Ouidah Trip (Slave Route...)

I went to Ouidah (historical city) in Benin. Unfortunately, ALL my photos have been wiped out from my memory card. It sucks, but we live and move on.



Ouidah... the road was parallel and running alongside the sea. Beautiful. I saw skme fishermen at work and their wives working on the fishnets, a real community, they were all smiles... Some children were using dried up palm leaves to make brooms, the african type.
The road was an hour long but ever so enjoyable, with all its bumps and water pools.
Ouidah itself is full of touristic resorts.
We went to Casa Del Papa. You know the places you see on travel prospectuses? The EXACT same thing, MAN! The beaches were a lovely shad of blue an the sand was WHITE very fine soft, like a middle east carpet. I loved walking bare feet, eating on the porch, listening to the waves... the sparse palm trees were a welcomed shade, it was truly warm on that day.

During the day we left the resort and I looked at part of the slave route, looked at the place were humans were stocked before parting. I didn't go inside but I shook inside a little. This side of history, that I know inside out, became real in my heart. I know in my head all there wis to know about slavery and colonialism, but being there, seeing the place of doom for many, a long time ago, brought it home. I began to see and imagine the ordinary faces I saw there, as poentials forhuman trade, including me.
The place is touristic attracion now, they sell wonderfl art in front of it, the memorial is grand and very beautiful, an arc and some greek columms it's a thing... I MUST reurn to one day to take pictures of.
There's another site a bit further on, that has a wall, with the map of Benin hollowed in it, all colours and paintings, very nice too, but the thing that's in my mind is the door... of no return, the bit tht made it all sink in for me...
That for me is Ouidah.