Getting Out and About With Some Germans

Donn's affinity for running has apparently spread throughout the school community. One of the parents (Norbert) contacted him about a week ago, and invited him to check out a local running club called CASH, Cotonou Anglophones Saturday Hash. This small group is part of a larger, world-wide running group called Hash House Harriers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers. I wanted to tag along to see what it was all about, but ended up participating in the run!

Basically, a couple people from the group (hares) set up a course ahead of time for the rest of the group (hounds) to follow. Along the course there might be misleading directions that will lead to dead-ends. Runners need to pay attention to "signs" the hares leave to follow the correct course.

Norbert's wife, Connie picked us up and drove us about 45 minutes east of Cotonou toward Porto Novo, Benin's capital city. 

Donn took this photo while we were on the road toward the starting point. Plantains!

Wow, there's hardly enough room for the passenger!

We stopped at a toll both along the way. The man looks like he's pulling his car through. It's a bush taxi, one of the modes of transportation to get out into rural areas. Bush taxis leave for the destination only after all of the seats have been filled up. So there's usually 6-7 people in the car, with all of their gear on top.

Surprisingly, most of the participants are German. They are co-workers with Norbert from a German company that is providing technical expertise and support to Cotonou regarding water supply system management and restructuring of office management practices in various departments for Benin. 

Once we arrived the ground rules were explained to all and we got started. Donn and I were the newbies, never having done a Hash run before. Three others had participated in Hash runs in other countries, but this was their first time doing CASH. The rest of the group had been on at least one CASH run. We were also accompanied by Luna, a golden retriever.

Norbert, in white hat, explaining the rules. The white, shredded paper in the bottom left corner was what we had to look for along the trail.

We meandered through farmland for about half of the trail.

It was quite sunny, hot, and humid, especially in the exposed areas of the trail. We saw many different kinds of crops being grown, planted and watered by hand by the people who lived on the land. Plots were maybe one acre in size, with a shack house to one side of the parcel. There has been no sign of industrial farming in Cotonou. It's done the old way, with a lot of sweat and hard work. We greeted any of the farmers and families as we traipsed through their plots. All were friendly in return.

These goats wouldn't turn around and smile for me!

When the leaders found signs of the trail continuing on, they would shout "on-on" and the rest of us would know which way to turn on the trail.

Donn, Doris, and Luna looking for trial signs. Part of the route took us to the beach.

We passed by a fishing village. All the boats were in some form of disrepair.

Cactus on the beach!

We followed the shredded paper signs through a tree plantation and had to stop because this herd of cattle blocked our way.

The herder let me take his picture.

Once we got back to the start, we were treated to some cold beverages. There was an initiation rite for the newbies, first Donn and me, then the other three people. First of all, you had to introduce yourself, where you were from, and what you were doing in Cotonou, without mentioning the word "work". If you did, you were "punished". Also, if you were wearing new shoes, you had to drink from your shoes! Luckily we all had on well-worn shoes. Lastly, we had to drink our beer while the rest of the group sang a song about "down, down . . ." something. The song encouraged us to drink our cups down and then we had to put our cup upside down on our head when the song ended. We were all fast drinkers!

Matt, Philippe, and Nora during "down, down".

 
We were driven home by Vallance, one of Norbert's co-workers and fellow "hare" for today's trail. Vallance is from Rwanda, but received a university degree in Germany back in the 1990s. His English was passable, but he spoke German and French quite well. Once I started talking with him on the ride back, my German learned long ago came back to me and I was able to hold a conversation with him. 

This wasn't much of a run, but rather a 7.5 km walk through some interesting countryside. It was a chance for like-minded people to get together and see what rural Benin outside of Cotonou has to offer. We met friendly locals in a quiet, agricultural setting, away from the noise and pollution of a big city. We had a great time and plan to do it again the next time CASH meets.