At the end of day three we zemi'd from the Benin/Togo frontier to Aneho, ten minutes into Togo on the East. We found Hotel Oasis to park ourselves at for the night and whiled away the afternoon and evening reading, chopping a burger and napping.
Day 4: The sandal saga continues!
Following a super relaxed evening on day three we decided to start day four in the same fashion. I did some clothes washing then joined Abs on the Hotel Oasis terrace with my book and a clear head for a few hours of reading and reflecting on lifes recent turn of events! At lunchtime we decided to venture out to the beach and to find somewhere to eat. As I posed barefoot on some rocks for a photo that I wouldn't even call worthy of the next thing that happened...my sandals got swept away into the turbulent sea as the tide came in and guzzled them up! I could not believe it, in six months of life in Ghana I have dropped a flip-flop down a long-drop and now lost both my sandals to the Gulf of Guinea...what are the chances!? After a few minutes of hoping that the same wave that took them away would kindly return them to the shore we realised that we were fighting a lost cause and my beloved new Kumasi sandals were gone for good!
During all the sandal commotion we forgot we were hungry so we walk (me barefoot) back towards our hotel in search of food, and what do we find...absolutely nothing! There is not a single chop house open, not a street stall in sight, nothing! We eventually stumble across a woman selling avocado on her head so we chop one each and explain my rather unfortunate sandal situation. She shouts across the street in French then tells us to go, so we head towards the shop she is pointing at. When there we come across a group of people eating lunch, something we haven't seen anyone in Aneho do yet, so we ask what it is and where they got it. Before we know it we are asked to sit down, the plate is pushed towards us, we're given two forks and we're chopping away at spaghetti, potatoes, carrots, runner beans all in a mayonnaise, vinegarette sauce! Amazing we both think to ourselves! Not only that, but the lady of the house has a basket full of second-hand sandals that I can choose from, meaning my feet are once again sandal happy, but for how long I ask myself...
We're definitely not full from our shared plate of food so we then hop on zemis back to the Benin/Togo border where we pick up some fruit and try some deep fried cheese with green chilli sauce, which is yummy! After that it's back to the Hotel for another evening of peace and quiet, I read my LP like it's a well written novel and disturb Abs from her book every two minutes to give her an interesting fact on West Africa. Early to bed and looking forward to tomorrow...
Day 5: Crocs and dogs skulls, lizards and statues, it can only be a voodoo market!
Today we decide to get back on the road and active again with a trip to Vogan's Friday market en route to Lome, the Capital of Togo. Once again we pack up our ever-growing backpacks, chuck them on our backs and jump on two zemis for the thirty minute ride to Vogan. When we arrive we're already in agony with the weight of our backpacks, but face a couple of hours walking around the market so 'man-up' and venture in...
This is one of the first markets in West Africa I've been to that is not total and utter chaos! The stalls have numbers, the paths between stalls are wide and clear and there are even toilets. We do our usual - purchase more cloth and bracelets (a blog post will follow this month with all the new clothes I've had made from this endless cloth I keep buying)! After a while we give up on seeing any voodoo stuff so head for the cars to Lome where we find ourselves the first two in the car, meaning a wait for four others to join (two people in the front, four in the back)...after thirty minutes or so a fight breaks out between our driver and another (a recurring theme of this trip) so we quietly remove our bags from the trunk and slip away back into the market! Luckily we then stumble across the voodoo items we were hoping to see - crocs and dogs skulls, lizards and statues, furs and hairs, Togolese men and children hoping to sell us some of these fetish items - funnily enough we decided our backpacks were too heavy at this point for anymore purchases! Time to attempt to leave again so we find a less chaotic corner of the car station to pick a car to Lome. The road is shockingly bad and we're squashed into the hot and sweaty car - me in the back with three others and Abs in the front with two others! We giggle our way through the hour journey, falling silent as we hit the city, realising that we have a lot of negotiating to do now...
