Togo and Benin - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 152

I cycled through Comé and came upon a Catholic mission off the main road just
outside the town's limits. I met a novice who escorted me back to Comé where we waited
for the parish priest. As I was reading the end of the New Testament, Father Xavier arrived
and welcomed me to stay in the rectory. After a shower, I joined Father Xavier for dinner
and we chatted until late in the evening.
As I left the town, I came across a statue of a black youth with broken chains and
handcuffs. I wasn't sure if this symbolized freedom from the 'white' colonialists, from the
bonds of poverty or from their nation's military dictatorships.
As I made my way to Cotonou, I found the views from this stretch of road so beau-
tifulwithnumeroushutssittingonearthenmoundsinandalongthemarshes.Iwatchedthe
locals use dugout canoes for transportation throughout the marshes and along the rivers.
After I crossed the Ouémé River, the road switched from tarmac to huge stretches of inter-
locking bricks. Along the road, I encountered several youths proudly displaying mammoth
sized rats that they caught. Either those rats were their dinner or they were selling them for
someone else's.
AsIapproachedCotonou,thetrafficpickedupandwhenIarrivedinthecity,itwas
gridlocked. Since the vehicles were stationary, cycling by felt a bit safer and easier. After
getting directions from some locals, I quickly found the Nigerian Embassy and entered the
compound. I was told that the visa to enter Nigeria would be 15,000 CFA or about $60
U.S. I asked them if the price could be lowered and explained why I was cycling through
Nigeria. I showed them my letters from the Government of Canada and the Canadian High
Commission in Accra. The visa officer then paused and asked me to wait until 3:00 p.m.
while he went to speak to his superior.
At 2:15 p.m., to my utter surprise, he returned and gave me the visa for free. I
thanked him and his superior for both the visa at no charge and giving it to me 45 minutes
early.Hesaidthathewasn'tearlybutthatIhadcycledintoanewtimezone(infacthewas
15 minutes late, but I didn't say anything.)