Distance: 51km
Country: Benin
Song of the Day: Zero Chance - Soundgarden
I slept in today, which was amazing. After days of camping and getting up with the sun, it was nice to stay in bed. Actually, it was nice just to get up in a bed rather than a tent. I even thought about staying another day, but eventually figured I should just get to the next town. In any case I really didn't leave town until almost noon. Natitingou wasn't that far away though.
The terrain out of Tanguieti is quite spectacular. There are green hillsides with red
rock cliffs. There was a jagged scar in one of the cliffs with a little waterfall flowing from it. Plus the sky was dotted with these puffy white clouds. Just beautiful. Of course, the hills meant that I was going up them. I spent almost the first two hours working 
on some pretty steep ascents. The puffy clouds also meant little protection from the sun. Because of the late start it was getting into the heat of the day. So it was a hot steep struggle.Toward the top of the hills there is a tiny village, and I picked up a few young boys running along side me. I wasn't going very fast at this point. Just making the final push to the top. So they kept up for a couple hundred yards. As soon as I crested the hill, I said "Au revoir" and left them in my dust. I did half the distance of the first two hours in the next 20 minutes.
At the bottom of the hill I stopped for lunch. I had some rice with a spicy tomato sauce. For some reason it reminded me of enchilada sauce. (I miss mexican food.) It also had a local sponge like cheese in it. Strange, but quite tasty. There were a few professional looking people sitting at the table next to me. They were working on something, but I wasn't sure if it was a test for school or for a job. The one guy in the group kept bugging me to give him stuff. First my watch then my pocket knife. I couldn't believe it. Here he is in a suit basically begging for stuff. He was worse than the kids. Get a life man.
After lunch the going was a little flatter. I was hitting a big headwind again. I didn't mind too much, because I knew it was a short day. Also, it seemed to make sense. North bound winds from the coast bringing clouds and rain. I can understand that. As I am going south the next few days, it will probably get pretty annoying.
There was also one big hill right before Natitingou. Not as tall or long as the first hill of the day. It was just another grind though. Cresting the top and getting to zip down the hill felt great though.
I got to town and found the commissariat right away. Sadly they didn't have the passport stamp I needed either. They referred me to the Immigration office in Cotonou. Arg. Feels like I am getting the run around on this one. Still, not having an entrance stamp hasn't proved to be a very big deal so far. The police assured me I was fine. For all the money I have spent on visas, it doesn't seem like anyone actually cares that much when I cross a border.
-Dravis
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