Voodoo

I am gearing up for my trek down to Benin for the voodoo festival. Benin is known as the birthplace of voodoo, so I couldn't pass up this opportunity.
The plan is to head down to the festival and spend some time on the beach there before heading over to Togo to meet up with a friend I met at the Stomp Out Malaria Boot Camp.

Benin and Togo aren't the top of the list of many travelers, although they have their merits (beaches, cultural attractions). Voodoo and having a friend in Togo were enough to push me to go. (That and we are only allowed to go to 4 of the 6 neighboring countries to Burkina all of which I plan on visiting).

Based on my observations while I was traveling through inland Senegal the climate seemed relatively similar to Burkina. The coast seems to be the difference. Cultures on the surface level seemed to have a lot of similarities and some differences. Food seemed to be similar in structure but very different in taste. I loved the food in Senegal. There was also a lot of islamic influence in Senegal. The health care system was very similar, although they had what is called a "health hut" which we do not. It was also evident that Senegal has more money and/or uses their government dollars differently (as evidenced by their roads and the giant statue in Dakar).

I will have to report back with my observations of Benin and Togo.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Airtel Burkina Faso.