Togo to Go

Friday 20 October – Roaming Lomé

Joe and I made our way out of Legon, on our way to Lomé (low-may), Togo, which is quite literally on the Ghana-Togo border. The tro-tro rides were smooth, taking just about three hours to get from the capital of Ghana to the capital of Togo. The road for about half of it was paved perfectly, which was quite a surprise.

Immigration went perfectly, no problems. Stamped out of Aflao, Ghana and into Lomé, Togo. A couple of difference were noticeable as soon as we crossed the border:

• The currency used was not the cedi, but the CFA – the West African Franc. 1 US Dollar = 500 CFA = 9250 cedi.
• The language spoken is predominately French, with some Ewe (eh-vay), a local language.
• The cloth is not as bright, but still very nice
• The women were not as beautiful, but still very nice
• Baguette is so much better than crappy Ghana bread
• The main mode of mass transportation is moto, not tro-tro
• There is no open sewage in Lomé

We grabbed a taxi for 1500 CFA and decided it would be the last taxi we took. Three dollars for 5 kilometres is a ripoff. But we got to our hotel – Hotel Boulevard (say it with a dirty French accent. In fact, say all the French words with a dirty French accent) – and settled in.

Our first stop, naturally, was a bank, where I could use my Visa to get CFA’s. What Visa says is true – it really is everywhere you want to be. Conveniently, the bank was right next to the ECOWAS building. ECOWAS – the Economic Community of West African States – is the NAFTA for West Africa, and apparently, its headquarters is in Lomé. Joe and I just stood outside of the building, marveling at its beauty.

From ECOWAS, Joe and I went scavenging for food. Walking through the streets of Lomé, we passed plenty of clothing vendors, woodcarving shops (monkeys, hippos, and a sax player) and other sorts of touristy stuff. Asking for a place to eat, we met a person who spoke Twi. The three of us had a conversation in butchered English, French, and Twi, which made for a great laugh.

We continued wandering around Lomé, toward the Grand Marché, until we ran into a man named Alex. Alex sold some beautiful Ewe masks, one of which I bought.

After a quick dinner, Joe and I made our way through the Grande Marché, which was closing down for the night, and came across a beautiful cathedral. We heard some rumblings on the inside, and went in to check it out. Mass was being held, and we went in. They were going through Hail Mary’s at the time; Joe and I sat there and just enjoyed the sound of people praying in French. 15 minutes, and we were out of there.

We returned to the hotel, thinking it was late, until we saw a clock – 7:30. We were both wiped, but mustered enough energy to go to a bar for a Togolese beer, which was quite tasty.

On the way out, this man selling woodwork walked by with this beautiful ebony piece – A drummer. I was taken by it and purchased it for 3000 CFA.

Saturday 21 October – When in Lomé…

We got up and at it around 9 AM, looking to fill an ambitious schedule. But first, we needed some grub. Joe grabbed a croissant from a little street-side vendor and we made our way looking for a café. We came across Café Corsini and enjoyed some ridiculously good espressos – Joe’s from Colombia, mine from Kenya.

Hopped up on caffeine, we headed toward Place de l’Independance. The monument is absolutely spectacular, and it seems to have both African and French influence. Here, we met Gilbert, who walked around with us for the day. He wasn’t so much of a guide as much as a local companion and translator when needed.

From there, we walked toward the presidential palace, which is buried behind a wall and rows of trees. Along the way, we came across the sports complex which had a soccer field, basketball courts, volleyball courts, and others. On the side of the road, we bought some amazing fruit juice slushy, which we mixed with water to make a perfect drink.

Being close to the beach, we headed down, and strolled from the beach to the Grande Marché. Being Saturday, Grande Marché was somewhat panicked, but nothing we couldn’t handle. The clothing was about the same price, the baguette was amazing, and I finally found some cloth for some very important people. Some nice cloth for a shirt for my dad and some pimpin’ Ewe print orange and black (SF Giants colors) cloth for Joe.

Once we got to the end of Grande Marché, Joe and I stopped in the cathedral again, where there were very few people. The cathedral is spectacular, with a ton of colonial influence. We stayed for 15 or 20 minutes, admiring the paintings, stain-glass, and woodwork of the cathedral.

With most of our itinerary done, we caught a couple of motos and made our way to the Marché des Fetisheurs. The Fetish Market is a voodoo market with all sorts of crazy voodoo stuff, including monkey skulls, gorilla skulls, gazelle skulls, and dog heads among other things. We also met the voodoo chief, who performed some sort of benediction. I bought some cool voodoo dolls and, outside of a minor international conflict over the price of another item, it was an amazing experience.

We came back to the hotel, and at the same time, a group of girls from the university pulled up to the hotel. We all stayed at the same hotel the next couple nights.

Hungry from a long day, Joe and I went to this lovely croissanterie, about 20 metres from the hotel. I got this amazing meal of bread, meat, mixed veggies and French fries for 1000 CFA. We followed dinner with some amazing desserts from a neighboring patisserie. A few hours later, a few of us headed down to the Bar Panini for a drink, a reward for getting through a long day.

Sunday 22 October – Beach and Baguettes

The title for the day is fairly representative of my day. Around 10, all of us, except Joe went to the beach. Along the way, we stopped for quite possibly the most amazing food ever – a baguette, stuffed with avocado, onions, lettuce and tomato, with a dash of olive oil. What made it even better was that the whole thing cost 150 CFA – 30 cents! We walked and ate, getting down to the beach by the pier. The pier is no longer used, and after walking on it, it’s pretty clear why it is not used anymore.

The beach was beautiful, and desolate for the most part. A rather large group came toward us, clearly drawn by “les blanches” – the whites (it was a nice change from “obruni”). We definitely brought the party to us. The waves were absolutely massive, and the tides were pretty strong, but nothing that couldn’t be handled. The water was like a bath. At one point, I had one of those “in Africa” moments. I realized that I was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, but in Africa. So strange.

The sun beat me down pretty badly – I forgot how close to the equator we are, and I burnt to a crisp. Exhausted, a crashed pretty early

23 October

Having done everything that I wanted to do, I decided to make my way back home. After an obnoxiously good chocolate croissant and orange juice, Joy and I got on a couple motos, headed to the border, and checked out. Besides the flat tire, our tro-tro ride was easy.

Back in Legon, a lot of people on the floor asked about my trip. I showed them my pictures and my purchases. In the evening, Duncan’s father joined us for some Rich Love. Then we headed to Jazz Tones, a nice little jazz bar, where we indulged on Bailey’s, a screwdriver, and a kamikaze on Mr. Wold’s dime.

In all, it was an incredible and affordable weekend. I definitely plan on returning to Lomé just for a weekend, if nothing else but the baguette and avocado. So good.

For now, though, back to normalcy in Legon. Pictures will be up as soon as possible.

LDG.