General Update

Haven't got a huge amount to say, but just thought I'd say something! Am also in the process of writing an article for Projects Abroad, which in typical Togolese style is around 4 and a half weeks overdue - how I've adapted to the lifestyle here!

Since I wrote last it's been Independence Day here and is nearly Labour Day, plus Sarah has left Projects which is not such happy news! Tomorrow we're heading to the beach with Projects to basically eat all day I think, and am going to pass by school beforehand as well. Again in true Togo style, the headmaster announced today that tomorrow (Labour Day) we would have a party at school, make lunch there, and everyone had to come up with a menu, plus give him their money to pay for it. Cue also very typical Togolese shock! So consequently, we taught no classes today but instead spent the time encouraging the men to give away their money and coming up with a menu which was feasible. In the end, we decided on an entrée of basically a kind of potato salad with cucumber, peas, tomatoes, onions, potatoes obv, mayonnaise, chili obv and some other bits and pieces; followed by none other than FUFU! With I think sauce ademe, but not sure. It really amused me this morning because noone could decide on what they wanted, and he went round asking every single teacher their opinion, so therefore there were way too many things to choose from! The money was also an issue, because it ended up being 4000CFA per person which is quite a lot really, and so not everybody had it, or was able to give it so they were ordered to go to the bank which is a solution but seems to forget that we're running a school here... and it's not like the children are even invited! Sadly, it sounds like lots of them don't have a day off tomorrow as all their mothers who are market sellers are taking the day off so it's the children who are working the stalls instead. But at least they get a break from school. It just amused me today how the whole thing was so diplomatic, and yet we didn't manage to get anything done! And, surprise surprise, it was the women who ended up doing ALL the organising, plus buying the food. (Btw, going to be working with Women's Rights from May at CACIT, something about which I am really passionate, especially here. Can you tell...?)

So that's tomorrow! Independence Day was a bit bizarre really, went to the beach as that was supposed to be the place to be, but actually ended up in a fast food restaurant which I used to really like and have now kind of gone off (will explain more in a minute) because we were warned off the beach. In fact, there was a demonstration linked to CACIT who I will be working with next, because it was Independence Day, but it was repressed by the soldiers so there was some violence. Really wanted to kind of watch, or at least see something, but we did see a whole train of motos with people dressed in yellow which was something! Was saying I've gone off the restaurant, because it's just too Westernized, and you get the feeling when you walk in that you're not in Togo any more. And at first, that was not always a total relief, but a change, and now I don't like it at all. It just feels fake and false, and I kind of despise the people you meet there who turn up in their massive great cars and you can tell that they don't really live here at all. And it makes me really... cross, sad, all sorts of emotions really. So then on Friday night we went to Club 54 where there's always great music, and there were supposed to be fireworks after the big concert in the Independence Square but sadly they didn't happen.

Then Saturday night, Sarah left Projects Abroad and we had a big party and dinner to send her off with! It was really nice, but really sad; she'll be truly missed here in so many ways.

Just had a really interesting discussion just now about the ageing population in Europe and what we should do about it. We've come to the conclusion that we should send some of the young people here to Europe, and exchange them with some of the old people so that the populations balance out and see how it goes. Can see that working really well!!

Extra Classes

Don't have that much time, so just going to write a quick one to say I've finally started my afternoon classes! Have now had two sessions, and a third is coming on Thursday.
First time, we had about 75% attendance, which to be honest is about 50% more than I was expecting so a great start! (Second time, surprise surprise, numbers had dropped a little, but let's be optimistic!) I have had to do two groups of 15, both unfortunately on Thursday afternoons - 15h to 16h and then 16h to 17h. This might be more flexible soon, but at the moment it's like that. I decided to start with teaching them about England in general, so gave them a list of 6 categories we were going to look at over the first few sessions. These are Weather/Climate, Places, People, Food, History and Lifestyle/Culture. So started with Weather/Climate (which also ended up including plants, trees and flowers!) as they've already done it in Geography so the ideas should hopefully be nearish the surface. Drew the beginning of a spider diagram and wanted to get them to come up to the board with their own ideas, but it ended up by me more giving them ideas. In reality, they don't know much at all which is in one way very good because then I feel more useful! Got some interesting questions though, and with the Places, that I couldn't answer myself! They know many many of the cities by football teams, so had sooo many questions about was Everton in London and where was Chelsea and Blackpool and all sorts - in the end I had to admit that I am not interested in football AT all, so can't really help them that much except in generality there! Also had lots of questions about the size of England (??) and also what an isle was as I showed them the Isles of Wight and Man. It took them a lot time to get the hang of that one! I'm also on a promise to sing the National Anthem this week, as well as find out the population of Scotland's largest city which I have btw accomplished! (No thanks to my personal geographical knowledge though...)

Last week I wanted to introduce them to some different revision strategies, as they have exams this week and for the 3é it's the BEPC Blanc, which are like mock GCSEs. Judging by last term's results they either can't/won't learn or can't/won't revise because the results were not very good, so wanted to get them thinking in a different way. Sadly, it was me working against 16-20 years in the school system so my lovely flow charts and mind maps weren't totally swallowed I don't think. My aim was to do an example in class, and then for them to take that away as a tool for their revision for this week, but I think they ended up thinking I just wanted to revise with them, which isn't quite the same.

However, we'll keep trying. This week I think we'll continue with the things about England and going to try and get them to write a poem too which will be INTERESTING...! Have also told them to all come at 15h, so kind of hoping they don't all turn up otherwise will be overrun! Haha, so will let you know how all that goes. And also about being on Togolese TV... :)

Le Pays Tamberma et les Maisons Tata

Bit difficult to know where to start with this as there are about a million and one things to say, but will start with the history of the people who live in the Pays Tamberma and then go on to describe the tata themselves.

The people are animists (voodoo worshippers), originally from Burkina Faso. In the 11th century, there were religious wars with the Muslims who wanted them to conver to Islam, so they fled south into Togo and the area we now call the Pays Tamberma. By the 13th century, they had also spread across the border into Benin and today the area has a population of about 200 thousand. When they first arrived, the country was all forest/jungle, inhabited by savage animals like lions etc (sadly they've all disappeared now) so they had to sleep in the trees for protection. They then discovered the baobab tree, which is hollow, so they transferred these trees into houses, and slept up in the branches, protected from the animals. They lived by hunting and gathering, and this evovled into the agricultural and livestock society of today. When they were settled in the area, they began to clear the trees in the forest to make spaces for their houses and animals. Once space was cleared, they then chose a stone, some argile which they use to build the houses, a chicken and an arrow. They fired the arrow from a particular spot, and the place where the arrow landed was the new possible site for the house, as the distance between was large enough for agriculture and livestock etc. Then, they sacrificed the chicken on the stone, and stuck the feathers to the stone with the blood. If the feathers were still there the morning after, it meant that the spirits had given their approval and building could commence. If, however, they had been washed or blown away, it meant that there were evil spirits in that spot and another would have to be chosen.

Once the site had been determined, the father of the family then began to brew the maize beer that they drink often in the north - tchoukoutou. After three days, the beer was ready and he would call all the village to come and participate. Every person helped lay the foundations of the house, as well as sharing the beer of course. After the first layer had been done, it was up to the family to finish the house; this they do layer by layer, using the argile first, and cow manure on top as a waterproof finish. As the house was being built, the wife of the house made a kind of tube, which fitted into the hole in the shower area where the water from the bucket runs out of, and in effect, this serves as a kind of drainpipe as it stops the water running down the side of the house which can damage it. When the house was finished, the wife presented this pipe to her husband as a kind of sign that she too wants to protect the work that he has done. It's interesting that the houses actually have the same kind of wavy but big and hollow shape as the baobab tree itself, you can tell that that was the original model!

Outside the house, there are 2 large stones which have 'eyes' facing towards the house. These are fetish stones obviously, and they represent the protecting gods of the family, so their eyes point towards the house in order to protect the inhabitants. If something happens to one of the family, such as an illness etc, the father must go and pray to the gods to ask their forgiveness and sacrifice a chicken on the stones and again stick the feathers on it, using the blood. There were also several other stones, with their 'eyes' facing away from the house, towards what would have been the forest. These represent the spirits of animals that have been hunted in the forest by the family, and the size and shape of the stone varies, depending on what the animal had requested. These are also used for sacrifices, and occasionally an animal can also ask to be represented in a more physical form, by marks on the family's faces... Our guide's little sister for example, has a scar in the middle of her forehead, which is separate from those to signify her family, because an animal that her father had hunted requested to be represented like that. The skulls of the animals that have been hunted hang outside the house, whereas the skulls of animals sacrificed hang inside the second room in the house.

