Benin has been
something of a closely kept secret
since a group of young army officers, led by Major Kerekou,
put a halt to twelve years of repeated coups by taking control
of the country themselves, in 1972.

Even now, after the relaxing of the Major's Marxist-Leninist line that turned colonial Dahomey into the People's Republic of Benin, and earned it a somewhat naive title of The Cuba of West Africa, the Gulf of Guinea's least known nation is still not on most travellers' list of destinations.

International representation may be lodged in the characterless coastal town of Cotonou, but it is not the country's capital. Principal status is reserved for a town with a more pleasant setting, and a proper place in history; Porto Novo.

All routes lead to Cotonou though, and once official business is seen to, then diversions and ways out of the sandy grid are sought.

For many Europeans on the Trans-Sahara Peugeot run, the road ends in Niger; although flights to Europe are generally cheaper from the northern Nigerian town of Kano.

Those who do travel along the coast between Abidjan and Lagos look at Cotonou as nothing more than a stop between Ghana's beaches and the flight home.

In fact there is not really that much to do in Cotonou, except get out; unless you like the idea of paying to join the French around the pool at the Sheraton.

The Sheraton pool, Cotonou.

The most accessible attraction is the lake dwellings at Ganvie.