19. I'll Take That Country Togo Please

another early morning to 'beat the traffic' for a weekend away. in a series of events that felt more like an article from the '36 hrs series' in the nytimes than a weekend away, we went, slept and returned fairly quickly.

4.30am Taxi On Shaishie Road

at 4.30am we showered, walked to the main road by our house and caught a private taxi to the shared taxi stand. from here we joined two others for the 3 hr drive to the border with togo.

10.00am Watch Out At The Border

within 10 mins of arrival at the border, we were gate-raped by the ghanaian border police and then by the togolese border police as well as a series of foreign exchange dudes. it was wonderful to see how passports (or lack thereof) have become a reason for citizens to bribe police.

11.00am Their All Smiling On The Inside

we arrived at our hotel. checked-in and decided to take a walk around town and the markets. a smile in ghana is typically met with a smile. an awkward joke or attempt to reference something local is typically met with a positive response and a lot of handshakes and hugs. i tried to use all my charm, everything i'd learned these last few months, but the togolese would have none of it. the people are simply less friendly and not interested.. they refused to smile or even laugh.

12.30am Fight For Independence

we walked around town trying to get a feel for the place.obviously no-one was interested in us at all (must be the french influence) so we made our own way through the markets and attempted to find the independence 

monument. nicolas made friends really quickly (see left)... i seriously only left her for 30 seconds to take a photo of the monument on the right, and look what happened. maybe they are friendly and it's just me?

1.30pm Wild Goose Chase on Art

then we took a much longer drive and walk around town than we'd planned. there is a museum which is a display of a swiss private collection of african art on the outskirts of town. it seems to be the only real tourist attraction in the capital lome, but unfortunately no-one knows where it is. after several failed attempts with taxi drivers and others giving directions, we opted for the more schvitz-enhancing option of walking along the beach and through the market. 

2.30pm Nothing Like Relaxing by the Sewer

we walked along the beach which is quite a picturesque coast line of blue ocean and powdery looking sand. unfortunately the combination of the smell of an open sewer emptying onto the beach (see right)  and the area falling apart (see left) takes it off the swimming/honeymoon destination list.

4.30pm Eat, Read, Relax and Take In Sunset

given the french influence in togo, they are known for good food -at least more so than the ghanaians. and we were not disappointed. the team in our little hotel cooked up a pretty good lincher (a meal we have come to know as the combination of lunch and dinner. it is usually the result of limited access to food due to travel, work in the field or lack of options). we ate, read, watched the sunset with my new nigerian friend who was meeting his american fiance for the first time that night after several years of a facebook relationship. shortly after sunset we went to have a quick rest, which turned into a good night sleep.

6.00am Hike (Or Drive) A Mountain

we woke up at 6am for a ride north west to mt agou on the border of togo and ghana. our plan was to drive out there, hike 2 hrs each way and then jump back in the car for a lift to the border. we arrived at the base of the mountain, paid an entry fee and then began ascending the mountain. the driver and guard at the gate told us the hike was at the top of the mountain where the car would wait for us. about half way up we realized there was no hike and we were in fact driving our planned hike. we got out and walked the rest of the way...

we asked this man to take a photo of us at the top. he failed 4 times and it became apparent that we would need  to take photos with him if we were going to capture the moment. here is my moment with him with nicola snapping. 

12.30pm Check Your Tyres

thud thud thud.. we punctured a tyre and our driver stopped to change it ( i tried to help by providing comic relief). fortunately he had a spare.

1.30pm Meet Interesting Man For Ride Home

the togolese border police had dollar signs in their eyes as we opened our passports to them. "yellow fever certificate" they yelled. nicolas told them she left hers in accra "no problem you pay" they said. then we crossed over and waited for a shared taxi back to accra. the congregation of drivers asked for an obscene amount for the ride home. we negotiated, and offered a reasonable compromise which they would not accept. so we said "we'll wait to fill a car". they laughed telling us no tourists would come and we would pay after waiting. then came the wonderful chance to prove to the drivers that they should 'make hay while the sun is shining'. a man walked through the border and we asked if he wanted to share a car. he said no thank you i have my own and kept going. a minute later he came back and asked if we wanted to join him in his car back to accra. goldschmidt 1, drivers 0.

after about 10 mins of awkwardness in the car, we realized that this man worked for the same organization as us and the conversation opened up. funny coincidence, but also a good one. we then heard 3 hrs of stories of his 15 yrs of development experience. all very interesting and nice way to end the trip.

4.30pm Do The Washing

despite the cynical review above, we actually had a great time in togo...as we were doing our washing at home we laughed about how quickly we entered and exited the country. although i do think it was enough time to see what is a smaller, less developed and french version of ghana.

hanging around in lome... togo's answer to the corner where braschs meets hokka hokka and donut king. 

a whole new perspective on the term 'bag lady'