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Are you going to TogA??? Togo?

We even got a that question before we went to TogO…

TOGO is a small West African country bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. TOGA is a cloth worn exclusively by men in Ancient Rome :) There is a "small" difference between these 2 words
We decided to make a quick jump to this small country since we were so close... After all - why not? We knew that Togo is obviously not in the top 5 choices for backpackers since the majority of tourists go to the neighboring Ghana. We actually didn't meet not even one (!) backpacker while we were there - only few foreign volunteers who were situated at one place and didn't move around.
Togo is only 50 (!) kilometers wide in sections and it stretches 600 kilometers inland from the Gulf of Guinea to the savanna of Burkina Faso in the north. It is West Africa’s smallest country and Africa at its most dazzling and overwhelming.
After only a few minutes drive from the border, you will come to the capital of Togo ---> Lomé. Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center and its chief port. We spent few days there, went around a bit…we almost went to Benin as well, but at the end we realized we don't have visas. It would be nice to check their voodoo markets since we were only 10km from Beninian border…well, there is always next time :)
Benin and Togo are known as the birthplace of voodoo, but we didn't have enough time to explore it that well or to see a part of it's voodoo charm. There is a market in Lome dedicated to the sale of ingredients which traditional healers say can make magic charm, but we decided not to go there since we've heard that they don't allow you to walk around without a guide.

I have to mention streets in Togo. Only the (very) main ones are paved, but the majority of the local roads in Togo are sand or dirt—very dusty in the dry season, very muddy in the rainy season. I saw only few paved streets in the capital – you can forget on them in the rest of the country. Driving conditions are hazardous throughout Togo due to the presence of pedestrians, large numbers of small motorcycles, disorderly drivers (moped, car, tro-tros and truck drivers), livestock on the roadways and of course - the poor condition of the roads, which often contain deep potholes. Since photos can tell more than my words it's better to check few pics further on in this blog.
French is the official language in Togo – you can imagine me, using basic words accompanied by gestures...luckily Togolese are social&friendly ;)
Tourism facilities are limited - especially outside the capital city, but still ok for my standards (which is by the way descending persistently with each new visited country)...
Togo is definitely worth a visit – but only for those with calm nerves, basic hygiene requirements, adventure spirit and very low transport criteria ... if you got all of this you will love it. I know I did!
TOGO is a place TO GO

HuGs, JaNa


PS: You can still see some photos from Ghana in this blog. I forgot to publish them in my previous blog about Ghana. I wanted to highlight the Cape coast castle in Ghana which is something special and should be known worldwide. The Europeans built several castles and forts, along the coast of West Africa – Elmina, Cape Coast, etc. These fortresses, otherwise known as 'factories', were the first permanent trading stations built by Europeans in Africa. The slave trade was a later addition to the commercial trade in gold, ivory and other local commodities in exchange for European merchandise. It formed part of the triangular trade between Europe, Africa and America.
It is extremely clear that the fortunes and greatness of the USA have largely been built up, thanks to the "blood, tears and sweat" of the African slaves in particular those from the gold coast of Ghana who were transported to the so called New World through the "Gates of no return" at the Cape Coast Castle. For almost 100 years there was a heated competition between the Portuguese, Dutch, Danes, Swedes, and English for control of Cape Coast. After the slave trade was abolished the castle became an important post for legitimate trade.
I would highly recommend you to go and check Cape Coast castle if you are planning to go to Ghana. They have excellent organized tours and museum with lots of information.

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