Day 140: Grand Popo – Abomey (Chez Monique)

One topic should be described in more detail because we keep getting feedback that we are heading to such great luxury resorts. Advertising never delivers what it promises and booking.com, the accommodations' own websites and the like – are all advertising! 

We have beautiful places in beautiful landscapes or because the people there are nice. But we also very often have places that are extremely “basic”. And unfortunately a lot of locations have run down quite a bit. Because in this climate everything is rotting away. Because since Corona the guests have been missing and therefore the money. Because different standards are applied here anyway. 

Many toilets don't work at all. With others you have to wait a quarter of an hour for the water to run. Shower hoses almost always leak in places that are not suitable for showering. What's left is a trickle at the end of the hose. Water is usually cold – which is actually not a bad thing given the temperatures. But the soap often comes out of your hair badly. Cockroaches, swarms of mosquitoes, late-night music, early morning advertising and other things – every place has its own quirks. Very rarely do we encounter the paradisiacal conditions that the images associate. 

That's not really a bad thing, but it's a difference.

Last night, for example, we didn't really sleep well at 26 degrees, over 80% humidity and zero wind. And today we brought a “sack” full of mosquitoes to our new place in Abomey.

Chez Monique is, however, is a pleasant surprise. The area is huge – even if we wonder who is supposed to fill it – and full of great wooden sculptures. 

But it gets a little more expensive here. We had previously spoken to a guide who offered to take the tour to the Dahomean palaces. We'll decide tomorrow morning whether we'll look at everything or slim down a bit. In addition to the guide, there are additional costs for motorcycle taxis because everything is far apart, as well as the entrance fee. That also for the guide? And including temples? But exclusive museum because closed? But is the museum actually divided into two palaces? Or is the second just the museum shop? And what about the Vodoo Village? Once again everything remains a bit vague, but that's nothing new.