At Lagos Island Old Marine Street, where I took a yellow
minibus to 2 Miles Bus Station, on the eastern outskirts of Lagos. At the price
of 400 NGN.
From 2 Miles Bus Station. in the west of Lagos they leave
when full taxis for the Frontier with Benin of Seme Krake or for Cotonou
(Benin) are full.
That day, however, for several exceptional reasons there
were no direct passengers in Benin, but only one other than me and then the Cotonou
Race, I paid double, because we were only 2 passengers instead of 4. So I paid
12,000 NGN, instead of the normal tariff of 6,000 NGN. The journey lasted about
3 hours.
The road between Lagos and Seme Krake is in very bad
condition (full of holes).
At the frontier of Seme Krake, I easily obtained the exit
stamp from Nigeria, filling out the appropriate form, without paying any bribe,
while all the other people of Color that preceded me had to do so at the
request of the desk clerk (500 or 1000 NGN).
BENIN
Time zone: same time as in Italy, -1h when Italy has
daylight saving time.
Languages: French (official), Fon, Yoruba, others.
Religions: Animist (35%), Christian (35%), Muslim (30%).
The main roads of Benin, at least in the southern part of
the country, are paved and in good condition.
The frontier of Seme Krake, between Nigeria and Benin, is
one of the worst in the world due to corruption, according to the reviews of
foreign travelers.
To enter Benin it is necessary to have an entry visa, for tourism,
which can be obtained for the duration of 8 days, paying the fee of 10,000 CFA
and presenting a passport photo, at Cotonou Airport, or at land border posts.
Particularly at the land border of Seme Krake, many
travelers wrote that to get it, they had to pay bribes.
On my own, I had no problems and in just 20 minutes I got my
visa without bribes, tips or bribes. I must say that I was escorted to my
defense by the taxi driver and by another Nigerian gentleman who I had made
friends with during the trip.
Then I went to the Benin border police desk, which among
other things is next to the Nigerian one, and I easily got the entry stamp to
the country on my passport.
In Benin, to overcome some checkpoints, just past the
border, the taxi driver had to tip.
The collective taxi from Lagos ends its run in Park de
Jonquet, right in the center of Cotonou.
By asking around you can change money: NGN, EURO, and USD.
On my own I changed the NGN, at the following exchange rate:
1 NGN = 1.5 CFA.
In Cotonou I rested at the Hotel Residence Gracia, located
in the city center, on Rue l'Administrateur Grange, near the Park de Jonquet,
at the price of 8,000 CFA, per night for a double room with en-suite bathroom,
with hot water, fan, with working WIFI.
From the Hotel Residence Gracia I took a motorcycle bike
taxi, for the price of 400 CFA, to reach the Embassy of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, located in the Cadjehou district, on Rue 12.279, not far from the
Cadjehou International Airport.
I went to the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo in
Cotonou in Benin, located in the Cadjehou district, on Rue 12.279, not far from
the Cadjehou International Airport because here is the easiest place in the
world to get a transit visa. And in fact I showed up at 8.45 am and presented 1
completed and signed form, 1 passport photo, Hotel booking and 15,000 CFA in
cash. This is the price for obtaining a transit visa valid for 8 days from the
date on which you declare that you wish to enter the country. At 14.30 I
returned to the Embassy and I withdrew my Passport with my transit visa
affixed.
From the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo in
Cotonou, I took a bike taxi, for the price of 700 CFA, to reach the Port of
Abomey-Calavi, 10 km, to the north-west.
From there I joined for a half-day excursion by boat, at the
price of 15,000 CFA, with 2 other French tourists, on Lake Nokouè and at the
Village of Ganviè, nicknamed, the Venice of Benin, with its Canals.
Back at Abomey-Calavi, I took a bike taxi, for the Park de
Jonquet, for the price of 1,000 CFA.
From there I took a bike taxi, for the price of 500 CFA, to
reach the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the
Cadjehou district, on Rue 12.279, not far from the Cadjehou International
Airport.
I withdrew my passport with the visa appended and then I
took a bike taxi, which for the price of 500 CFA, took me to the main road
north-west of Cotonou where they constantly pass collective taxis bound for the
border with Togo.
The description of the trip complete with the map,
photographs and videos is available at this link:
https://vivendosalendo.blogspot.com/2019/07/viaggio-in-gabon-libreville-lambarene.html
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