Benin – I could self promote as an explorer, but we crossed from one side of the western African country to the other without seeing many gaps between the houses and businesses that lined the well maintained highway. Along the coast, people-wise, I could just as well have visited the sidewalks of a major US city at rush hour, although Benin was safer and friendlier, but shabbier and poorer.
It was night and day to my previous African visit, to less developed Gabon. I have never been as surrounded by people as I was at almost every moment in this trip. Sometimes my really rough hotel room was an escape to a little solitude after the constant buzz of life around me.
I left home after a minus 24c morning and a day and a half later got off a plane into 33 degrees and sweltering night-time humidity. I'll admit, it was a shock even though I expected it. I wasn't ready for what adding the most intense and hot sun I have ever felt was going to add. I had weighed myself to calculate the suitcase allowance before leaving, and neither I nor the bag had been overweight. When I returned, seven days of fishing had taken eight pounds off me.
Day one: One of our party had missed a connection flight, so two of us went to visit a mangrove swamp. We took a boat ride and saw hundreds of Aplocheilichthys spilauchen, an uncommon (in the hobby) brackish water lampeye killie. The salt level of the river was low, and most of the fish were salt tolerant Tilapia of various sizes.
Hang on. This is just a starter. I'll post daily until I've covered the whole adventure. All I'll add is that we were desperately hoping to get into the fish hunt, and that came on day two...
It was night and day to my previous African visit, to less developed Gabon. I have never been as surrounded by people as I was at almost every moment in this trip. Sometimes my really rough hotel room was an escape to a little solitude after the constant buzz of life around me.
I left home after a minus 24c morning and a day and a half later got off a plane into 33 degrees and sweltering night-time humidity. I'll admit, it was a shock even though I expected it. I wasn't ready for what adding the most intense and hot sun I have ever felt was going to add. I had weighed myself to calculate the suitcase allowance before leaving, and neither I nor the bag had been overweight. When I returned, seven days of fishing had taken eight pounds off me.
Day one: One of our party had missed a connection flight, so two of us went to visit a mangrove swamp. We took a boat ride and saw hundreds of Aplocheilichthys spilauchen, an uncommon (in the hobby) brackish water lampeye killie. The salt level of the river was low, and most of the fish were salt tolerant Tilapia of various sizes.
Hang on. This is just a starter. I'll post daily until I've covered the whole adventure. All I'll add is that we were desperately hoping to get into the fish hunt, and that came on day two...