There is no yellow uniform for zemi-john riders in Togo as there was in Benin, so it's hard to tell who is picking or not! The yellow uniform, I am sure, does not mean they have a license to pick or anything like that, just that it makes them more visible among all the other thousands of motos. We don't get a price we're happy with from the zemi's near the car stop where we get dropped so we walk a little further up the road to a busy junction. Two motos stop and we manage to flatter down their first price to something we are more happy with, we may not be able to go out drinking heavily as the Western men are more comfortable doing, but we are capable of flirting down a price every now and again! *This will feature heavily in our exiting Togo story later*
After a hot and bothered walk around the area we want to stay - near to the beach and Ghana/Togo border - we eventually find a hotel that has rooms and that we're happy to stay in. The starting price for the room is 21,000 (definitely over budget) but when Abs asks about volunteer discount the price drops by 10,000 (30 Cedis) to 11,000 per night! What's the catch we wonder so we walk upstairs to look at the room, which is spacious enough for two, has a TV and warm water (occassionally) as well as a huge shared living room/diner and outside terrace...'we'll take it!'
As usual an early evening stroll was needed to orientate ourselves so we sprayed ourselves with enough bug spray to clog the lungs of a small mosquito army and we were off on our feet in the direction of the beach! I could feel that deep feeling of excitement and release as we neared the water and Abs and I practically ran across the sand to the waters edge we were so happy! We took some photos and decided to go for a sunset meander (it all sounds awfully romantic doesn't it), but our happiness was not long lived when we discover to our utter horror that the beach is used as a public toilet! We were surrounded by people squatting in the sand and the remnants visible for all to see...needless to say we ran as fast as we could (with our sandals on (I managed to not lose mine this time)) off the beach and for a beer to get us over our shock! We then treated ourselves to a pizza oven 'proper' pizza for dinner and it was back to our luxurious hotel for the night...
Day 6: One of those days!
Day six was one of those bitty days where nothing really got done or achieved, but we enjoyed ourselves regardless! We started the day the only way we know how, with egg 'n' bread then hopped on zemis to what we got told were Togo's clean, nice beaches! As we headed off in the direction of the industrial site and port I was a bit dubious, but had remembered nice beaches on the Benin side of the Capital so kept my faith! However, when we got dropped off in the heart of the Industrial site at a couple of nice hotels my heart sank a bit, then further still when we saw the beaches! They were definitely clean, there's no doubting that, but they were lifeless and miserable and overlooking the industrial site! Who would want to even up their tan lines here we wondered, and pay a small fortune for the non-pleasure! We sensibly decided to leave so found ourselves on another couple of zemis heading back to our end of town. When we reached the Grand Market we alighted and walked along the beach there until we found a pleasant spot away from sewage, sellers, children and people...perfect! But as is always the case within minutes we started to notice more and more men wanting to be on that part of the beach and desperate to chat to us even though we couldn't speak French! We decided we needed to find somewhere peaceful for tomorrow so we walked home via a couple of hotels with swimming pools and enquired at their non-guest rate to use the pool - 2,000 CFA so 6 Cedis, yep we can afford that, plan for tomorrow made! Following all of our egg 'n' bread breakfasts we decided on a fruit, veg and chocolate (oops) dinner, which I think our bodies much appreciated! We spent the evening utilising the huge dining room table in the hotel playing 'blink' and 'apples.'
Day 7: Sunbathing, beach parties and...brothels!
Our mission is clear today - even up tan lines, relax and have our first day of nothing...we do it all pretty well! I finish my book - 'One Day' that morning on the terrace and am surprised at how much it makes me think about such things happening to me and how I would deal with and react to them! My sister gave me this book to bring to Ghana having read it herself, hating it, so knowing I would love it (she knows me so well!) With my book finished and my I-pod battery dead it was me, myself and I for the day, which was probably a blessing in disguise as I enjoyed gathering and ordering my thoughts and just checking in with myself on how life is at the moment being Hannah! My conclusion was that it's pretty grand!
As the sun started to come down small over the rooftop pool at Hotel Palm Beach we decided to pack up and walk the thirty minutes back to our own hotel. As we stood up and looked down onto the beach we noticed there were hundreds and hundreds of people all gathered by the shore. We assumed there must have been an accident or something and didn't think much more of it. But as we walked along the beach, we realised that this was far from an accident and a huge beach party instead with food, drink, music, dancing and plenty of games being played! How incredible we thought and what a coincidence after Lake Bosumtwi to be somewhere else on a big party day! This was no party day though, this was a standard Sunday in Lome when the whole place comes alive with people enjoying themselves along the same stretch of beach they use as a toilet! How odd we thought as we drank from coconuts and munched on yet more avocado filled baguettes. That night I also tried gizzard (something I won't be doing again) and we found an amazing sweet chilli egg 'n' bread that we both loved! A happy successful day!
