Benin, again, was a new country for us. Today we docked in Cotonou. Cotonou is the largest city and seat of government of Benin. The population here is over 2 million.
The country has a population of about 15 million and the average age is 18. Benin covers an area of 112,622 km 2 (43,484 sq mi). Apparently the unemployment rate is low but many people participate in the informal economy.
Cotonou is the seat of government of the Republic of Benin, where most of the government buildings are situated, government departments operate and foreign embassies are located, but the official capital, where the national legislature sits, is the smaller city of Porto-Novo.
As we stepped off the ship we didn’t enjoy the smell. Later we learned that the cargo ships in the harbour were discharging into the water. Not a positive sign.
But immediately after we left the harbour we were quite pleasantly surprised.
First, due to the government buildings here there are many clean modern structures. The guide said the country is under construction with the goal to increase tourism. We noted that walls were being built along the street side of older buildings to obscure them but there were also many modern buildings in existence and many under construction.
The road was great with clean sidewalks and beautiful landscaping. There is a very long wall wrapping the port with beautiful, well-maintained murals. The massive urban art project was created during the Effet Graff Festival to celebrate Benin's cultural rebirth and rich history. It is Africa's longest graffiti wall, spanning over 940 meters
Our first stop with the Amazon Monument. The statue honors Dahomey Amazons. The Dahomey Amazons were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey (in today's Benin, West Africa) that existed from the 17th century until the late 19th century. They were the only female army in modern history. They were named Amazons by Western Europeans who encountered them, due to the story of the female warriors of Amazons in Greek mythology. They have been depicted several times in books and movies, most recently in the movie The Woman King in 2022 with Viola Davis.
The statue is a metal structure covered in bronze, it is 30m high and weighs 150 tons. It is the second tallest statue in Africa and was placed in the square in 2022. The goal of the project was to raise the visibility of Benin but also to acknowledge the strong role women play in the country.
While here our guide talked very proudly of the president and the democratic process of government here. In fact, the new president was to be sworn in the building to our immediate right a few days later.
We then drove by the Monument of Bio Guera and the airport. We also drove past a long stretch of pristine sandy beaches with trees planted to reduce erosion. We saw many nice villas with sea views. It very much felt like a country moving in the right direction.
Then we turned away from the water and the roads deteriorated and the living conditions were not as pleasant yet seemed “ok”.
We then drove to our main stop which was Ganvie Village on Stilts.
Ganvie is a lake village lying in Lake Nokouéw with a population of around 45,000 people, making it the largest lake village in Africa.
The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were taking people hostage to sell them to European enslavers. Making the shallow waters and islands of Lake Nokoue a haven, the Ganvie villagers are often referred to as "water men" and the area itself is often called the "Venice of Africa."
Originally based on farming, the village's main industries other than tourism are now fishing and fish farming. The only means of transportation to and from the village is through wooden boats. Interesting given their history of powerful women warriors, only the men fish and only the women sell the fish.
The village was added to the UNESCO Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.
As soon as we disembarked the bus the excitement began. This is the place the villagers arrive into town so there was a lot of hubbub and boat traffic in both directions. The docks were teaming with people and products destined for the village.
We took a motorized wooden boat (probably held 20 people) for the 20+ minute ride out to the main village. The ride was full of sites- with fishing trap farms and people fishing with large nets that they would throw out rodeo style and pull it back in (usually without success as we watched). I enjoyed watching the boats coming in the other direction with all sorts of people, most dressed in their beautiful, colorful traditional African garb.
We noted that many of the boats were manually propelled, often by young boys, and commented on how young people in the US won’t get off their electronics let along independently paddle a boat for transportation.
We continued motoring through the village where we saw restaurants, a popcorn vending hut, numerous boats filled with goods to be purchased (eg., a floating Walmart) and more. Most of the structures were wooden with tin roofs. The outhouses have no plumbing so everything ends up back into the lake to feed the fish.
We stopped at a “hotel”. But boy would it be a challenge to stay there with the heat and humidity in the very basic quarters. Super interesting to see but we think we will avoid the overnight experience.
I took some amazing photos of the people here and we thought the overall experience was fascinating.