Porto Novo

Like many countries, Bénin has an official capital, Porto Novo, where not very much happens, and then it has the real capital, Cotonou, where everything important, such as businesses, embassies, and the airport, are located.

My roommates and I visited Porto Novo on Saturday with the intention of seeing three things- the Da Silva Museum of Afro-Brazilian culture, the park with monkeys in it, and a mosque that our Lonely Planet guidebook claimed to be “the most colorful mosque in West Africa”. We also decided we were going to walk everywhere since our agenda wasn't packed and we wanted to see as much of the city as possible.

We left our house and walked a few blocks to the “international road”, which starts in Lagos, Nigeria, crosses through Bénin and Togo and terminates in Accra, Ghana. We started walking along this road and as we walked by a few people sitting on an unmarked bench they asked us, “Cotonou?” We nodded in agreement, and they greeted us and motioned for us to wait with them. A few minutes later a van pulled up, the three of us were herded into the back row, followed by another person, and the four of us shared three seats, as is custom. The rest of the van gradually filled up and we were on our way with 11 people in the 8 person van. Fifteen minutes outside of Ouidah, one passenger was dropped off, and there were two people waiting on the side of the road to take his place. Since the van was “full” the apprentice (the teenage boy who collects everyone's fares, runs errands for the driver, and is in training under the driver to one day become a driver himself) gave up his seat and took his new place in the back with the luggage. We made a few more stops like this along the way, and eventually got to the station in Cotonou where we took similar transportation to Porto Novo.

Our first destination was the Da Silva Museum, since we actually knew the name of it. We took a tour, took a few pictures, and then headed off to find lunch.

(Two of my roommates and me- left: Natalie, center: me, right- Makeda)

Down the street we found a place with tables and chairs, and a few women sitting next to some cooking pots. When we asked what there was to eat the response was, “There's rice, there's pâte (paste made from ground up corn and manioc), there's sauce with fish, and there's sauce with sheep”. Then lids were lifted revealing that the rice was actually gone (which they already were aware of, so I don't know why they told us there was rice in the first place, but I've decided to stop trying to solve that mystery), so we settled for pâte and sauce with fish. After lunch we asked the cooks for directions to the mosque with lots of colors, and got our first taste of the confusion that we would be dealing with the rest of the day. We got only blank looks, since there are many mosques in Porto Novo, and the idea of one of them being known for its display of color didn't register with anyone, but as we explained it more they finally understood what we were talking about (or at least gave the impression that they did), and their first response was that we should take zems (scooter taxis) because it's a long ways away. After we explained that we wanted to walk there so we could see the city, they finally gave us directions.

It wasn't long before we were lost, and had to ask for directions again. Same procedure. Blank looks at first, and after a lot more explaining on our part, we were told we should take zems, but after we explained we wanted to see the city, directions were willingly provided. We also asked about the park with the monkeys, and since that seemed closer, we headed over there first. We arrived just as it began raining, and as we took cover under their gazebo were informed that since the monkeys were free to roam wherever they wanted, they had sought protection from the rain somewhere out of site, and no one knew when they would be returning and visible. So when the rain let up, we left the park a little disappointed, but with new directions to the most colorful mosque in West Africa, after, of course, going through the direction-asking procedure we were getting really accustomed to by now.

10 minutes later we were lost again. We asked a man guarding a government building, and went through the same directions-asking procedure, and then went on our way. After getting distracted by a wedding, a shop selling fabric, and a few other fun sites, we ended up in the middle of a market, where we tried getting directions again. Same procedure. After we went through the directions-asking process with three more groups of people we finally gave up on our goal of walking, since we were running out of daylight and our legs were tired. We found a few zems, which is what everyone had been telling us to do all day long, and after going through the same directions-asking procedure, they gave the impression of knowing where they were going, and we were on our way.

But they didn't really know where they were going, and we showed up not at the most colorful mosque in West Africa, but at the headquarters for Islamic culture. Two of the men who were in charge of the headquarters were standing outside, and after asking them for directions to the mosque, we went through the same procedure, which surprised us a little considering that these men were involved with the Islamic culture of Porto Novo. They gave the zem drivers directions to the biggest mosque in Porto Novo, which they proudly described as having 4 minarets, and which we were hoping was the same as the most colorful mosque in West Africa.

It was not. While it was an impressive structure, and very nicely painted, it was in fact only two colors, and was clearly not a building that could be described as the most colorful mosque in West Africa. We decided that the Lonely Planet guidebook must have deemed the site far more significant than everyone in Porto Novo did.

(The biggest mosque in Porto Novo, which is not the most colorful mosque in West Africa)

 But it was starting to get dark by this point, so we finally gave up completely on our mosque quest and decided to get home. How does one get from Porto Novo back to Ouidah? You get back to the international road, which passes through Porto Novo, and wait on the side of it until a van going to Cotonou drives by. Once you get to Cotonou, you walk a quarter of a mile down a crowded street until you reach a place with a gas station and a bunch of vans, and try to find a van that's going to Ouidah.

I've also included a couple pictures from church, since I finally remember to bring my camera this week. After much insisting, I convinced the woman in charge of the seating to let me sit in the back, so my camera and I wouldn't be too distracting. Here's the view from the back row: