Distance: 5km
Country: Benin
Song of the Day: Eminence Front - The Who
I was supposed to leave early today, but that never happened. Instead I slept in. I did wake up when the sun rose, but it was raining pretty hard. I know that would have made a great (cool) day to ride in, I just didn't feel like it.
Actually I really wanted to see some of the cultural sites in the area. This area is
where the capitol of the Dahomey empire was. Jeff works at an archaeological site for that empire, so after a bit of breakfast the two of us headed over there.The site was full of these holes the Dahomey people had dug into the ground. They were made for the defense of the empire about 300 years ago. When the Oyo (Nigerians) would attack, the Dahomey could hide in the holes and reappear behind their enemies. Each hole consists of a vertical shaft about three feet wide down to a main room. In the main room are small openings to other lower rooms. Since these holes were dug into the bush it is nearly impossible to find them. Quite a defense for the people in the area.
After that we headed back to Jeff's place. Two other volunteers, Ivy and Satin, were already there. The five of us, including Eric, went out to grab a drink in the afternoon. It was fun to sit around with them, but much of the conversation centered on gossip. I could understand Ravi's comments about the Peach Corps being and insular community. Eventually Ivy had to leave to head back to site, but shortly after Liz showed up.
I don't know who came up with the idea to head out for some chuke. I guess this is a local millet beer. Traditionally this is served in half of a gourd, but for us it was served in a plastic cup made to look like half a gourd. It was actually pretty good. It tasted sweet almost like cider. After that we headed over for dinner and continued the conversation. Finally everyone headed back to Jeff's house to crash.
-Dravis
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