They are definite believers in all the animism and they have so many things for it... Like a special stone where you go to be cured from snakebites - and if someone goes to hospital for something like that, and they don't get better within 4 days, they bring them home and treat them on the stone because the stone takes 4 days to work so they believe if the hospital hasn't cured it within that time, it's because the snake was in fact an evil sorceror so it's only the spirits that can cure the person... Strong stuff!

So the house itself looks kind of like a castle with turrets, sort of; it's hard to describe exactly. WILL put photos up tomorrow, I know I've been promising since February but tomorrow it is happening! The houses have 5 different rooms, going from the first entrance room to the terrace right on top of the house. The first room is where the women prepare the food, not the kitchen, but here tasks like grinding maize or pounding spices or yam etc are carried out. The second room is the father's room. Here they hang all the potions and medicines, plus the skulls of animals sacrificed, and this is where the man of the house sleeps, to guard his family against anything that might arrive in the night. He sleeps on the ground, and there is a little kind of hollow in the wall where he keeps things like his pipe, so when he's finished using them they go directly back their and everyone knows they belong to him. There are also two small holes in the wall, by the side of the door. In effect, these act similarly to the arrow slits in old castles in England - from inside, one can see out, plus shoot arrows at his target, but from the outside, no one can either see in or harm the people protected inside. The third room is a hidden room, and genuinely, you can't tell whether there's anyone in there from the second room. This is to protect the women and children, or for the father to hide and attack an enemy who has entered the house.

The fourth room is the actual kitchen, and is raised up - kind of halfway between the rooms on the ground floor and the terrace right on top. Here the women cook, as well as store a little in pots on the shelf there. When they've finished cooking at night, they bring the food up onto the terrace where the family will eat round a little stone table. This table is not all it seems however, as if you raise the stone top there is a slit, again for an attack from above if someone comes in whilst the family are eating or sleeping. The women and children sleep here on the terrace - there are about 3 or 4 covered areas that serve as bedrooms, and also flat, raised surfaces for sleeping. In the rainy season, obviously everyone will sleep inside but in the dry season it's too hot as the stone guards the heat enormously (I speak from experience!) so they sleep outside on the terrace itself. The entry to the bedroom is literally just a hole, and at first we were dubious as to the practicality or even the possibility of this! However, apparently these are magic as is the one door to the house itself - they may appear small, but as long as you enter correctly, it's possible for anyone of any age or size to enter... Again, these are devised defensively; you enter with your feet first, backwards and come out in the morning the opposite way, head first, and so this ensures that you never have to turn your back on the outside and so on a possible enemy. Got our guide to demonstrate this style of entry, a photo of which is definitely going up somewhere on the Internet very shortly! The pointy turrets of the tata are in fact the covering for storage areas, two of them, where things like food that won't spoil are kept during the year.

So that is that! Found the whole thing really really interesting, and still wondering how people continue to live like that - without electricity, running water, regular source of income, any kind of security - and seem to be genuinely content. Really makes you think...

Travelling in the North - Friday 6th April

So on our last day, we were in Kpalimé - very familiar for both of us, and such a nice relaxed little town too. We had another brilliant breakfast at the café,  and then headed back to the hotel to be met by the guide who was going to advise us on waterfalls. After a successful negotiation - we halved his price, yes! - we headed off (two on the moto... eek...) to an unnamed waterfall. Access to these waterfalls is always a bit tricky, but honestly, this was something else! Nearly vertical, up and down, by the time we got to the bottom we were definitely ready for a swim! It was such a beautiful waterfall though; secluded, quite big with a pool encircled by rocks, and an enormous rock exactly like Pride Rock in the Lion King. Being African, our guide of course scaled this in about 2 seconds and spent the time sunning himself on top. Being English, I decided to stay in the water... Which was cold!! But definitely worth the scramble. Afterwards however, we then had to get back to where we'd left the moto... Not as difficult as I'd feared it might be, it wasn't at all easy though! The ironic thing is that after you've came back up from the bottom of the waterfall, you need another waterfall at the top to cook off again... Unfortunately, it seems they only exist at the bottom of very steep hills, not at the summits, definitely inconvenient.

We spent the rest of the morning at the Centre Artisanal, which is very interesting as you get to see all the artists at work, but sadly extremely expensive because of that factor. Bought my sister's birthday present though (Gwyn!) and tried to get a really cool keyring for my car keys at home thrown in too, but the man was having none of it - meanie.

