Last weekend was the only weekend I got to
spend in Benin with Mom before she had to leave on Friday so we made the most
of it! My mom’s cousin Tara flew in from Nigeria where she is stationed and the
three of us went to visit Ganvie (pronounced G-ahh-n-vee-ay), also known as the
stilt village, also known as the Venice of Africa. It’s a village out on the
water where all the buildings are legitimately up on stilts. It was originally
established by West Africans who were trying to escape the slave ships so they
fled into the mangrove forests which are out on the water and they ended up building
platforms and houses and staying out there. Now Ganvie has a population of
45,000 people! We got in our canoe with our guide and it took us about twenty
minutes in a canoe with a motor attached to the back to actually reach Ganvie.
We passed so many people in little fishing boats or sailboats (with sails made
from all sorts of things) on our way.
The people of Ganvie fish for a living
and every child is required to learn to swim by age 3 or 4. Some of the
citizens take the fish to the mainland, sell them in order to get fruits and
vegetables, and then bring the fruits and veggies back to sell in the markets
in Ganvie. The market was my favorite thing to see because its just a wide open
space of water where no stilt houses have been built and people’s “shops” are
in their boats, which are piled high with fruits and veggies. People just row
their canoes over to the “shop” and buy what they need and row back to their
stilt hut! It was so uniquely beautiful!
The other place we went that day was the
slave route and the Door of No Return. The slave route was the road that the captured
slaves would walk to get to the beach where the slave ship was waiting for
them. At the beach there’s a memorial called the Door of No Return which
commemorates that last bit of African land that most of those African people
would ever touch.
Also on that beach, about a hundred yards away from the Door
of No Return is another memorial which commemorates Christianity coming to
Benin, that I had never heard of, but was so excited to find!
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| In case you don't know what Benin looks like, this is the silhouette of Benin with the cross behind it...and tiny me in front! |
Mom spent three days this past week working
security at the patient screening! She lands in about an hour so sometime after
that perhaps we can get her to be a guest blogger so she can tell you all a
little bit about what the screening process is like! The hospital is getting
cleaned and equipped and is getting ready for all those patients from the screenings
that will soon be onboard! Very exciting!
*Special note from the day Mom left: "Today Mommy walked down our gangway to go home. I wouldn't trade her time here on the sail with me for anything! No one is as friendly as she is or as good at conversing! She has left me in the capable hands of a family here onboard, many of whom I know because she walks up to strangers and makes them friends...and i got to do it with her. Most people walk into the dining hall with their meal and look for someone they know to sit with, but my mom purposely looks for someone she doesn't know so she can get to know them! It comes naturally to her and while it kinda scares me to do that, I'll try to carry on with that without her. Thanks for coming and sailing with me Mommy! Thanks for making what seems crazy a reality, and for being the bravest and most adventurous Mom ever! I promise to do my best to spend one meal a day eating with someone I don't know! I love you!
*Specual note #2 from the day mom left: Mom gave so many people hugs this morning and then at the airport she gave big hugs to the others with us...and then she started walking through the gate to the airport. I said, "Uh, Mom! Don't I get a hug?" And she responded, "oh! Of course! I wasn't really thinking and I guess I just thought you were coming with me!"
