Gulf of Guinea

Cococodji, Benin 📍 - the beautiful route des pêches runs from ouidah to #cotonou through small towns, fishing villages, and beachfront resorts and restaurants, all connected by pristine palm-lined beaches! 🌴🇧🇯 ...

Koutammakou, Togo 📍 - close up view of my #sketch of a typical fortified house in the #tamberma valley region of northern #togo 🇬🇭 ...

Koutammakou, Togo 📍 - the #tamberma valley is full of gorgeous vistas like this one, dotted with traditional houses of the batammariba people against a backdrop of the picturesque #atakora #mountains 🇹🇬 ...

Koutammakou, Togo 📍 - what an absolutely #amazing experience this was: while driving through the #tamberma valley, we came upon this traditional house full of people gathered around it and on top of it - turned out it was a `coming of age` #ceremony for girls in the #village, which only happens every 3-4 years. each day during the month-long #celebration during jan. or feb., one girl per day who is around 16 years old participates in the ceremony while the other girls wait outside the circle of people, while wearing antelope antlers or "corps de boufon", a symbol of beauty.  no photos allowed, my guide tells me, and I am clearly the only non-local there.  after greeting the girls` future husband, the villagers allow me into the middle of the circle, where I participate in the ceremony by blessing each member of the family and offering each a small gift of a few CFA, beginning with the elders and ending with the bride-to-be.  this tradition is only open to family and friends, and I was so lucky they let me join in!  each time I offered a coin, the whole group of villagers would cheer with a chorus of "la-la-la-la", and the family would thank and bless me, it was incredible!  one of the elders, a 90-year-old woman asked me in french "do you love me?", and I responded "bien sûr!" 😂  after giving the final gift to the young girl, now a woman, I was offered a celebratory sip of tchoukoutou, the local brew - and how could I refuse?  now a friend of the family and the village, I was allowed to snap this priceless photo! 😉👍🇹🇬 ...

Koutammakou, Togo 📍 -  trying to squeeze myself out of a huge #baobab #tree though a narrow gap, while trying to figure out how I squeezed myself in there in the first place! 😂 (see earlier post for a pic and some interesting info about this tree!) 🇹🇬 ...

Copargo, Benin 📍 - local #taneka women from nearby villages carry their wares to the weekly #market in the town of #copargo 🇧🇯 ...

Parakou, Benin 📍 - ugh i love african markets! so much color, life... and super fresh veggies!! -- the grand #marché azeke in #parakou 😉 🇧🇯 ...

Route des Pêches, Benin 📍 - if traveling between #ouidah and #cotonou, don`t be tempted to take the highway to save a little time, take the gorgeous route des pêches, hugging the coastline along the gulf of guinea - the journey is a destination itself! 🌊🌴🇧🇯 ...

Ouidah, Benin 📍 - the incredibly moving "door of no return" in #ouidah.  such a beautiful #monument to a horrible time in human history, against a backdrop of one of the most serene coastal locations on the gulf of guinea  #neverforget 🇧🇯 ...

Porto-Novo, Benin 📍 - my #sketch of the incredible grande mosquée de porto-novo!  this #beautiful building was completed in 1925 by the afro-brazilian community and showcases a unique blend of architectural influences brought back to #africa from former slaves who returned home from brazil in the middle of the19th century 🇧🇯 ...