Imagine you're on a solo trip. You're in a country you've never been to before, and you've just jumped on the back of a stranger's motorbike.

So you said, if you want, I can bring you there. It's about ten minutes away. So, I'll take a chance. Hop on the back of his motorcycle.

That's Rachel Décoste, a Canadian traveler in her 40s who just arrived in West Africa's Republic of Benin. And you heard it right, she just jumped on the back of a stranger's motorbike. Let's rewind and explain a bit how we got here. Rachel arrived in Benin back in 2018 and she was on a family history odyssey. Rachel had always known that she was a descendant of enslaved Africans, But until a DNA test earlier that year, she didn't know where her forebears had lived.

So the DNA test for a descendant of enslaved Africans has very deep significance for us. Even though it's not a precise science, when you get the map of where your ancestors came from, it's an emotional journey.

Suddenly, she had a list of countries where she had roots.

Senegal, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Ghana.

So, Rachel decided to pack her bags for an epic adventure.

I just kind of, like, flew by the seat of my pants for six months. Senegal was great. All of them were great.

Rachel arrived in Benin towards the end of her half year remote working trip. She expected this could be the most significant of all the stops on her tour.

My ancestors are from there, making my maiden voyage to the motherland. It was important for me to include that in my journey.

Benin is also home to Ouidah, once one of the most active slave trading ports in Africa.

I'm sure that one of my ancestors passed by there just because of my DNA test. There's not that many other choices.

For this reason, visiting Ouidah was top of Rachel's priorities while in Benin. So shortly after she arrived, Rachel stepped out of her accommodation and glanced around, looking for someone to ask for directions.

Many of these African homes have huge, tall gates. I opened up the gate. The first guy I see outside, I say bonjour, ça va? Which is how you start a conversation with a stranger in West Africa in French, which just means hello, how are you?

This motorbike riding stranger was Honoré Orogbo, a single father and business owner who just happened to be passing by that morning.

So he said, if you want, I can bring you there. It's about ten minutes away.

Rachel had no intention of driving during her trip and public transportation wasn't reliable.

So I figure 9:00 in the morning, I'll take a chance. Hop on the back of his motorcycle. Had I left five minutes later, it would have been a missed connection. Like, you cannot plan this.

'I'm Francesca Street, CNN travel journalist, and this is Chance Encounters, a podcast about the incredible connections we make while traveling. This week, we're fall in love while traveling through West Africa's Republic of Benin. It's 2018, and Canadian traveler Rachel Décoste just landed here. Before she arrived in Benin, Rachel anticipated an important journey of self-discovery. But she could never have predicted the extent to which this trip would change her life. Rachel is French-Canadian and Honoré first language is also French, and that's still the language they communicate in today.

(French)

So Honoré believed that this was destiny because he was not planning on being at that spot where we met that morning.

And when I listen to her voice that sounds like she is foreign. She's not local. And then I said, okay, I'm gonna just help you because you don't know anywhere in our country.

So Honoré ended up taking Rachel all the way to Ouidah.

And we get to Ouidah one hour and a quarter later. And I'm like, okay, good to go. Thanks, sir.

Before they went their separate ways, Rachel asked Honoré if he wanted to get brunch. She wanted a bite to eat before she started her tour, and extending the invite to Honoré felt like the polite choice. He'd gone out of his way to help her after all. When the two sat down to eat, Rachel was acutely aware that she was a woman traveling alone.

In Canada, I'm a dark skinned Black woman, but in Africa, I'm Mariah Carey. Okay, so I don't blend. They could tell from my skin tone and I'm not even talking about the way I dress.

Honoré had been nothing but polite and respectful, but he was still a stranger. So when he quizzed Rachel about herself, she was pretty economical with the truth.

Where are you from? Haiti. I'm going to tell him I'm from Canada. What do you do for a living? I'm a secretary. I'm actually an engineer. But I'm not going to tell him that. Are you married? Oh, yeah. My husband's waiting for me at the hotel, right? Like, I'm married. I'm not worth any money. I'm not worth kidnaping. Like, I'm not available. Don't pick me if you have any ill intentions type of thing.

A relationship started on lies isn't usually a great start, but at that stage, Rachel wasn't expecting to see Honoré again. Still, while she didn't share the true details of her life, Rachel did explain how she was hoping to travel around Benin over the coming days, and after a bit of back and forth, Honoré, agreed to be Rachel's driver, with Rachel paying him to take her around the country for the rest of the week. Honoré took Rachel to Benin's most important sights. Touring Benin was a powerful experience for Rachel.

Did you kind of start opening up a bit more. Or were you still kind of keeping some barriers because you still didn't know him and everything else?

'We both were very open and very candid because we were strangers, and we'll never see each other again. He was candid about his family. For example, he was a single dad of a, then he was four-year- old son. But I remember him saying at one point when I'm riding on the back of his motorcycle, he says, you know, you'll have to forgive my old motorcycle because I'd rather put my child in English school. He paid a lot of money for that, he says I'd rather have my kid have those opportunities than drive a fancy motorcycle. And I thought, wow, I saw myself in those values. And my whole family actually in those values where we may not come from money, but there's always money for education because it's that important. And they sacrifice themselves for their children.

They were having this conversation while on their way to a huge market where Rachel was going to pick out some fabric for dresses.

The market in Cotonou, for fabric, it's the size of like five football fields. Fabrics stores and one after the other. And there's just a million different options and I can't pick.

Rachel was overwhelmed by the choice, so much so that she asked Honoré to pick his favorites. He opted for two pieces of colorful, bright Ankara fabric. The third option was a white gray lace style called lessi. Rachel loved it.

And I thought the dress I will make with this could be appropriate for a baptism or some kind of special occasion.