So after a lovely relaxing and touristy last day, we made a little tour of the market (and got lost - well done us...) where I bought the best honey EVER, plus presents for Mama and the girls which was fortunate. On the way back to the taxi station, we passed a taximan who called to us asking if we were going to Lomé, we said yes and that was it! We threw our bags in the back, hopped in and set off! He even stopped at a roadside market so that we could buy fruit for the families - I think the easiest taxi we found the entire trip haha.

Arrived home at 4.30ish and was met with such a lovely welcome by all the girls - even the people down our road were telling me 'bonne arrivée' cos I guess it was obvious I was coming home from somewhere...!

Will write a separate post to tell about the history of the Tamberma etc now because it is too much all in one, and when we've written our highlights list will also put that up on here. Had such a fantastic week, despite some of the difficulties we did it and managed to get back home  all in one piece too!

X

Travelling in the North - Wednesday 4th - Friday 6th April

Sooo at this point in the story, we are in Sokodé and it's the morning of Wednesday 4th April.
Here I think a small deviation is necessary to discuss the merits of the Togolese roadside café. Some basic information - prices usually range from 250CFA to 1500CFA maximum, company is variable and menus are all pretty much identical, although we did come across one serving Quaker Oats! These menus include about 7 different varieties of each staple - spaghetti, rice/couscous, meat, omlette. The breakfast options also include coffee, with or without milk, hot chocolate, ditto, or a combination of the two, again with or without milk, plus bread. Some of the delicious combinations of meals include spaghetti and chips, omlette and peas, couscous with tomato sauce and peas and omlette and spgahetti. I can thoroughly recommend all of the above. (note - when they say peas, they mean an entire can of tinned peas, it turned out to be surprisingly tasty!) Consequently, having discovered one of these such cafés next door to our hotel, we commenced by spaghetti simple, which actually means spaghetti with tomato, onion and chili sauce, and followed up by breakfast, omlette sandwich (which means eggs cooked with tomato and onions in bread) and Milo café (coffee plus hot chocolat, plus condensed milk, which is the only milk used in these cafés!) - YUM. We later discovered a very pleasant alternative to this in Kpalimé - Quaker Oats simple - which means porridge and sugar! Rather filling though as you have to remember Togolese portions are double regular size, be it breakfast, lunch, supper or any kind of food.
So after a very nice breakfast with Obama, we asked an entire list of questions to the owner of the café (here, it's essential to note that this time, the company at the café was very useful indeed!) about where things were and how to get to them. During this, we discovered that 2 of the things we wanted to see no longer existed, but we got directions to the rest. These included the old grand mosque, the new mosque (Sokodé is a Muslim dominated area btw), plus the little market of Zongo, and the grand marché of Sokodé. This was indeed a morning of mosques - we saw about 8! All very very beautiful though, and we also eventually stumbled across the old grand mosque which looks unmistakably like just a normal house, so we'd already passed it a few times before we realised what it really was. Wandering round, we saw the little market, little wasn't an understatement, and also the big market where I bought yet another pagne... We also went into the new grand mosque, which includes a school and is actually a kind of Muslim compound they called it. About halfway through the morning, we decided to cover our heads with the scarves we'd brought for that reason and from that moment on, we had the nicest reaction we received for the whole trip. Every single person called out to us and greeted us, both in their own language and in French; people genuinely really smiled at us (and interestingly, the Togolese don't often have an extremely easy smile before you know them); and although I think we received more attention by covering up than by not, it was definitely the most whole-heartedly postitive attention. Plus, several people actually came up to us to say that it was good we were wearing scarves, and they liked what we'd done. Well, when in Rome...

After our touristy tour of the town, we went back to the hotel, collected our bags, and headed to the taxi station. Our next main destination was Atakpamé, but we'd decided to stop for a little in a village a little way outside, called Anjé/Anie as it was supposed to be very picturesque and we thought it would be nice to have a little break from sight-seeing. It's close to Atakpamé, so the idea was to leave Sokodé early, spend a little time in Anjé and head onto Atakpamé to find a hotel before it went dark. What an idea that turned out to be...

