Yesterday we passed through Cotonou and followed a bumpy stretch of road to Ouidah and the “Point of No Return,” a UNESCO site commemorating the African slave trade.  This year we added some new detail from an excellent guide who made the tragic business of the 17th-19th century Atlantic slave trade more vivid by showing us some stops on the route from the French, Dutch, English, and Portugese trading posts to the beach, including sites in which slaves were temporarily held in horrible conditions, a mass grave for slaves who died before boarding, and rituals associated with the return of the spirit from foreign lands.

The beach by the “Point of No Return” monument is also the site of an annual gathering for the high priest of Vodunn, which occurs in January each year.  This hut is a related site on the beach for followers of “Mama Wata,” the Vodunn goddess of water.

Most of the group at the beach.