Whatshot
Adventures with Kingsley Holgate
Adventures with Kingsley Holgate
Date: 2017-03-10
Bushnote - 'Bienvenue Benin' - Welcome To Benin!
As is the case in so many African countries, one can, for a small gratuity, hire a border tout - or agent as they prefer to be called - to smooth the way. John Amedegnato is an expert and even has a badge to prove it. Dressed in a decorated velvet jacket and red fez and twirling a cane, he eases us through the snarl of bureaucratic paperwork and rubber stamps - out of Togo and into the RÈpublique du BÈnin. John's quite amazed that travellers from Afrique du Sud have come so far to attend the Voodoo Festival in Quidah.
Known as Dahomey during the colonial period, Benin is sandwiched between Togo and the Nigerian giant and remains one of the Gulf of Guinea's least-known nations. And it's the capital of Voodoo: we're hugely excited to be adding another great traditional African ceremony to the Living Traditions Journeys of Discovery with Land Rover, to the many we've already researched across Africa.
And so, as we wait for the boom to be raised, I scribble this bushnote in the expedition's journal. A smartly dressed Benin police officer waves us forwardup goes the boom we're through. Quidah here we come!