Blogs from Lome, Togo, Africa - page 5

Africa » Togo » Lome November 18th 2008

Fishing can be quite primitive in some parts of the country

Riding Day 8 - 95km (total 895km) What was suppose to be a nice short ride to Lome quickly turned out to be a nightmare. I had chartered a boat to take us across the river, so we could continue our trip to Lome along a little strip of land in-between the ocean and a Lagoon. It promised to be a very picturesque ride. However, before we could even get going a dog that had been hanging around our guest house bit us both just above the ankle within a couple of minutes of each other. The bite on me had broken skin, but not on Shauna. We quickly went into our room and cleaned the wound. We then finished loading up and headed across the river. It was then that things started to sink in ... read more

The fetish market (voodoo) market in Lome. Yes, that is a dead monkey's head. There was much more to see besides this.

Safari Tour - West Africa 2008 - Final Destination

Africa » Togo » Lome November 18th 2008

cyclingdiva

The pain has finally ended... We made it all the way to Lomé... So out of Accra after our long and torturous 150km ride into the city. The morning had started off fabulously.. paved shoulders, great highway and a wicked tail wind. We put in 90 km before 11:00 and found a clean highway restaurant to have lunch. This would be the first any only time on our trip that we've had a proper lunch. After lunch however, the wind changed directions and we got caught in a monsoon. We waited out the storm in somebody's hut until it cleared enough to ride. The ride into Accra itself was a hairy experience to say the least. Apparently greater Accra is only 2.5M people but I would have to dispute that. We were 20km from Accra when ... read more

Taxis and Taxidermy in Togo

Africa » Togo » Lome November 12th 2008

EmmaBD

About three weeks ago Akima (the girl from Grenada), Angela (the girl from Canada) and I decided to go to Togo. We’d all stumped up the extra cash for a multiple-entry visa before coming here, and so we were determined to get out of Ghana at least once. It’s about three hours drive from Accra to the border town of Aflao so we set off early on Saturday morning, bumping along the rather potted road which runs from Accra along the coast to the Togolese capital, Lomé. The road runs through the Volta Region on the easternmost side of Ghana and it is a beautiful part of the country. Lush tropical vegetation, neat little villages and market towns lining the roads, and an unbroken line of beach punctuated with the traditional carved fishing boats and stalls ... read more

Can I have that to go here in TOGO

Africa » Togo » Lome March 30th 2008

Kathleen in Ghana

Clever, I know. I wanted to say that a lot yesterday, but tought a lot would be lost in translation, and didn’t know if the Togolese had the same affinity for puns, as I do. For a variety of boring reasons, our Togo trip became a day trip, really to help us re-new our visitor’s stay in Ghana. I’m pretty sure we spent 8 hours in the van and 3 hours actually in Togo, most of which was spent in this wonderful, but incredibly slow French restaurant. What did I consume, one may ask? Well, the first thing I noticed corssing the border as how ridiculously blue the ocean was, and the sand was sooo yellow, but a pretty yellow. I guess the ocean is always bluer….. We started off with incredible French onion soup, then ... read more

Bienvenue a Togo!

Africa » Togo » Lome February 11th 2008

Danielle

I know, I know..I haven't written in forever...its just been crazy busy here...lots of stuff going on..so lets start with new years....happy new years by the way! Welcome to Togo - tres, tres, tres Francais y tres EXPENSIVE! I went to Togo for a few days for New Year's and couldn't believe how expensive it was! Togo is nice but I prefer Ghana. It was a fun few days but way more expensive than here! I went on a very "adventurous" trip a few weekends ago...but that will be the next blog (later this week - so be ready!) The Africa Cup of Nations just ended yesterday! Its the soccer championship for the best of the African Nations - occurs every 2 years - best 16 teams (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, South Africa, Mali, Benin, Morocco, ... read more

