I film you, you film me

Day 13 - Ouidah-Abomey-Dassa

We'd had a couple of goes over the last couple of days to see the Gate of No Return in Ouidah but as it was right next to the main stage of the music festival we hadn't been able to get even close. This morning however all the festival infrastructure was being dismantled so we were able to reach it. We had the area pretty much to ourselves, and our guide explained to us the horrific situation and conditions of the slaves that passed along the slave road and out of Benin.

Heading north we drove to the small town of Houègbo to attend a service of the Celestial Church of Christ, a Beninese sect which mixes Christian and animist traditions in lively celebrations. As it was Sunday we arrived in the middle of a service and witnessed some very energetic singing and dancing. We were actively encouraged to join in, and we found the tables turned as we were filmed by the priest and many members of the congregation. It was a fun uplifting experience even though we didn't understand the sermon which was in French.

After lunch we visited the Historical Museum of Abomey which contained royal palaces of kings of the Dahomey kingdom, dating back to the 1800s. When each king died his palace was no longer used, the next king building a new palace nearby. Although the museum covers five acres, the entire palatial site covers 108 acres. The museum site was under renovation but we were still able to see the outside of two palaces.

At another spot in Abomey we met up with a number of other tour groups for a dancing ceremony dedicated to Sakpata, the god of smallpox. It seemed that this was put on just for the tourists. it didn't start until after we arrived, the audience was nearly all tourists, and some of the dancers looked a little tired and bored, though there were a few dancers that put on good performances.

We drove to Dassa-Zoume and finished the day at Hotel Jeco, which was pretty basic and had perhaps the hardest mattress and pillows we'd ever slept on. Fortunately the room had working aircon!