 On
the coastal highway the lanes are wider, plus there is a paved shoulder, but this just seemed to be license
to make the loads on the trucks wider as well. Road improvements also
mean that the tree line is pushed back further from the road so there is
little chance that you will catch even a brief reprieve of shade as you
saunter along without
pulling off the road for a stop.
 The
placards along the side of the road reflected the culture in the area.
Signs for traditional healers are plentiful. Assuming
the traditional practitioners do their trade well the littoral region of Benin has good
access to health care.
There were also a variety of public health signs along the road.
Probably the most prevalent were for HIV/AIDS awareness. This sign is
part of a multi-country campaign that includes Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo,
Benin and Nigeria. This is a corridor that a lot of people transit back
and forth through, and there are reports of considerable human trafficking
which creates another vulnerable population. The region has never had as
high an AIDS rate as eastern and southern Africa, but it has many of the
same risk factors.
 The previous day we had crossed the north end Lake Aheme by
slow boat.
At the south end there is a causeway with more views of fishing operations and
communities on the lake.
 Bicycling
along the coast,
mostly 'head down' or at least somewhat single-minded to finish and get off
the highway, I mostly forgot to take pictures of the
miles of coconut
palm. There are so many that they cease to become noteworthy. In this
photo (right) there are a few palms, a farm and the remnants of a railroad
that ran along the coast in Benin. This east-west railroad was probably built by
the French in the early 1900's. [Today, the only (barely) active railroad
line in Benin goes north-south from Cotonou to Parakou.]
 Optimism
is the Fan Milk yogurt and ice cream seller on the highway in western Benin.
He must know his market or really like the exercise. From our bicycle saddle vantage point potential
customers are few and far between in the sparsely populated region. There
were very few people working the fields along the road and the few hamlets
we saw were pretty empty as people were out were out working during the day.
My theory is he knows were every school is along the road and he targets
these.
 Having
reached the Benin-Togo border should have been cause for some celebration --
it is muted by the border-town nature of the environment. The town on
the Benin side of the frontier is Hillacondji and the town on the Togo side
of the frontier is Aneho. Hillacondji is the smaller of the two and is
mostly a strip city the extends further and further out from the actual
border posts. On both sides of the border there is a wall of trucks
parked along the side of the road that extends out for at least a kilometer.
It is hard to calculate the hours, days and weeks some people must spend
waiting here. Fortunately, being further a big city, like the
Togo-Ghana border, where Lome sits on the border, there is not a lot of
hype, hustle and hassle at the border so the actual crossing of the frontier
went very smoothly. Even so I don't have an urge to linger in
Hillacondji and blow through to the border station.
 Aneho
sits at a picturesque location were a river runs into the ocean. There
are long sandy beaches on the ocean and the sandy shore extends up the
river. At least mid-week the beach isn't getting much attention from the
locals, except for a couple of fisherman. That is about on par with
the rest of Aneho, which lacks vitality. There is the usual small town
variety of business and the town is friendly and relaxed, but the closes
thing to hub-bub is at the border.
  Evidence
that Togo was once a German colony are few and far between. It may be
more coincidence than legacy but one sign of Germany's hand was in some
new development assistance projects in Aneho. Their aid money was
responsible for renovating a cluster of buildings that are used for
government of Togo social service programs, including a new library.
  Just
beyond these playful child with their innocents of youth is an AIDS
prevention billboard the discourage young people from being sexually active
and to choose abstinence 'for their life'. HIV is a serious matter
because Togo has the highest HIV rate along the international transportation
route from Nigeria to Benin, Togo and Ghana. The good news, at
least in the second half of the first decade on the 21st century, is the rate
HIV was
dropping.
  The
usual practice is to not eat meals at the hotel. This gets us out into
town and spreads the wealth. Like so many other places, there are a
dearth of restaurants in Aneho. This led to a nice meal on the patio at the
hotel.
|
On
the coastal highway the lanes are wider, plus there is a paved shoulder, but this just seemed to be license
to make the loads on the trucks wider as well. Road improvements also
mean that the tree line is pushed back further from the road so there is
little chance that you will catch even a brief reprieve of shade as you
saunter along without
pulling off the road for a stop.
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