– short but torrential rain when we arrived

– glass of spirit and a bite in the local chief’s house

– and off course sights of the famous “Venice of Benin”

Seb read somewhere that in the past people of Ganvie could be recognised by the way they walk, simply because they are very unsure on their feet, as they spend 80% of their day to day paddling a boat. Every kid, as soos as he or she turns 4 – starts going out on the lake in a canoe for little chores. And of course fishing is the main source of life here.

Our guide told us that Ganvie due to it’s popularity with tourists lost a bit of it’s authenticity, and that if you want to see how life was here before “the discovery” you should go to one of the other villages on the lake, that are not yet spoiled by so much attention.

Visit lasted 1.5 hours, including the way. We asked for a 15 min extension, just to go around the canals and see a bit more of the local life. This is when the guide, seeing how curious we were, offered us to stop by his friend’s for a drink. is friend turned out to be a local chief and a voodoo master. He and his wife, daughter and son welcomed us, offered us a glass of a strong homemade spirit and some boiled cassava. While we were drinking and eating the voodoo master gave us blessings for the travels.

We couldn’t have dreamed for a better introduction to the lake folk life, it was such a fantastic moment.