretch of the imagination, little more than a biggish village, with a sandy main street lined with small shops, a couple of well organized neighborhoods, and the outlet of the Nokoué river. Commerce centered around the wooden pier that jutted out beyond the breakers into the Atlantic, and hosted all manner of steam ships calling from Europe ...

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 28 July 2009 )
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Home By the Sea: the Paillote Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Paillote

If I had to point to my one favorite place in all of Benin, I'd draw your attention to a place that doesn't show up on any maps, isn't mentioned in any travel guide, and a decade from now probably won't even still exist: our paillote at the edge of the Atlantic. Unassuming, uncomplicated, and thoroughly authentic, the paillote has been a place of refuge and of reflection since approximately our arrival in 2006.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 16 September 2010 )
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In the Bones of the Kingdom: Abomey Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Abomey entrance

Abomey’s reputation is larger than life, where you can still catch a glimpse of the throne set on human skulls, or the palace walls painted red with human blood. But in the kingdom whose kings descended from the son of a princess who slept with a panther, what impressed me most was left unspoken.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 13 April 2008 )
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