Rainy season

Last week the rainy season hit Cotonou with a vengeance. There were problems with flooding and the roads were a mess. I went on an off-ship site tour to visit a few of the projects Mercyships is running on land, such as an agricultural project and the dental clinic. On our way back the heavens opened up and it poured! Instantly the the many roadside stands were covered up with pieces of plastic and the streets were emptied of people as everyone ran to huddle in doorways or under trees. It made for some great driving though.

Hospitality Center

I have exactly one week left on the Africa Mercy today. This past week and a half I have had quite a few days off and have been seeing a lot more of Benin then in the weeks before, so I am running behind on my stories here. I'm just attaching a few of my favorite photos here of a morning and evening spent at the hospitality center (the place where patients who live quite a ways outside of Cotonou stay pre/post surgery). One rainy Saturday morning I wandered over there with some friends and we were happy to find that several of our previous VVF patients were still there, waiting to return to the North of Benin. We came back that evening for a manicure/pedicure session with all the ladies there.

Possotome - source de la vie

A lot of the water I have been drinking since arriving in Cotonou comes in a bottle labelled "Possotome - source of life". This past Friday I set out to explore this particular source first hand. It was a ship holiday, so a group of us set off on a day trip to Possotome, on the shores of Lake Aheme, a few hours out of Cotonou. We were hoping to go fishing. We arrived in Possotome with a vague idea of where we needed to be and eventually ran into a fellow who was connected with the company we were looking for. He walked us to the right location and then after reclining under some palm trees while a boat was prepared for us, we set off on our fishing excursion. Our guide explained the different methods of fishing used on the lake. He did some fishing himself, showing us how to properly throw the net, and catching a few fish and crabs while he demonstrated. Then we were all given a chance to have a couple of throws with the beginners/child's net. None of us caught a thing but it was a lot of fun. After several hours on the water in our rickety boat, we headed back to shore and happily ended the day drinking coconut juice from freshly picked coconuts.

Yovo!

Well the days are flying by and I only have 2 more weeks left on the Africa Mercy. In between work I have been puttering around the alternately dusty or muddy streets of Cotonou. The rainy season is definitely making itself evident these days. In the first weeks I was here I never went out into the city without feeling like it was an assault on the senses, but I am getting used to the chaos, darting across traffic and the frequent shouts of "Yovo", which the locals like to call us white people. It is used to get our attention in the markets, children like to shout it out and laugh or wave after us, and the occassional person will walk by and simply state "Yovo", just in case we hadn't noticed we didn't quite blend in.
On Canada Day all the Canadians on board got together for dinner and dessert. There are 22 of us on board at the moment! We reminisced about Tim Hortons and Stephen Harper and ate chicken, corn and fries. A few of us went to this tiny little pub right outside the port entrance for a drink, where the owner, a Sicilian, told us about his hernia and asked if there was any way we could slip him in for surgery...Well much more to write but my computer is about to die so bonsoir for now!