We then went back to our hotel and had our suspicions confirmed that we were indeed staying in a family run brothel! That was obviously the catch when we got a 50% discount! We laughed and remembered the section of the LP that explains how most hotels in Togo and West Africa double as brothels! We went to bed that night making sure our door was locked...!
Day 8: The day I married off Abbie!
Today was a travel day, with our aim to leave Togo first thing in the morning, head into Ghana and to Ada Foah for a spot of beach time there back on the cheaper Cedi! We said goodbye to the brothel, got breakfast (no prize for guessing what that was) and confidentally walked to the desk to exit Togo! 'No, visa expired' was the response from the policeman there! 'What do you mean it's expired, we have a seven day visa, today is the seventh day!' I say. 'No, visa expired' he replies pointing to the date written on the visa, which blow me down is the 24th July not 25th as I had calculated it to be! I cannot for the life of me understand and spend the next half an hour saying so! Meanwhile Abs is standing quietly about a meter away, me thinking she's less than ecstatic that the crazy woman is off again, but actually she's eyeing up the good-looking policeman while I argue with the border officer! Don't worry Abs you just enjoy the view while I clear up this mess eh?!
Finally after saying we will not pay 30 Cedis for a new visa to walk the three metres back into Ghana, refusing to pay a bribe to get the exit stamp the illegal way, getting told I talk too much (sounds like every school report I ever got) and dragging every passer-by into the discussion, we do the only thing we know that works...we flirted our way out of Togo, or I should say, I married Abs off to get out of Togo (which judging by her interest in the policeman I don't think she minded at all!) So with a promise of marriage we're all smiles as we shake hands and get the only thing we really want, the stamp in our passport! We walk the three metres and find ourself back on comfortable home soil...Ghana!
 |
| Courtesy of the Abster (her sandals not mine)! A message for so many of you other there... |
We're definitely not full from our shared plate of food so we then hop on zemis back to the Benin/Togo border where we pick up some fruit and try some deep fried cheese with green chilli sauce, which is yummy! After that it's back to the Hotel for another evening of peace and quiet, I read my LP like it's a well written novel and disturb Abs from her book every two minutes to give her an interesting fact on West Africa. Early to bed and looking forward to tomorrow...
Day 5: Crocs and dogs skulls, lizards and statues, it can only be a voodoo market!
Today we decide to get back on the road and active again with a trip to Vogan's Friday market en route to Lome, the Capital of Togo. Once again we pack up our ever-growing backpacks, chuck them on our backs and jump on two zemis for the thirty minute ride to Vogan. When we arrive we're already in agony with the weight of our backpacks, but face a couple of hours walking around the market so 'man-up' and venture in...
This is one of the first markets in West Africa I've been to that is not total and utter chaos! The stalls have numbers, the paths between stalls are wide and clear and there are even toilets. We do our usual - purchase more cloth and bracelets (a blog post will follow this month with all the new clothes I've had made from this endless cloth I keep buying)! After a while we give up on seeing any voodoo stuff so head for the cars to Lome where we find ourselves the first two in the car, meaning a wait for four others to join (two people in the front, four in the back)...after thirty minutes or so a fight breaks out between our driver and another (a recurring theme of this trip) so we quietly remove our bags from the trunk and slip away back into the market! Luckily we then stumble across the voodoo items we were hoping to see - crocs and dogs skulls, lizards and statues, furs and hairs, Togolese men and children hoping to sell us some of these fetish items - funnily enough we decided our backpacks were too heavy at this point for anymore purchases! Time to attempt to leave again so we find a less chaotic corner of the car station to pick a car to Lome. The road is shockingly bad and we're squashed into the hot and sweaty car - me in the back with three others and Abs in the front with two others! We giggle our way through the hour journey, falling silent as we hit the city, realising that we have a lot of negotiating to do now...
