Dassa to Bohicon - Day 270

Date: May 15th, 2010
Distance: 76km
Country: Benin
Song of the Day: Rags to Rags - Eels

I got up quite late today. Then I proceeded to putz around getting breakfast. Still I seemed to eat everything and then the kitchen sink. So I had a lot of energy, but really it isn't a great idea to start riding when it is hot out.

The first 20km out of Dassa were amazing. It is in an area of rocky hills known as Collines. They are stunning to look at. A jumble of gray boulders studded with green trees. Most of them are a couple of hundred feet tall. Just amazing.

After that though the terrain flattened out and the wind picked up. I spent most of the afternoon on long slow ascents into a relentless wind. That heat would not let up either.

The people I pass are also getting more annoying. In the northern part of the country I was almost never asked for gifts. It was usually a pleasant bon soir, or the amusing bon sour. In the south, I get a lot of yovo. This is like tubab or aporto from other parts of west Africa. Still, it gets quite annoying. The kids also have little chants they do like "yovo yovo bon jour ca va bien merci" or "yovo yovo cadou". Kids are always asking for cadou. It is almost like it is a reflex but they don't actually understand what it means.

About 10 km outside of Bohicon I picked up my second wind. Actually, I think I am getting my energy back. The Cipro seems to be setting my GI track right. I never felt bad, so I didn't notice that my energy level was so low. Now it seems like I have the extra juice to really push myself. That helps a lot.

Once in Boichon I met up with another volunteer, Jeff, who was going to put me up for the night. Eric another volunteer was also staying there. So I had a great time chatting with them. I have gotten used to the fact that I spend at least the first hour or so explaining my trip. It was also fun to get their perspective on west Africa and Benin.

Eric was also telling me about publishing the Deadbeat again. I guess this is the newsletter put out by the volunteers here in Benin. It was started 20 years ago, but nobody had been running it for the last few years. Eric seems to be the senior editor putting it all together. He let me read some of it, and it was a lot of fun. I am not a PCV but I can commiserate with a lot of the stuff they have to put up with here.

-Dravis