Benin - first impressions last.

On the whole our border crossings throughout this trip have been problem free, bribe free and speedy. That was all about to change. As we approached the Nigeria/Benin border in our taxi, an ominous difficult air started to rise. Firstly was the row of police officers trying to stop cars with stingers just so they could claim their bribe. As our driver deftly weaved in and out of these, we stopped momentarilty for two passengers to get out. We were swarmed. Breaking through the swathes of people, we finally arrived at our Nigeria exit and worst fear - a row of eight or ten tables of "officials" all wanting a pay off to let us through. Most seemed to have defunct jobs - pretending to be official by having a piece of paper and writing details before demanding a fee. Tired, frustrated and a little bit lighter in the pocket (we actually caught on quite quickly to the ploy and stormed through all but one post and the stamping station) we finally wrestled free of Nigeria and into the calm of Benin. Or so we thought.

The Beninnoise officials seem to be taking a leaf out of their Nigerian counterparts. Hoping for a 48 hour transit visa, we were given an exorbitant price, told that they had run out of visas, told to return to Nigeria, left to wait for a couple of hours, and passage offered for just one person (quite what the other was to do, I'm still not sure). After a lot of waiting and the eventual admittance of the officials that they were just looking for "coke money", we secured our 48 hours in Benin. The two passengers who had got off in Nigeria also mysteriously reappeared. Crossing the border was possible in more than one way, it would seem.

The trouble was, that experience kind of left a bitter taste in the mouth. Also unsure as to whern the 48 hours strats and finishes and not wanting to pay for cool drinks for all officials in Benin, we darted from West to East, with just one overnight.

And a lovely night it was too. Ouidah, a former slave post and voodoo centre on the coast seemed both stunning and very interesting. Benin as a whole, in fact, did not look dissimilar. It all went a bit too quick for my liking and the opportunity to laze a few days on the beaches disappeared as fast as our money did when we entered. Sad. But it leaves plenty of opportunities fotr Togo and Burkina, our next destinations, to excel.