Dress for a special occasion in hand, Rachel left the market. She was starting to grow closer to Honoré, but he still thought she was married. When we come back, Rachel tells Honoré the truth.

Welcome back to Chance Encounters. I'm Francesca Street. Before the break, chemistry was starting to bubble and things were starting to change between Rachel and Honoré. They definitely weren't strangers anymore. And in one of the many conversations driving to Benin landmarks, Honoré had mentioned to Rachel that when he and his friends wanted a night out that travel to Lomé, the capital of the neighboring country of Togo. Rachel thought this kind of sounded like fun.

'I can't guarantee that I'll come back here. This is a once-in-a lifetime trip. So I said, if you're willing, I could get two hotel rooms and we could go to Togo together and we could go to one of those bars that you think is so great. And we did go to Togo. We're dancing, it's just pure joy. It was absolutely like, wow. And it was in Togo that I was like, after I think five days that we were together. Then I was like, hmm, we get along great. He laughs at my jokes, I had a bit of a meltdown, which I'm not proud of, where he didn't freak out. He took it all in stride and we just clicked. I would never do this in real life. Well, that's not true. I guess I did it in real life, but this is not in my character to be forward. But I reached out and kissed him first, and I told him that I really wasn't married. And he was very happy to hear that. And he was just. In total shock. His legs almost fell under him. I sent an email to one of my girlfriends in Ottawa. I met this guy. I've known him for four days. We get along so great. I've met some of his family. I met his kid. We get along great. I don't know how to say in English, le courant passe. We have a connection.

Oh, like the chemistry, maybe?

Yeah, we had chemistry.

Yeah.

I think this should be my husband. But am I crazy? Like, I've known this guy for a week. Is that stupid? Tell me if I'm crazy. And she says, and I quote, I still have the email. It says, Rachel, you're not a stupid person. You have good judgment. You are a good judge of character. If he's the one, grab him. And that's when I was like, you know what? I'm going to tell him the truth that I'm not married.

For the remainder of Rachel's time in Benin, she and Honoré, they spent as much time together as they could.

Well, I guess we, he kind of moved in with me for the rest of our time in Benin.

And then on the evening of Rachel's return to Canada. Honoré and Rachel sat together side by side on a beach.

We just discussed, like, you know. Is this it? Do you want to continue? He's like, yes. You know, I have to go back to the Americas. How would you feel about joining me? And he he had to think about it.

It was a big decision. Rachel and Honoré had only known each other for a couple of weeks. For Honoré, emigrating had never been a goal. He knew it would be a big change for his son. But Honoré says he decided to follow his instincts.

(French)

Sometimes, you have to follow your heart.

Voila, c'est ça

That's it.

Two weeks after we met, we got engaged.

(French)

When we got engaged, it felt like a movie.

(French)

I'm the kind of person that takes a long time to analyze people. So when she suggested that we get married, I surprised myself when I said yes almost immediately.

From that, things moved quickly.

Got married six months later in Benin.

And remember that dress made from that white lace fabric that Honoré and Rachel picked out during that first week together in Benin?

So that dress ended up being my wedding dress.

Wow.

You can't make this up. He picked my wedding dress the day after we met. So he joined me in Canada.

For Honoré, the Canadian winter was a bit of a shock, but he was so happy to be with Rachel. His son quickly settled into the new routine, too. They became a family in Canada.

Everybody's reaction was shock. Because I'm perpetually single and happy being single. So first it's shock. And mostly they're just so happy. And yes, the the serendipity of the meeting and the whole journey, I've been told too many times, this sounds like a movie.

Today, seven years after Rachel spontaneously jumped on Honoré's motorcycle, the couple live happily with their son in Canada. They own a business together, creating garments with African inspired prints. Honoré is studying while Rachel is working as a diversity and inclusion expert, as well as writing a memoir about her travels and, of course, her incredible love story.

I wonder if there's a particular emotion or message, you would want a listener to this podcast to take away into their own life and maybe learn from you guys in some way.

My message is that you're never too old to travel solo. Travel is okay as a woman, and there's no expiry date on the possibility of finding the love of your life.

Sometimes you have to make a decision based on your intuition, not what other people said.

I already told Honoré that he's my good luck charm. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I should have bought a lottery ticket that day.

Thank you to Rachel Décoste and Honoré Orogbo for sharing their Chance Encounter.

'This is the last episode in series one of Chance Encounters, the Podcast. We've loved sharing these amazing stories of travel connection with you, the listener. If you've enjoyed joining that journey with us, we'd love it if you could rate, review and subscribe. I'll be continuing to share Chance Encounters in article form online on cnn.com. In fact, there's a whole backlog of stories for you to explore on there and enjoy. And if you have your own chance encounter to share, I'd love to hear it. You can share your story with CNN in the contact form link in our episode description. This is Chance Encounters, reported, hosted and written by me, Francesca Street. Dan Bloom is our showrunner and co-writer. Sofía Sánchez and Kyra Dahring are the producers. Dan Dzula is technical director and Matt Dempsey is technical production manager. Haley Thomas is senior producer for development. Steve Lickteig is executive producer of CNN audio. For more chance encounters, check out cnn.com/travel. CNN Travel's global editor is Barry Neild. Special thanks to producers Lori Galaretta, Felicia Patinkin, Graelyn Brashear, Grace Walker, and Jesse Remedios. Jamus Andrest created the artwork for this show. We had support from Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Joey Salvia, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Nichole Pesaru, Lisa Namerow, David Allan, and the team at CNN travel. Wendy Brundige is CNN Digital's SVP of Content Strategy. Chance Encounters is a CNN Audio production. Thank you for listening.