Arrival to Cotonou, Benin, West Africa!

WE ARRIVED in COTONOU, BENIN, WEST AFRICA!

After a bit of touch and go and an extra night out at sea, we arrived on TUESDAY morning, February 10, into the port at Cotonou, Benin, West Africa.

My job is in full force, working in the hospital office preparing for a reception for the local medical officials and doctors. I will be joining nearly the entire crew of the M/V Africa Mercy ship to pitch in at our first screening next week for the thousands of patients coming to our floating hospital seeking exceptional surgical treatments. The hospital is clean, un-bungeed from our travels at sea. Beds are made and ready for the first patients for surgery scheduled for February 24.

My first view of Africa is amazing! The harbor is full of a variety of fishing boats with homemade sails and extremely large hooks. Amazing that in this intense heat, men in the boats often wear long black pants and dark t-shirts. I saw one man, as his boat passed our ship, dunking a bucket into the sea and giving himself a refreshing sea-water bath over his clothes.

We have explored the corner of the city of Cotonou and found it to be a mix of moderate modern buildings while the majority of people seem to be lacking in the bare essentials of life. We went to one extensive market with hundreds of vendors selling a variety of goods including beautiful wood carvings, shirts, belts, purses, dried fish, live chickens, cigarettes and an amazing array of colorful fresh produce. This included oranges, mangos, pineapple, bananas, garlic, onions, potatoes, tomatias, plantains, ginger, carrots and so much more. There was also a section of the sparcely covered market where unanamed meat was laid out on huge, tiled counters, ready to be wacked into the buyer's portion.

We also visited a Catholic church not far from the port that will be worth visiting during a mass some time. It had interesting architecture, made of large bricks red and white. One row was laid all in white, the next in red, and again in white to make the entire building appear striped. Several Christian churches are in the area that is otherwise surrounded by Voudoo. Much of Benin boasts of being the Voudoo capital of the world. I truly believe there is freedom in Christ replacing ancestor worship, spells and many religious activities.

The currency is called CFAs pronounced "SEE-fahs" and our $20.00 U.S. will get us approximately $10,200 CFAs! Buying a hat may cost me $5,000! There are many vehicles speeding along the brick streets. Dust is in the air and exhaust from trucks. The most popular vehicle seems to be the small engine motorcycles called "jimmijons" here. The weather is very warm and quite humid. After a walk through the city, I felt the dust and exhaust adhered to my skin.

There is so much more to tell and the patients who need help do not start arriving until next week. One man who was touring the hospital aboard our ship with other diplomats, turned to one of the tour guides, lifted his glasses revealing a clouded eye and asked us to resere a spot for him in our eye clinic. The need is plentiful in this impoverished country.