Crossing the Border from Togo to Benin
I left Lomé planning to head across the border from Togo to Benin. I wasn’t sure exactly how I would accomplish the transport, but as with everything else on this trip, it turned out to be far easier than I expected. I walked from my hotel (Hôtel Résidence Océane) down the Rue de la Gare until I reached the end (at big street with the beach on the other side). I crossed and turned left and before I had time to fully take in the cluster of people and parked cars, numerous people approached me asking if I needed a shared taxi. I did, and took my place in the front seat of a beat-up station wagon, waiting for it to fill up so we could go.
There are many reasons for traveling light. In this case, I was thankful I could fit my backpack between my feet in the front seat or I might have had to pay for a second place in the car, as the hatchback was filled with boxes and a motorcycle.
As I waited for other passengers to be secured, one of the guys outside helping to fill the car took his t-shirt off and put it on the windshield in front of me to block the sun which was hot and otherwise shining directly in my face. He didn’t make a big deal of it and didn’t ask me for anything, he just did it. Another example of the generosity and kindness of the people I encountered.
After about 20 minutes we had the people we needed and we were off. I forget the exact price, but it was trivial. Maybe about a dollar (cdn) for the hour – hour and half ride to the border. a few pics from the car window…
At the border we got out and went through the border on foot and I had to go through one check on the Togolese side and two on the Beninese side. It was not always clear where I was meant to go, but all throughout the process a woman (traveling with her baby), who had been in the car with me, waited for me to complete each step and then pointed to where I would go next.
I had gotten my visa for Benin on line. I showed the border guard my paper while I was seated at his outdoor desk. He didn’t seem too interested in it. He asked me some basic questions (address in Benin, length of stay, etc.) and stamped my passport. He gave the visa paper back to me. (***Very important: keep that paper. I nearly threw mine away, thinking I no longer needed it, but thankfully did not; I was required to show it again when leaving Benin.)
And I was in Benin.
On the other side of the border I hopped into another shared taxi and said I needed to go to Grand Popo. A short ride later I was dropped off at a fork in the road and the driver pointed to the cluster of motos nearby. I gave one of the moto drivers the name of my hotel (the Auberge de Grand Popo) and I hopped on the back and he drove me the short distance to my hotel.
And that is another reason for traveling light: the ability to hop on and off motorcycles, which are often the only means of transport.
Grand Popo, Benin
There isn’t much to Grand Popo. It is basically just a linear group of small hotels, eateries, and arty places along the beach. I decided it might be nice to spend one night along the sea in between cities. I was right.
The Auberge de Grand Popo was a wonderful oasis. Right along the ocean it had a small, main building with a welcoming outdoor restaurant and bar, a small pool, lots of places to sit and stare at the sea, and rooms both in a large, two-storey building and a few cabins. I stayed in the larger building. It was rustic, but comfortable. A fan, a bed, an ocean breeze. The water wasn’t running, but they gave me a big container of water for bathing.
I spent one night – a little less than 24 hours – there. It was very relaxing, though one night was enough. How much lying in hammocks, reading, and smoking cigars can one person take before becoming restless?
The next morning, after breakfast, I walked back to the main road, snapping a few pictures of the “town” of Grand Popo along the way.
At the main road, I held my hand out and within a couple of minutes a car pulled up, full of men listing to lively percussion music. I told them I wanted to go to Ouidah. I threw my bag in the trunk, squeezed in next to the three men in the backseat, and off we went to my next destination.
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