Caught a shared taxi from Ouidah to the outskirts of Cotonou and had to wait an hour and a half for our minibus to fill up. The driver put us in the front seat and as we filled there were three of us sitting next to the driver. The minibus seemed quite new so was in very good condition with thinly padded bench seats in the back. The road to Abomey was sealed but in poor conditions with many potholes. There were a lot of burnt out and jack-knifed trucks on the road side. It seems that drivers on both sides of the road race to get around potholes on their side of the road and when they misjudge there is a head on crash. Of course when the trucks with their long loads do it, their loads can shift and they go over. Sometimes we have seen trucks with their cabs at strange angles coming towards us but when you look at their tryes they are going parallel to the road, quite an unnerving sight. Nine kilometres from Abomey, we pulled into a small lane to drop passengers off at the Bohican market, but the driver was driving too fast. He tried to squeeze between a truck unloading maize, and a stall on the side of the lane but smashed the wing mirror. The mirror bent back and smashed the quarter light window and the whole lot ended up in John's lap. He was covered from head to toe in shards of glass and silver from the mirror. He had a few scratches on his arms and a larger one on his calf. All the local passengers got off and caught motorbikes to their next destinations. The driver and his conductor were of course blaming the truck driver for not leaving him enough room. We had paid to go all the way to Abomey and John nagged the driver to take us on. The conductor organised some motorbikes and wanted us to go on with them as we were the only passengers left and they didn't want to bother to take us. John perservered and they took us the nine kilometres to Abomey. All this was done in broken French! From the Abomey bus station we had to take a motorbike to our guest house. The guest house was a strange place. It covered a large area and had lots of buildings. There were circular covered eating areas under the teak trees and long blocks of rooms where there were several local families. There were dogs lying around the outside charcoal fire pit, an antelope in a pen, and a monkey in a cage and the staff were lounging around in different places asleep. Our room was big but quite dark as they have small windows that have wooden louvres and mesh but no glass. We had a mosquito net and a fan and were able to do laundry in the huge tiled bathroom. The trees in the garden were covered with wooden carvings and there were all kinds of carvings of fetishes with large penises under the trees. Abomey is famous as the capital of the fierce Dahomey Kingdom, who scared the heck out of the colonial powers for centuries. When the French built the rail they deliberately planned it around Abomey to avoid the kings.
The last Dahomey king, Behanzin We visited the History Museum which is in a part of the king's palaces that were not destroyed by fire by King Behanzin. Each new king built his own palace so we were able to see a couple in the UNESCO site. They were a pretty bloody lot and we saw a throne that a king used where the legs sit on the skulls of four of his enemies. A lot of the history of the time is recorded in large applique hangings in the museum. Unfortunately, we were not able to take any photos of anything. The guide, we had included with our ticket, could only speak 'museum' English. She could point at things and say throne, buffalo etc. She could not answer any questions or make a complete sentence in English.
A bas relief of a voodoo juju man
A shrine of pots, fish bones, and animals' skulls covered with oil We walked about the town reading some of the signs telling about the history and its kings. We found a place to eat near our guest house where there were a few choices of dishes. While here we met Frederik from Belgium. He was unwell at the time and after a visit to a clinic was told he had malaria even though they didn't test his blood. He must have had typical symptoms. We spent a bit of time with him listening to his story about a girl he met in Mali and how he sent her money every month through Western Union money transfer company. He supported her for four years at unversity. He has at last come to the conclusion that her and her family were using him for the money. He was the only English speaker we met in Abomey although we saw about a dozen westerners.
It is wonderful to see the locals wearing brightly coloured and patterned clothing. Sometimes a mum will be wearing the same amterial as her daughter or a dad the same as his son. Men even enjoy wearing lacy outfits (border anglais I think it is called). We have seen this dress in Ghana, Togo, and here in Benin.
The last Dahomey king, Behanzin We visited the History Museum which is in a part of the king's palaces that were not destroyed by fire by King Behanzin. Each new king built his own palace so we were able to see a couple in the UNESCO site. They were a pretty bloody lot and we saw a throne that a king used where the legs sit on the skulls of four of his enemies. A lot of the history of the time is recorded in large applique hangings in the museum. Unfortunately, we were not able to take any photos of anything. The guide, we had included with our ticket, could only speak 'museum' English. She could point at things and say throne, buffalo etc. She could not answer any questions or make a complete sentence in English. 
A bas relief of a voodoo juju man 
A shrine of pots, fish bones, and animals' skulls covered with oil We walked about the town reading some of the signs telling about the history and its kings. We found a place to eat near our guest house where there were a few choices of dishes. While here we met Frederik from Belgium. He was unwell at the time and after a visit to a clinic was told he had malaria even though they didn't test his blood. He must have had typical symptoms. We spent a bit of time with him listening to his story about a girl he met in Mali and how he sent her money every month through Western Union money transfer company. He supported her for four years at unversity. He has at last come to the conclusion that her and her family were using him for the money. He was the only English speaker we met in Abomey although we saw about a dozen westerners. 
It is wonderful to see the locals wearing brightly coloured and patterned clothing. Sometimes a mum will be wearing the same amterial as her daughter or a dad the same as his son. Men even enjoy wearing lacy outfits (border anglais I think it is called). We have seen this dress in Ghana, Togo, and here in Benin.
