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Am now in Niamey the capital of Niger, it feels a very pleasant city, tree lined streets, impressive buildings and good roads which hide at first what is one of Africa's poorest countries. I am arranging visas here and relaxing for a few days before I head onto Benin and Togo for the last 3 weeks of my trip.

Niger

Stevemonty
2005-09-23 19:10:27

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and oil are sold at the side of the road in old Whisky and Gin bottles, you also find glass pumps fitted onto barrels of petrol in small villages. But Cotonou is quite a fun place and there are cheap bars everywhere. Yesterday I found a stall selling xmas decorations and fancy dress outfits. They had a Santa Claus outfit complete with a white mask and beard. Today I visited Ganvie where 18,000 inhabitants live in bamboo huts on stilts several km out on Lac Nokoue. It's a little spoilt by tourism now but still fascinating to visit. The Tofinu people moved here in the 18C to escape the warring Fon kingdoms in the North as religeous customs banned their warriors from venturing into water.

I've been travelling by myself the last week, suprisingly there doesn't appear to be many travellers around Niger and Benin. It's been quite difficult negotiating prices wherever I go. There seems to be an additional price for everything and often it starts out 2 or 3 times the normal rate because I'm a white man. My French is improving vastly in this area out of necessity.

Sometimes it can seem everyone is trying to get money out of me in any possible way. But you have to keep a positive vibe, at these times I'm often suprised by how genuine and sincerely friendly some people can be. And often the next minute you can find something that'll make you laugh, there is a great sense of humour here.
Dec 12
After Cotonou and all that travelling I felt like I needed a rest, so I went along to the beach at Grand Popo near the Togo border. Tranquill golden sandy beaches lined as far as the eye can see with palm trees, but the sea has a strong under-current which prevented me swimming. In the morning from my log cabin on the beach I could hear the sound of chanting as locals hauled in nets full of fish onto the beach.
People here are very open and friendly. I made friends with a brother and sister who run the local shop, After a couple ...