Lome, Togo

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Wow, our last port was on the 19th in Walvis Bay. We were scheduled to stop in Cotonou, Benin yesterday but due to a storm front that moved in as we were attempting to enter their harbor, and a cargo ship that was delayed getting out of our birth, the captain made the impromptu decision to skip the stop. However, we did have several people getting off there, as well as someone coming on, so the captain sent a tender to the pier with those departing and picked up one that was joining us. Actually, the guy getting on the ship was the husband of Yuki, a young Asian woman who got on in Cape Town. She and her husband, who live in Hawaii were flying from London to Cape Town to meet the ship. When they got to the gate at the airport, he didn’t have an empty page in his passport and they wouldn’t let him fly, so she went on and he had to deal with his passport problem. Hence, after getting it fixed at an embassy, he flew to Cotonou to meet up with the ship, and then we almost didn’t stop there. They were happily reunited. In Cotonou, we were supposed to go to Ouidah-The City of Voodoo for a 5 ½ hour tour…oh well. Those that have been to Benin before said we didn’t really miss much.

So, on to Lome, Togo we went. Togo is an interesting country at the northwestern part of Africa. Being tall and narrow, it is 40 miles wide at the coast, 90 miles at its widest point and extends 365 miles into the inland of West Africa. It is officially the Togolese Republic and is bordered on the east by Benin (where we didn’t stop) and Ghana to the west. Lome is its capital.

Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, as their climate provides good growing seasons. Their official language is French, however there are many languages spoken here. They gained independence from France in 1960. This is a very poor country, as approximately one half of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 US a day.

Lome is a city that is developing and changing quite fast. It is a city where opulent villas are next door to very modest and rundown housing. Because the city is not socially divided, it is experiencing problems related to things like garbage collection, and the fight against unhealthy urban living conditions.

We signed up for the Voodoo Ceremony in Sanguera tour today, thank goodness, as we didn’t get to do the one yesterday in Benin. Sanguera is a very interesting one-hour ride from the pier, as seen in the photos.

Upon arrival, we were met by the chief, his wife, a young child, and another member of the tribe. They performed an initial ritual before we could enter which involved pouring some form of alcohol into a wooden bowl that contained another liquid. The chief tasted it and then spread it on the ground. After we all sat around the ceremonial area, they passed out bottles of soda, water or local beer for everyone. There was a group of tribe members that were playing a variety of drums most of the time, and then the ceremony began. We were told this is a true voodoo ceremony, and not a show. The small village looked quite real…and appeared many actually lived there.

The first part of the ceremony was to dig a hole where they buried a rooster under a clay pot and covered him for 45 minutes. During his burial they performed several other rituals like laying small leafy branches on the ground and being able to carry a small child. Another involved a man that was under a spell and one that had something to do with a young boy and a dead chicken placed on his head. Later, the rooster was unearthed, still very much alive.

The village had many young children and a number of us brought candy from the ship to pass out. Annette was attracted to a colorful bracelet that the chief’s wife had on and was able to negotiate an acceptable price to buy it from her. After this very interesting ceremony, we returned to the pier and then decided to take the shuttle to the local market with a number of other folks. We didn’t have a lot of time as we had to back at the ship by 5:30 for our 6:00 sail.

The market was an experience in itself! These guys made the hawkers in Bali look like beginners. They were all over you…Big Time! We did end up buying a few locally made things and also got some nice mangos. All in all, another amazing African experience!

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Photos

Welcome to Cotonou!
Not quite, as a storm front moved in the waves got higher and we had to wait about an hour outside the port for a cargo ship to get out of our docking spot, the captain made the decision to skip the port. The small fishing boats were having a rough time. a

The Tender
As we had several that had to depart here and one to pick up, the captain sent a tender to facilitate the transfers. a

Welcome Aboard!
After bringing Yuki's husband aboard, they raised the tender back into its place and off we went. a

Local Fishing Boat
Local fishermen come fairly close to the ship as we depart. a

Welcome to Lome
This young boy was on the pier near the bottom of the gang plank as we exited the ship .

Welcoming Entertainment
A local band and dancers are here to greet us.

Colorful Dancers
Dressed in their traditional garb. a

Two of the Dancers
These two colorful dancers posed for us.

Road from the Pier
The road from the pier was a very bumpy dirt road with some street vendors.

Almost Hotel
Along the pier road was this hotel whose construction, appearing to have stopped some time ago.

Along the Beach
A beautiful beach that unfortunately appeared to be the place where some lived. You can see some of the ladies doing their laundry in pans and drying them in the sun on the sand.

A Local Market
We passed by this market in the bus.

Doing Laundry
These ladies are doing their laundry...unbelieveable surroundings.

Carrying a Load
This woman has a full pan on her head and a baby on her back.

Side Street
A shot looking down a side street as we passed.

Welcome to Sanguera
Roadside sign directing us to our voodoo ceremony in Sanguera.

Wall Art
After getting off the bus we saw this interesting wall art.

Home of the Chief?
During the ceremony, I spotted the chief coming and going from this doorway.

An Interesting Sculpture!
This caught your eye right away.

The Chief and Family
The chief in white stands next to his wife, a child and another member of the tribe as they greet us.

A Child
He waits patiently as the chief greets us.