Merry Christmas from Benin

Here we are in Benin, having arrived 14 days ago after a 6 day dash across Nigeria where we encountered many scary police and military checkpoints and almost had the car impounded after it passed all other tests of lights and presence of fire extinguishers and triangles but they were delighted to figure they could bust us for the right-hand drive car! However, the further north and east we got, the less intimidating it became and we crept over a little used border into the safety of friendly Benin on 6 December. We made our way south to Porto Novo, then east along the coast where we've holed up for nearly a week at Grand Popo (which apparently means “Big Poo” in French!). There, the Atlantic crashes into a steep shelf, making swimming very dangerous. But other than that, it's idyllic – the sea is a beautiful blue, the sand golden and we were treated to a pod of porpoises dancing in the breakers one day. Peggy had a fantastic time running free, and now even sleeps outside the tent at night, although I do tether her, for fear someone will steal her. (More than once, we've been asked to give her away!)

We're back in Cotonou now to collect our Ghanaian visas (which were issued yesterday) shop for our tour of the north and get the car seen to. Preshy has ongoing fuel supply issues (probably as a result of the accident in DRC) and the latest looks like a fault in the fuel injection pump. More thumbs must be held that the Land Rover dealer in Accra can resolve this in early Jan without the need to import more parts from South Africa. It's becoming a bit expensive and DHL is making a fortune out of us, never mind local import duties.

Tomorrow we head into the Muslim north for Christmas, escaping the Crimbo tat that even little Benin is victim of – note our cheesy Crimbo hats. The Tanongou Falls are on the edge of the Park National de la Pendjari and it sounds like a good place to be if we can't actually get into the park itself. We'll try, but it's unlikely Peggy will be allowed. No matter, we know that birds don't respect park boundaries and we expect to be able to sit in our chairs at the falls sipping a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc (a little “dear Djin 'n Tonic from Djin 'n Tonic Christmas present) on Christmas day while thinking of our dear families and friends at home and around the world. The Sauv Blanc probably won't last very long, so we'll have to remember to have a back-up supply of tonic for the cheap “Le Vieux” gin we currently have in stock! Same gin must see us through New Year too, it being Djin's birthday on the 31^st.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. May 2013 be full of happiness and adventures!