Almost Benin

Well that was a close one. After four glorious days of sailing north from Namibia skirting the borders of Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, Congo and Nigeria we docked outside Cotonou harbour, the economic capital of the Republic of Benin.

We arrived just as the sun was rising in a humid, sultry sky.

Our morning walk of the decks had become a daily routine and as we looked out towards the harbour we could see no activity. A freighter was docked at our berth and there was no sign of the pilot. What followed was a long morning for Captain Mario who assured us that he, too, had been assured that the pilot would be on his way out to us soon. Despite the assurances “soon” proved to be an open-ended word not to be taken literally.

Eventually we were informed that the freighter had engine problems and could not leave the dock. This was followed by a further update half an hour later – the freighter's engine had apparently been restarted and the pilot was on his way to guide us into the harbour. And sure enough shortly thereafter, a white-gloved, uniformed official revealed himself from the pilot launch.

Despite freighters being moved, weather was not on our side. What had started out as a steamy, equatorial morning was changing fast.

Inky black clouds on the horizon were moving in at break neck speed towards us and the lazy ocean started to be lashed by the prevailing winds.

Soon there were generous white caps and the fishing boats around us, some no more than dug outs, turned back to port. The occupants bailed out their vulnerable vessels with brightly coloured plastic buckets as the waves crashed over them.

A frustrated Captain told us dejectedly that the port had now been officially closed until the winds died down but that once the front had passed, the pilot would guide us in to tie up. We were looking forward to our adventure on Lake Nokoue where we would travel to Ganvie – a village constructed on stilts.

Eventually the seas calmed but another storm was gathering on the horizon. In this part of the world darkness arrives at 6:00 p.m. and we were running out of daylight, so the decision was made to leave Benin and head west to Togo, our next port of call.

A country which in its colonial past was known as Dahomey, and which at one time had instituted an elite female soldier corps known as the “Dahomean Amazons” would continue to remain a mystery to us – at least for now.