We successfully made it past the border and to Passotome without knowing much French. We learned, after about half an hour at the border, the magic words are 'Mercy Ships'. Because the ship was in Benin last year most officials know about it and let us through without difficulty after that. The most common forms of transportation are moto taxi (motorbike - 'zemmi jean'), or a car taxi. The car taxi does not consist of seatbelts, and the rule is 3 in front (driver, two people on the passenger seat - in reality one sitting on the gearshift, and 4 in back. These cars are small so you're squished in, with doors locked. 
The town of Passotome borders a large lake so fishing is way of life for most of the residents.
'Yovos' means white person, so we hear that term yelled out quite frequently. 
This little one was scared of the 'yovos' and started screaming when he saw us. He's still pretty cute though, having a bath in the bowl.
Alot of the fishing boats are tree trunks carved out, pretty neat!
Fishing nets hanging from the trees on the beach.
Voodoo is a common religion practiced in Benin and most other West African countries. I am starting to learn more about this religion, so this is a subjective understanding of it. It is a religion trusting in spirits of different forms of nature (spirits that are 'divine' and govern the earth). The 'creator spirit' is called Mawu, offerings of animals are given to honor this spirit. People also believe in ancestor worship and that the spirits of the dead live side by side in the world of the living. They also create physical statues or dried animal parts called 'fetishes' which they worship believing them to be spiritual. This concept just seems so foreign and hard to believe this still happens today.
Jeremiah 14:22 "Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this."
Below are a few pictures of some idols we saw.
Our hotel grounds were beautiful. The room for the 3 of us costed 18,000 CFA ($32 USD).
Jenny & Ruth on the beach.
Sunday at 6am we went out on to the lake to learn the different forms of African fishing. They taught us about the different tools they use for catching different fish, crab, etc.
Pictured below is their place for voodoo offerings on the lake. They believed that fish would migrate to this area to breed and would come out of the area multiplied. No one was allowed to fish in this area or they would be cursed and would need to repay the town with many things (food, $, etc). Only at certain times of the year could anyone enter this area to offer sacrifices. Needless to say there were many fishermen out fishing that morning and no one catching many fish. We caught a few really small hand sized fish but I think the lack of regulation might be harming the numbers of fish in the lake.
One of the fishermen casting his net out on the water.
Pulling in his net.
We learned how to cast a fishing net. Here the guide is teaching me how to prepare for the cast.
Ready to cast the net...didn't catch any fish, that tends to be my luck anyways.
Ruth (RN from Germany), myself, and Jenny (RN from Austrailia).
The only way out of the town was with a zemmie jean. This was Jenny's first time ever on a motorbike. She made it out alive and enjoyed it! Here we're stopping for gas.
In the taxi on our way home. It's amazing what they all take in/on their cars. The other day I saw a couch on the top of a car with the driver reaching one hand out of his window to hold the couch while driving with the other hand...only in Africa.
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