As always, on entering the taxi station with our bags, we were surrounded by 6 furiously gesticulating Togolese men (honestly, the animal kingdoms competitions in the mating season are nothing compared to how this can be sometimes...) all persuading us that actually we wanted to go to their destination, in their taxi and at their price. After trying and failing to negotiate properlybecause the prices seemed very high, we headed in the direction of the 'price board' (prices chalked on the wall by a board saying Anjé etc) to get the official version. Unfortunately, this time the drivers weren't exaggerating... So we made our decision huddle and after five minutes, decided that yes it was worth it to go to Anjé and we'd just spend 30 mins or so there having a drink, and then get a normal taxi brousse to Atakpamé. Bear in mind, this was 12ish and the journey to Atakpamé straight is marked at around 2.5/3 hours so we were doing fine for time. So we got our tickets from the man, eventually extracted the change, and sat down to wait.

2 and a half hours later, we set off for Anjé. And another thing, there was a yellow bus waiting at the start which was very very keen to take us. Alone. Naturally we refused point blank, despite all the excuses the driver gave. But guess which bus we ended up taking... Apparently everything happens for a reason...! After nearly 3 hours we still hadn't reached Anjé... So practised our now-honed skills of negotiation on the driver, who of course wasn't having any of it until we reached a price that he couldn't refuse. However, after that we drove straight through Anjé and onto Atakpamé, arriving there at 5.30pm rather the worse for wear to say the least.

Arriving in the town, we walked, found a hotel and just stopped. Unfortunately, the situation didn't massively improve after that. So relieved to have found somewhere to sleep, we jumped on the restaurant next door as the easiest and quickest option. Plus, we'd realised that it was a good 10/15 minute walk to get into the main town so this was probably the only option for us at that moment! Having made enquiries and been told that it was 3000CFA for chicken and chips or fish and chips, we judged this expensive, but worth paying just to have something.  So we went in and sat down, ordered drinks, and then asked to see the menu. The waitress then informed us that there was no rice, it was pate. So we again asked to see the menu. And she repeated what she'd just said... It turns out that the chicken and chips we wanted was on order only, something we'd neglected to pick up earlier, and that it would take 30-60 mins. Now being familiar with the Togolese sense of time (or lack of) we decided to go for the pate, with fish. So that came. Cold. So we sent it away to be warmed up. And by the time it came back, we were far less inclined to eat than before. This resulted in a desperate foray to the all-night fruit market we'd passed on the way into town, one mango and a rather messy preparation in a room which had 'no cooking' clearly marked on the door. Pretty sure it didn't count as cooking though... Cheers for the penknife Daddy - if that's the only time I use it, it was worth it. We also had some cookies left that we'd bought in Sokodé so those were also much appreciated.

Breakfast at the hotel on Thursday morning was again, MUCH appreciated 8 hours after our last 'meal'! I took a photo of the way she laid it out - it was just so Western, we could have been in any standard European hotel, and it was very amusing. We wanted to see Atakpamé the town in the morning, and then go to a village nearby called Kamina which was a big communication base for the Germans before, and at the very beginning of; the First World War. Wandered round the town, and saw the very beautiful cathedral, plus an entire collection of amusing signs. The signs here are just amazing at times; my favourites from these were 'Waky Decor', bar 'Go Slow' and 'Big Up' hairdressers'. Plus another in Kanté that I really enjoyed was the garage 'Laissez Tomber', which could be taken as the Togolese motto really! One more than really sums up the atmosphere here we found in Sokodé - again a garage, this time with the line 'Peu à Peu ça ira' (little by little, things will work out). Really liked Atakpamé as a town, it's a lot greener than even Sokodé, and you can tell that by this point we've moved down a region, to the plateau region instead of the more northern regions. After a wander around, we came back to the hotel and had what turned out to be a most brilliant idea - that of asking the man hanging around in the garage whether he knew Kamina, the village with the old German military base etc. In effect, he called his friend and within five minutes, we'd found ourselves a person chauffeur to and from the vilage, plus guide, all for the handsome price of 1000CFA, about 1.20...

And it was a really good thing we got him, because the village was TINY and we definitely needed a guide to tell us where to go. It was very interesting to look around, and it turns out it was a MAJOR centre of communication for the Germans. Based on no model, it was begun just before the turn of the century, and between August 1st and 22nd 1914 a total of 229 telegrams were sent and received from there. Impressive to say the least! We also enjoyed the accompaniment of small children which were included in the guided tour, free of charge.

