The unfortunate case for countries with little to no geo-political relevance for the rest of the world is that their humanitarian crises do not receive much attention from the international community. Such is the case with Benin, which is undergoing a massive reconstruction effort following devastating mid-October floods that left 150,000 people homeless, and affected 680,000 people’s access to health-care, clean water, and food, according to UNICEF statistics. It also fueled a cholera outbreak, the breadth of which has yet to be tallied.
Humanitarian travelers can go to Benin-over the next few months to satisfy their philanthropic palates in a place in dire need for volunteers of every kind at the moment.
For those with the patience and desire to “rough it up” in the incredibly eclectic and recondite sliver of land-only twice the size of Sinai, located between Nigeria and Togo, Benin will not upset. Besides being one of the very few authentic voodoo centers left in the world, it is a melting pot of at least a dozen or so distinct African cultures.
Or you may be a pretentious traveler who gets your kicks out of going to places your friends can’t find on a map. Rest assured there will be ample opportunity to indulge your patronizing instincts once you return from your “pioneering trip.” Just keep your pocket Atlas on-hand for those glorious moments when you need to explain where you got that “funny looking hat” you are so nonchalantly wearing. It’s “like…so friggin’ exotic!”
Before coming to Benin you will be told: Be ready for the heat and humidity; take sunscreen; take your Malaria prophylaxis before going; get your WHO card confirming that you have all the vaccinations you need. Take this advice for someone who contracted Malaria because he was too gung-ho to be safe; follow all medical precautions before going to Benin.
Otherwise, try not to be over-prepared. To have the most fulfilling West African experience, you’re best served having skeletal preparations and being open to whatever comes your way. Just being there is the biggest draw for a traveler, and what I feel most important to convey. Hence the facetious introduction. However, to admittedly add some credence to this article, it is best I follow it up with advice on how to prepare for a fruitful trip.
Getting There
To be allowed in, you will need visas (entry and stay), vaccinations, and a point of contact or base in Cotonou, the main city. Unfortunately for Egyptians, there’s no Beninois embassy here, so you will have to surrender your passport at the airport and pick it up at immigration services two days later. Afriqiyah and Royal Air Maroc are the two most convenient airlines to take from Egypt. The airport feels more like a large bus station. It’s small, but has all the necessary offices to get you on the right track, currency-exchange, rental cars, and hotel bookings. Unfortunately most of the flights coming from outside Africa arrive very late at night, when most of these offices are closed.
It’s therefore beneficial to have most of that organized before coming. USD and Euros can be switched to Franc cfa, the local currency, at around 450 and 650 francs respectively. The road from the airport to inner-city Cotonou is a curious one as you will be surrounded right and left by nice villas, and clean streets. This is the only truly lush neighborhood in Benin, Haie Vive. Do not expect to find many places such as this in Benin, a country featured in the bottom 10th percentile of GDP per capita global rankings. Once out of Haie Vive, Benin begins to slowly reveal itself with open sewage, sprawling Soweto-style tin-roof residential zones, and illegal gas stations openly selling petrol in 1 litre Pastis bottles. This image will later be enforced when you begin to encounter the lack of paved roads, hot water, and very frequent blackouts.
Cotonou, for all its infrastructural deficiencies, has an undeniable charm that begins with the its overly friendly population and bustling nature. Ride the zemijans (motorcycle taxis), go to Marché Dantokpa, Benin’s largest and busiest market, and ease your way into eating local food–mostly a patte (corn dough) and fish. As you move more inland in Benin, you will sometimes have no choice but to eat local food.
In Dantokpa you can find anything and everything Benin has to offer. It would also be a good way to find “the Nigerians” who will exchange dollars and Euros at a much better rate than the banks. In Cotonou, you can trudge along with English or Arabic if you intend to befriend some of the many Lebanese ex-pats there, but make sure outside of Cotonou you have at least a low-level French speaker on board.
If you’re in the mood for buying generic African souvenirs, you will not want to miss the Centre de Promotion Artisanal, where merchants proudly display the works of craftsmen from other West African regions. Every once in a while you will meet one who actually makes the products he sells. That was the original purpose of the center. Like most things in Benin, bargaining will most likely bring the price down at least 50 percent.
Every white person is generally considered to be rich, and every non-African person is white. If you are traveling on a budget you will have to enforce that budget. You will most likely be confronted with the phrase, “but you are white, you have money.” Although don’t forget that you are in a country where the GDP per capita income is around $1,000 dollars per year, so if you can afford, try not to always be too frugal. Excessive bargaining can take the fun out of your trip.
Yovo:
One thing most foreigners who take strolls through Benin will notice is that everyone calls them Yovo. Yovo means white man in Fon, the language used in most of the southern area of Benin. Each ethnic group has its language that is still very alive and spoken, although French is the official language here. Some of the main ethnic groups are the Fon, Yoruba, Mina, Dendi, Bariba, Somba, Nago, and Fulani. There is about a dozen language groups in Benin, each with its own homogenous label for “white man.”
Yovo (or its equivalent in other languages) will usually be followed with a song that follows this general format:
Yovo Yovo, Bonsoir, Ca va bien? Merci!
This is a throwback from colonial days when the locals were told to greet their colonizers as such and perhaps get some money from them in the process. It gets old, but it’s harmless.
Depending on your budget you can spend anywhere between 6,000 and 100,000 fcfa ($12-$200 US) on hotel rooms, all very inhabitable, the least of which has a fan and clean bedding. Though there is a Sheraton (Benin Marina) and a Novotel. Hotel du Lac is widely seen as the most hospitable, comfortable, and cheapest of the high-end hotels.
While Cotonou is Benin's economic and metropolitan center, Porto Novo is the country's capital. But there are many more worthwhile places to visit in the condensed south before Porto Novo.
TBC