BEACH CHILLIN' IN TOGO

Africa » Togo » Lome January 13th 2008

VENDORS AT THE BORDER

Viajerong Pinoy

Left Kokrobite where we had been camping for days, got to the city of Accra and stopped @ Shoplite at the Accra mall, bought truck food, looks very western, lots of foreigners in the mall. We went to a store where they sell tents and Simon bought one for himself, Mark bought sleep mats, the place is similar to K mart, evrything you need in one. We drove to the border, took a long time maybe more than 4 hours, the roads are not that bad but mostly unpaved dirt roads, crossed through a bridge on the Volta river, I noticed on the other side people selling huge clams! some are in skewers, Amanda wanted to try some but the truck did not stop so we weren't able to try it. People are waving to us ... read more

Turtle Girl Au Togo

Africa » Togo » Lome January 9th 2008

Moto Rides

Ninii

For those of you who aren't acquainted with turtle girl...yet...it includes me (obviously) carrying a heavy backpack...the rest is self explanatory. To start off i did not have a heavy backpack, but after a series of 'mistakes' in Togo it turned out that way................... Crossing the border into Lome was really easy.. There didn't seem to be any obvious system and the constant wind blowing our documents away didn't speed up the process, if there was one..Anyways after the border nonsense i was DETERMINED to find a taxi moto (moped) to get to our hotel..So whilst everyone was changing money i spotted MY MOTO MAN. There he was...a giant piece of muscle with one of those haircuts that MC Hammer has, extremely tight denim jacket with old man glasses like mine on a moto. oh man ... read more

Losing your memory? Try New Powdered Chimpanzee Head!!

Africa » Togo » Lome August 20th 2007

Amnesia cure

Ouaga

Togo is a prime example of the madness, or ineptitude, or spitefulness, of colonial administration - or perhaps a bit of all three. Sandwiched between the slave-trading empires of the Ashanti and the Dahomey, the Togolese lost a lot of their folks to slavery. The Germans invaded in the 1880s, and found an obscure, and suitably-pliant, village chief, who signed a treaty of protection with them. They stuck around until 1919, and were then unceremoniously kicked out after World War One. The Brits and French took over, and the British eventually shaved off the western edge of Togo to add it to the Gold Coast - or Ghana, as it later was. The French granted independence to the remaining rump in 1960; but this was hardly a favour - Togo was a thin sliver of fractured ... read more

desde africa con amor

Africa » Togo » Lome January 5th 2007

sosnenes

poldete

holaaaa aqui me encuentro en Lomo sin probar cerdo...paradojas de la vida. Mali ha sido epico, tanto q no se por donde empezar. Burkina fugaz, tanto que vuelvo la semana que viene a verlo como dios manda. empezando por el principio salimos de bamako con muchas ganas...despues de la primera curva algo no iba bien con la direccion de Dereck...habiamos olvidado un desmontable dentro de la cubierta...increible? esto solo fue el principio de una serie de desgracias para su moto. Nochebuena, acampados a la orilla del Niger, fuego de campamento y pescado a la parrilla aun coleando. Nada de dulces, solo algun timido villancico recordaba que estabamos en Navidad pero disfrutamos como enanos. A la maniana siguiente busque regalos dentro de mis calcetines para encontar arena y alguna que otra espina... no esta mal, Dereck encontro ... read more

Dance, Jazz, and Voodoo in Lome, Togo

Africa » Togo » Lome October 16th 2006

"Bob"

Wild Eyed

October 14: For the first time, I have stepped off Ghanaian soil and ventured into the confusing yet utterly charming borders of Francophone Africa. Crossing the border from Aflao (in Ghana), my travel companions and I were greeted with the same bustle and cocaphony we had come to know in Ghana, but with a decidedly different twang. Mototaxi drivers courted us with eloquent French, and aside from the fish and texiles that crowned the heads of women in Ghana, baguettes and brochettes waded above the crowded streets of Lome, the capital city of tiny Togo. We quickly settled on our accommodation for the evening, and rested in the room to the sound of French announcers enthusiastically calling a French Premier League match on the tele. October 15: Woke early and devoured a breakfast of baguettes, chocolate ... read more

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