Slaves in West Africa
For over 400 years, there was a massive population shift from Africa to the Americas. The lowest estimated loss for the African population through the transatlantic slave trade is 20 million people.
Food and Drink in West Africa
We were warned that the cuisine in West Africa would be "unexceptional". We packed lots of protein bars and hoped for the best. They were right, but the countries are so poor you feel grateful [...]
West African Voodoo
Voodoo is an animist religion that attributes a soul to plants and inanimate objects. Despite what you've seen in the movies, for millions of Africans, voodoo is not about black magic. The main focus is about [...]
Benin Dancing and ALL THOSE KIDS
Benin seemed so full of young people. The average age of people here is only 18 (vs. 38 for the US). Child mortality is high - about 15% of kids under the age of 5 [...]
Benin Markets
Daily commerce that does not involve Amazon. It doesn't even involve refrigeration.
Boating in Benin
Benin is in West Africa, roughly the size of Portugal. One of the poorest countries in the world, it's not known as a tourist destination. The worst of the horrific Ebola epidemic, in which over [...]