Benin (Dec 2004)
Three years on and the IceCold Crew were back for another Christmas with Liz, Paul et famille in Benin. And probably for the last time - Liz and Paul move on in the summer; next stop Tel Aviv!
From Cotonou to Lome (in Togo), and back to Ouidah and the Casa del Papa - all in all quite a trip ...
Cotonou
With Liz as our local guide - "Do I look like a tourist?" - we headed for the chaos of the market at Missebo in Cotonou. Plenty of bargains to be found, but you've got to haggle!
Togo
Leaving the boys with Aunty Liz, Laura and I joined Paul on one of his routine trips to Lomé in Togo. Crossing the border was an incredible experience, but sadly photos were interdit. While Paul toiled at the airport, we lazed by the pool at the very nice Sarakawa Hotel - life can be tough! Unfortunately, we didn't get to eat at Al Donald's.
Ouidah and Casa del Papa
Either the road has improved or the suspension is much better on Paul's new car, because this time round there were no injuries on the trip along the coast road to Ouidah! The Casa del Papa had grown since our last visit - more rooms, a second swimming pool, tennis courts, boats and more.
Planes, Pains And Automobiles
Alas, this journal would not be complete without a run-down of a few things that didn't go quite to plan ...
- Missed channel ferry on drive to Paris.
- Plane to Cotonou delayed by three hours - high winds.
- An hour into flight, plane turned backed to Charles de Gaulle - funny smell. (This turned out to be rotting feed for a crate-full of chicks in the hold!)
- Eventually, after a night in Paris, arrived in Cotonou 20 hours late.
- Puncture on Paul's 4x4 on the trip to Lome. (With a flat spare as well this ended up costing Paul a full set of new tyres!)
- Richard spends Christmas day in the smallest room - something to do with the snails at Les Trois Mousquetaires?
- Mark picks up an ear infection and spends the last few days with his head above water.
And to cap it all, some git nicked the wheels off of our car, while parked outside Liz's house in Paris! Six weeks later, and the car has been released from the police pound. Maybe we'll see it again soon. :')
Travel Journal