Benin

Continuing on with the 'B' countries (there's a lot of them!), we were on to a tiny little country in west Africa: Benin! 

Benin is a French speaking country, located just west of Nigeria on the Gulf of Guinea. Most people probably haven't heard Benin, but it's one of those long oddly shaped tiny countries, and it neighbors a more popular tiny country, Togo. 

But the country the size of Ohio has plenty to offer. About a quarter of their land belongs to National Parks. In those parks are the rarest large cat on earth: The African (or Saharan) Cheetah! Rarely photographed, experts think there are only about 200 of these light colored cats with fewer spots than other cheetahs that still exist.

The tiny country's claim to fame? The birthplace of Voodoo! It's not exactly the voodoo we here in American think of, though. There it is known as 'Vudun', and it is taken very seriously. The followers of Vudun believe the Earth is ruled by divine elements, or spirits. 

Benin is a safe country to visit, although impoverished, with beaches, and fishing villages built on stilts, along with colorful markets for the tourists to experience. Once a Marxist-Leninist state, in the early 90's it became a multi-party republic, and is now considered a stable country.  

Benin was once a major center of the slave trade. As such, our landmark for Benin is the Point of No Return Memorial in Ouidah. The monument commemorates over a million Africans who were kidnapped, sold, and sent off to the other side of the world. 

Long ago, Peyton wanted to learn all the flags and capitals of every country in the world, but we sputtered out somewhere in Africa. Most of the countries are just being refreshed for him, which also means I don't have to draw/color anything new. But Benin is a new one, so I made the flag. Thank goodness it was easy. Peyton also has a new capital to learn: Porto Novo.

The boys made their Benin postcards.... 

Calib focused on the fishing villages on stilts, and made trees to represent all the National Parks. He also gave them some life from the 'spirits'. 

Peyton also incorporated spirits, and the stilted fishing villages. But he also made a little cheetah, and the memorial. 

Hayden made sure everything in his picture looked like it had a spirit attached. 

Trying to prove African food is more than rice and chicken, I picked out some really fun recipes for tonight. 

We had Crab Beninoise (the main dish), Akkra FunFun (because how can you not make a dish called fun fun, even if it's just a fritter), Futari (a mix of sweet potatoes and squash), Bananas in Orange Sauce, and Pineapple. 

This meal earned three spoons up. 

Peyton and Hayden really picked at the crab, which was suprising, since usually Hayden is ok with it, and Peyton loves it. But, Calib and Asa and I all enjoyed it. 

It was one of my favorites. I ate everything. The crab was basically like a crab cake in a dish, the fun fun was similar to a hush puppy, and who doesn't love that? 

Surprisingly enough, everyone liked the frutari. Hayden said how great the carrots were, and I just never corrected him that they were sweet potatoes. 

The bananas were mixed. Asa and Peyton didn't particularily like them, but the rest of us thought it was like eating bananas foster with an orange flavor. 

The pineapple was really great though, thank you Sprouts! 

We colored Benin in, one more complete. 

37 countries, 156 to go! 

Next Up: Lesotho for Moshoeshoe's Birthday! (I'll tell you all about it tomorrow)