Postcard from Benin and Togo
By Jaco Louw, Nigeria
Far and Bright, the latest in the family of fun recurring events for Mensans, hosted a trip to Benin and Togo in January, 2024. Benin and Togo are former French colonies and also the land where voodoo originated, centuries before being spread to the Americas.
Fourteen participants (12 Mensans and 2 partners) came together in shorts and T-shirts (while it snowed in Europe) and had a one-of-a-kind blast hanging out for 10 days, exploring a number of novel attractions, and of course a lot of eating, drinking and swimming with friends. Highlights included: Ganvié, the Venice of West Africa, an integrated organic farm, playing with pythons in Ouidah, voodoo dances, watching thousands of bats migrate, palm wine distillery in the forest, sun, beaches, and coconuts.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable and worldview-expanding experience in a setting very different from what most Mensans experience in their day to day lives. Participants said “Most interesting trip of my life,” “Well worth the effort,” and “Well-coordinated and so much fun!”
Far and Bright arranges affordable tours for smart people to out of the way destinations. Follow them on www.farandbright.org for future tours (São Tomé and Príncipe in the works for the end of 2024/early 2025).