Bassila to Bante - Day 268

Date: May 13th, 2010
Distance: 86km
Country: Benin
Song of the Day: Campus - Vampire Weekend

It was a slow morning even by my lazy standards. I didn't sleep well either. I had been having some intestinal issues during the night. I am not sure if it is the same problem I have been having or something new. I think it is time to call in the big guns. So I started taking Cipro.

Melissa was very kind and made up some egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. They were really good and gave me the energy to really get going. It was also fun to chat with Melissa over breakfast. I love meeting new people and sharing ideas. Melissa, thanks for letting me stay. I had a great time. Good luck with the cats and kittens.

Out on the road, nothing much has changed. It is still the rolling hills and headwinds. The countryside is quite pleasant looking. A vibrant green brought on by the recent rains. It isn't very dramatic though and seems to drag on through the day.

There was one strange incident in the morning. I stopped to buy my mid-morning mango in a little town. While I was haggling over the price I heard this loud explosion. I turned to see a man walking toward me with a shotgun. He popped open the breach and tossed the spent shell. All the while staring at me with a blank look on his face. As he got closer though he gave me a big smile and a bon jour, so everything worked out. It turns out the men of the village were having a meeting that, for some bizarre reason, called for them to intermittently fire off shotguns into the air.

Melissa did give me the phone nubmer for a volunteer, Ravi, down in the next big town. I got in touch with him in the late afternoon and he said he would put me up for the night. When I got to Bante it turns out there is a big rock north of town. Like 100 meters tall kind of big. Ravi lives right at the base of that.

I dropped my stuff off at his place and we headed into town for some dinner. I spent a lot of time talking about my trip. We also talked about life here in Africa and living in less remote places. I had a great time. When we got back to Ravi's place I let him copy stuff from my portable hard drive. That got us off into a big conversation about movies and literature. I don't even want to think about what time we actually went to bed. Then again, this wasn't the first and I am sure it won't be the last time I have ended up in a late night discussion with a new friend.

-Dravis