For decades a narrow waterway in Ganvie, Benin has been a discreet rendezvous point for young couples to meet – safe under cover of darkness, far away from strict families and prying eyes.
Now the so-called "lovers' channel" in west Africa's largest lake city risks becoming a relic of the past, the once-adventurous secret meeting place rendered obsolete by loosening social norms and dating apps.
"It's a beautiful story, but today ... we talk, we get to know each other without hiding," said Anna, 22, a student and native of the city often billed as the "African Venice".
"We don't need all that extravagance to find our soulmate. The channel isn't as essential as it used to be," agreed Roslin Dantin, a 30-year-old cattle farmer.
"We see the lovers' channel as something for old people. For our generation, there are better options. Technology and social media have replaced those symbols," added Augustin Gbenoukpo, a 24-year-old student.
Elise Avlessi, who met her tailor husband on the waterway about 15 years ago, acknowledges that times have changed.
"Today, even from his bed, a young man can make a move on a girl who's on the other side of the world," she said.
But new technology can also mean less privacy and intimacy.
"Before, we did everything in secret, we let the relationship develop away from prying eyes," she said, a touch nostalgic.
"We had nowhere else to meet freely. In the past, our parents wouldn't allow us to go out," she said of her early relationship with her now-husband.
Without the meeting spot, "... our relationship would have been very difficult to develop. It was practically the only way to flirt," she added.
Her husband, Joseph Hougebe, remembers whistling into the night, eagerly waiting to hear a paddle tapping against the hull of a dugout canoe – coded signals in the darkness.
"At night, you couldn't tell the men from the women in the canoes. So they used slogans, pre-arranged keywords," Jonas Zannou-Zoki, a tour guide, explained to visitors.
Time may be marching relentlessly on, but for those who once listened for their soulmates' voices carrying across the dark water, the canal still holds a kind of magic.
Just a few paddle strokes away, "Lovers' Square" has been created in tribute.
Emilienne Atoukou, the site manager, points to the "sacred canary" – a kind of small, perforated jar – placed in the centre of a dugout canoe, into which lovers throw cowrie shells, so that they fall through it into the canal.
"People come to write their vows on cowrie shells that they throw here," she said.
Then they go to the "promises corner" in the square. "It's an intimate space, dedicated to fidelity and love," she explained.
She said the square has been consecrated by dignitaries of all religious denominations in Ganvie, making it a respected place, both spiritual and symbolic.
"These are moments of peace and contemplation," Atoukou said.
It is not only residents of Ganvie who find the waterway enchanting.
"(Recently) a French couple returned to testify that their vows came true after meeting and making promises on this canal," said guide Jonas Zannou-Zoki.
"They are still together, years later."
While the number of canoes has decreased over the years, some still meet there to seal their union.
Astrid and Pierre-Marie, a couple in their 30s, came a few days before Valentine's Day to "promise each other the most important things".
"Before the wedding, we wanted a place that had meaning. On this channel, our vows felt more genuine," said Astrid.
"We came out of curiosity and we're leaving with a promise. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the channel brings us luck," her future husband added. – AFP
