"Breathtaking. ":Things I never thought I'd see on a moto

"Zemis", the local name for motorcycles are a big deal here.   That's an understatement.  Zemi is to Cotonou as brown is to my skin:) They're pretty easy to buy, rent, maintain and are the main form of public transportation.  So if you find yourself with a dozen or so boxes to bring home and the price is right, you will likely find yourself a zemi to take you and your boxes where you need to go.  Here the ingenuity comes in:

It would not surprise me if he fit a person on there too.

What would be illegal and downright daredevilish in the States becomes a work of art in Benin. It even inspired one of the caricature drawings I saw on Saturday.  This was on the flyer advertising the show and it is a remarkable satire of the moto culture here in Cotonou:

I will keep an eye out for zemi-feats to add to this page.  Please pray for our moto driver safety and wisdom because it can get pretty wild out there.

I saw another feat the other day:

We saw some casualties: cabbage and other green goodness.

Not a zemi photo but impressive nontheless. Looming question: What is this a tire for? Not any truck I've ever seen. Perhaps an airplane? A Beninese Transformer? One of the good guys I hope. . .


I almost wanted to run up along them and give him a hand.