After a hot and bothered walk around the area we want to stay - near to the beach and Ghana/Togo border - we eventually find a hotel that has rooms and that we're happy to stay in. The starting price for the room is 21,000 (definitely over budget) but when Abs asks about volunteer discount the price drops by 10,000 (30 Cedis) to 11,000 per night! What's the catch we wonder so we walk upstairs to look at the room, which is spacious enough for two, has a TV and warm water (occassionally) as well as a huge shared living room/diner and outside terrace...'we'll take it!'
 |
| The 'Star' beer of Togo! |
Day six was one of those bitty days where nothing really got done or achieved, but we enjoyed ourselves regardless! We started the day the only way we know how, with egg 'n' bread then hopped on zemis to what we got told were Togo's clean, nice beaches! As we headed off in the direction of the industrial site and port I was a bit dubious, but had remembered nice beaches on the Benin side of the Capital so kept my faith! However, when we got dropped off in the heart of the Industrial site at a couple of nice hotels my heart sank a bit, then further still when we saw the beaches! They were definitely clean, there's no doubting that, but they were lifeless and miserable and overlooking the industrial site! Who would want to even up their tan lines here we wondered, and pay a small fortune for the non-pleasure! We sensibly decided to leave so found ourselves on another couple of zemis heading back to our end of town. When we reached the Grand Market we alighted and walked along the beach there until we found a pleasant spot away from sewage, sellers, children and people...perfect! But as is always the case within minutes we started to notice more and more men wanting to be on that part of the beach and desperate to chat to us even though we couldn't speak French! We decided we needed to find somewhere peaceful for tomorrow so we walked home via a couple of hotels with swimming pools and enquired at their non-guest rate to use the pool - 2,000 CFA so 6 Cedis, yep we can afford that, plan for tomorrow made! Following all of our egg 'n' bread breakfasts we decided on a fruit, veg and chocolate (oops) dinner, which I think our bodies much appreciated! We spent the evening utilising the huge dining room table in the hotel playing 'blink' and 'apples.'
Day 7: Sunbathing, beach parties and...brothels!
Our mission is clear today - even up tan lines, relax and have our first day of nothing...we do it all pretty well! I finish my book - 'One Day' that morning on the terrace and am surprised at how much it makes me think about such things happening to me and how I would deal with and react to them! My sister gave me this book to bring to Ghana having read it herself, hating it, so knowing I would love it (she knows me so well!) With my book finished and my I-pod battery dead it was me, myself and I for the day, which was probably a blessing in disguise as I enjoyed gathering and ordering my thoughts and just checking in with myself on how life is at the moment being Hannah! My conclusion was that it's pretty grand!
As the sun started to come down small over the rooftop pool at Hotel Palm Beach we decided to pack up and walk the thirty minutes back to our own hotel. As we stood up and looked down onto the beach we noticed there were hundreds and hundreds of people all gathered by the shore. We assumed there must have been an accident or something and didn't think much more of it. But as we walked along the beach, we realised that this was far from an accident and a huge beach party instead with food, drink, music, dancing and plenty of games being played! How incredible we thought and what a coincidence after Lake Bosumtwi to be somewhere else on a big party day! This was no party day though, this was a standard Sunday in Lome when the whole place comes alive with people enjoying themselves along the same stretch of beach they use as a toilet! How odd we thought as we drank from coconuts and munched on yet more avocado filled baguettes. That night I also tried gizzard (something I won't be doing again) and we found an amazing sweet chilli egg 'n' bread that we both loved! A happy successful day!
Day 8: The day I married off Abbie!
Today was a travel day, with our aim to leave Togo first thing in the morning, head into Ghana and to Ada Foah for a spot of beach time there back on the cheaper Cedi! We said goodbye to the brothel, got breakfast (no prize for guessing what that was) and confidentally walked to the desk to exit Togo! 'No, visa expired' was the response from the policeman there! 'What do you mean it's expired, we have a seven day visa, today is the seventh day!' I say. 'No, visa expired' he replies pointing to the date written on the visa, which blow me down is the 24th July not 25th as I had calculated it to be! I cannot for the life of me understand and spend the next half an hour saying so! Meanwhile Abs is standing quietly about a meter away, me thinking she's less than ecstatic that the crazy woman is off again, but actually she's eyeing up the good-looking policeman while I argue with the border officer! Don't worry Abs you just enjoy the view while I clear up this mess eh?!
Finally after saying we will not pay 30 Cedis for a new visa to walk the three metres back into Ghana, refusing to pay a bribe to get the exit stamp the illegal way, getting told I talk too much (sounds like every school report I ever got) and dragging every passer-by into the discussion, we do the only thing we know that works...we flirted our way out of Togo, or I should say, I married Abs off to get out of Togo (which judging by her interest in the policeman I don't think she minded at all!) So with a promise of marriage we're all smiles as we shake hands and get the only thing we really want, the stamp in our passport! We walk the three metres and find ourself back on comfortable home soil...Ghana!
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