Tuesday May 19, 2026
Hi All! We were docked today in the city of Cotonou in the country of Benin within the continent of Africa. Cotonou is located on a narrow strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Nokoue. It’s the largest city and seat of government of Benin. Its population is over 2 million in the larger urban area.
We had originally planned to do a Regent tour but it was at 8 AM, they were calling for rain, and it involved some time on a canoe with no cover. So we cancelled the tour, slept in and took the 11 AM shuttle to the local Craft Market. Sounds like a better plan, right?
Well we woke up and guess what, no rain! Those darn inaccurate weather forecasts! We kinda wished we would have done the tour but we took the shuttle and hung out at the Craft Market doing lots of shopping. I’m looking at you grandkids!
We were back on the ship by 2 PM, had a light lunch and were able to sneak in two passenger games (I know, we’re addicted!). We played Baggo and Top Toss and won 7 Regent points! We then chilled and got ready for dinner.
We had dinner at Compass Rose with two of our entertainer good friends Rhaegan and Chey (Cheyenne). Chey is a dancer and is from Melbourne, Australia and Rhaegan is also a dancer and is the dance captain of the team and is from Glasgow, Scotland. Chey had been off the ship for a few weeks attending her sister’s wedding and visiting family. It was so fun to see all the wedding pics!
We had another great meal with great conversation. Like the other entertainers, they are both such wonderful people. As to the food, I had both the Caesar Salad as well as the Gravlax for my appetizers and the Cod Filet for my main. Everyone was having dessert so I succumbed and got the Molten Chocolate Lave Cake. Regent is so consistent with delivering delicious meals every night!
After dinner we went to the 9:30 PM show with the Guest Entertainer from the other night named Brett Cave. He was the singer/piano player that specializes in Elton John and Billy Joel and he once again nailed it. He’s also high energy and puts on a great show! After that we crashed as tomorrow we are in Ghana.
PS: This is a heart warming side note about our good friends Colleen and Steve who we met on last year’s world cruise and are on this one as well. They are the kindest, most generous people I know. We recently found out they have supported and funded a group of young kids from Ghana starting around the age of 5 for the last 15 years!
They also helped repair both the orphanage they lived in as well as the church they attend. Well tomorrow in Ghana, Colleen and Steve have arranged for those kids to spend the day on the ship! How cool is that?? We hope we get to meet the kids as well. Even with all the chaos in the world, it’s so heart warming to hear a story like this.
The Wandering Italian 