Go Togo - 04/02/07

We awoke at 4:30am, left Tamale at 5am on the bus to Yendi.  Different from the usual decrepit buses this one seemed to have been stolen from a European airport.  It was almost brand new but there were hardly any seats, just a lot of room for peoples Samsonite sets.  We had no problems crossing the border between Ghana and Togo except that Monika left her Yellow Fever vaccination certificate  in the taxi that crossed before us and so had to convence the official that she really did have one!

The first thing we noticed about Togo was the roads.  They are in far better condition than those in Ghana.  In Ghana only the main roads were sealed, the rest only dusty trails, in Togo they are all sealed, albeit with their far share of potholes!  Also, the roads are empty, the only vehicles being public transport.  There are no private vehicles here.  If you have a car, it means you have a taxi. It also means you become very important and well known wherever you go.  The roads are one facet of the impressive infrastructure in Togo.

Our first stop was the northern city of Kara.  It was a pleasant introduction, a rich town, close to the home village of Eyadema, the long serving president, over 30 years, who died in 2005 (leaving his son in power in the most African of political manoeuvres.  Eyadema, for all his faults, had pumped a lot of money into Kara, and it showed.  There were no power cuts whilst we stayed and the taps continually poured forth water.  This might not sound like much but in any developing country, especially in Africa it is a technical feat par excellence.  These are other examples of the excellent infrastructure in Togo.  The next aspect that impressed us was the food on offer in the streets.  Whereas Ghanaian cuisine was perhaps the worst in the world, Togo excels in this department.  On the streets of Kara women were tossing salads with mayonnaise and vinaigrette.  Where else can you find that on a stall for 30p?  As well they have embraced pasta.  Pasta is probably the cornerstone of any self-sufficient backpackers diet in places such as Western Europe, North America and Chile, groups of unwashed, slightly dazed guys poring over a pan of pasta and packet soup in the hostel kitchen.  Here they cook it for you, and well!  Maybe this is where they benefit from being a French colony.  Whereas Ghana makes do with whatever, Togo irrigates fields, growing all manner of fruits and vegetables, all in the name of cuisine.  Another way I think the French influence shows is the women.  Whilst they have the same brightly coloured, patterned fabrics as in Ghana, in Togo they wear them well, with a haughty, French pretentiousness, with style.  In Ghana the women walked and acted like they were on Yarmouth seafront, in Togo its more St. Tropez. 

Tamberma Valley

From Kara we took a trip to Tamberma valley.  This valley houses many small villages, isolated communities of Tamberma people, protected from tourism and other encroachments by the location and lack of available transport.  We hired a taxi, which turned out to be quite expensive, paid an entrance fee at a roadside toll and set off. The road north of Kara goes over a few passes, not too high but incredibly dangerous because of the overloaded lorries (carrying up to five times the weight of the cab) with insufficient brakes, they pay people to jump out of the cab and stop the truck with rocks and logs when they need to slow down!  We only visited one Tamberma village, Bassamba. The main hallmark of the Tamberma is the fortress style house, called a Tata, with towers, thick walls, spy holes, grain stores, hiding places, chicken coops and all manner of other nooks, crannies and secrets.  They really are unique, I was glad to visit, and even more glad there was not a tour group in sight.

Heading South or next stop was Kpalime, a hilly, cool, town close to the Ghanaian border.  It was a nice town with lots of character, quietly colonial, not so organised and laid out.  We stayed in a nice hotel, The Bafana Bafana, all white washed with a courtyard bar and the church looming overhead.  Close to Kpalime is Klouto, even higher and surrounded by dense forest.  We paid a guide for a forest walk on which we discovered the sources of natural colours, a variety of fruits, butterflies, and giant trees, and a termite mound.  I think there are four stereotypical images of Africa – the bustle around a disused train track, a woman carrying a large pot on her head, burning rubbish by the slums and a giant termite mound.  Now I have photos of three of these. Just the burning rubbish to complete the set!  Klouto is also famous for coffee and we had a pot before we left, excellent but overpriced.  Kpalime also had great food and as we returned we had a salad that was 100% to die for, crisp leaves and crusty bread.  A bit more expensive though, almost 45p!  We met a guy at the salad stall, Wolo, and he came for a beer at our hotel. He was a nice guy but he was depressed by his job as a teacher and dreamt of working in Europe, as usual we had a hard time trying to explain that it isn’t like it is in the movies!

Termite mound, Klouto (near Kpalime)

We only passed through Lome, the capital of Togo.  As African capitals go I suppose it is not so bad, not too dangerous and not too ugly.  It is similar to Amsterdam in that all the roads radiate out from the port.  We crossed the not-so-clean La Lagune, the eerily deserted Place d’Independence, and the chaotic Grand Marche.  We took a taxi 12km east of town, past the port and customs to the village of Avepozo.  We camped in the grounds of Chez Alice, a run-down resort for overlanders, full of washed-up neo-colonial Germans and French and bikers repairing/preparing their machines and poring over maps.  There is also a fairly clean beach just two minutes walk away.  The food was expensive and crap and there were monkeys on chains hungrily looking on so we ate elsewhere.

Aneho

From Chez Alice we took a day trip to Aneho and Togoville.  Aneho is a crumbling but pretty colonial town, with a golden sand beach and turquoise water.  We met a group of local lads who invited us for coconut.  We did fear a scam or mugging but it turned out that one of their fathers worked in the bank so one of the guys scaled a tree in the bank compound and kicked coconut down for us to enjoy.  It was nice.  Not so nice was Togoville.  Ripped off by the motorider who gave us a lift, we also got sunburnt en-route.  Togoville is the centre of tourism in Togo but why? There is Lake Togo, clean and bilharzias free and the giant German cathedral.  Apparently the Virgin Mary appeared in the lake, prompting Pope John Paul II to visit the cathedral, which we visited, along with the tacky mural.  We got ripped off again by the boatmen as we tried to take a short cut across the lake.  On the boat was a crazy guy who kept offering to pose for a photo for us in return for a beer or a free taxi ride, when we refused he lectured us tat it is forbidden to photograph people here, which of course is something we already worked out!  He was crazy however and constantly asked to be dropped off on the lake shore in the middle of nowhere, to the amusement of the fellow passengers.

Cathedral, Togoville

After all this we had to return to Aneho the next day to cross to Benin.  Originally a side trip from Ghana, one of two noodles of land that we thought would be worth visiting whilst in the area, Togo exceeded all expectations and proved to be more rewarding and enjoyable than Ghana.