After that adventure, we headed back to Atakpamé, mentally girding our loins for the departure, as we had heard several nightmare stories about people trying to get a taxi out of there. Compared to the day before, the departure was not a problem. In about an hour and 15 minutes, we'd found a taxi, got seats, tickets, fruit to eat and left - speedy service! The journey however was marked as 2 hours in the guide book and took a total of 3 and a half... This did include an emergency petrol stop - when I say emergency, the engine cut out and so we glided to a stop halfway up a hill... Luckily, the little oil-selling men who are everywhere here came to our rescue and after a dodgy start we were back on route! And a major plus - this was now the 2nd bus we'd had with music, which was SO needed, especially about halfway through the journey when we realised we weren't at all where we thought we should have been by that point!

So we eventually got to Kpalimé and headed straight for the nice hotel I stayed in last time, opposite the very lovely church. Sadly they only had expensive rooms left, but the difference was relatively minimal and bearing in mind it was already nearly 6 we thought we'd better just take what we could get! And guess what, we found another fantastic café, that we'd both been to before and consequently had supper, and breakfast there yet again ha.

Will write about Kpalimé in the next post, although not a huge amount to say, as we both already knew it so did simple things.

x

Travelling in the North of Togo - Sunday 1st -Tuesday 3rd April.

So with 31 minutes left on the clock, I commence trying to organise and write to you everything that we did and saw last week in the North. The general plan was Kanté, Pays Tamberma, Kanté, Kara, Sokodé, Atakpamé, Kpalimé (all are marked on a map of Togo if you happen to have one handy). And in general, we stuck pretty well to that plan!

We left Lomé on Sunday 1st April (thankfully they don't celebrate April Fools' Day here otherwise we would have been in for a 'treat' indeed! knowing the nature of the Togolese, especially the male variety) in the pre-booked coach run by the Post Office. And consequently, for the equivalent of around 5 pounds, we had the most luxurious and most organised trip (and longest) that I've experienced since being here. Numbered seats, a non-cracked windscreen, all wheels attached plus steering wheel and one seatbelt made us feel very much more like Europeans than Togolese. The small reminder that we were here however was the original way of air-conditioning the bus - the lack of a door.
So we arrived in Kanté after nearly 10 hours of travelling, and were met by our pre-arranged moto drivers! We headed straight for the village in the Pays Tamberma where we were to spend the night, and the ride down bumpy, stony, bendy tracks was just fine, apart from the small moment where a cow casually wandered out in front of us and we had to brake HARD. (But don't worry Mummy, the cow escaped unscathed!) When we arrived in the village (5 houses at most) we greeted the chief, who was the strangest mixture between native and Western culture I've seen. His feet showed his age, and that they'd obviously been bare since he was born, yet he had his mobile in a nice pouch around his neck - and he even used it Grandma! But very welcoming, and we then took our bags to go into the house where we would be staying. That one was specially built by UNESCO, and opened by the president no less, and is in the original tata style but is specifically for visitors. So we slept outside that night, under the African stars! (that is until it started raining and we were forced to move into the little room - the covered area in the middle of the top terrace which serves as a bedroom.) We also had a friend with us; a mouse and then a lizard decided to really show us the meaning of Togolese hospitality by very kindly keeping us company ALL NIGHT. With no electricity, no running water and a storm outside, it was an experience to say the least.
The following day, we did the tour of the Pays Tamberma. I learnt so so so much about the history, and the houses and just everything, but will write down events and places for you first and will probably have to do a separate post about that because there's just too much to say! It was eye-opening to say the least, and it was impossible to forget that we're in what is at once the richest and poorest continent of the world. There was no doubt about it at all - This Is Africa. For lunchtime, we hopped over the border to Benin (without visa) as you do, and had very very yummy rice with tomato and onion sauce, and the kind of smoked cheese they do here which is called wagassi and is very nice. That has to be one of the highlights of the tour - have now been in 3 African countries! Plus, a woman with a white stone through her bottom lip, a woman who spoke to us for at least half an hour solidly - all in her own language, Kabyé, of course - and hugged us lots, not to mention looking out from the terrace in the dark (it goes dark here at like 6) and seeing lots of black bushes, then seeing them moving, then eating, then finally realising that they were a herd of goats come to graze on the scrub! And the whole experience of sleeping in the tata and being able to see everything there, and meet some of the people who really live like that, was just incredible. What really brought home the realisation that there is so much disparity in the world is that our guide does actually live in one of the villages he showed us. Not only that, but at the age of 16 he was called from Lomé where he was at school, to be initiated and he has the scars to prove it. And when I think about what I did for my 16th birthday, it seems impossible that it can exist all at the same time, yet it does. There really are very few words to describe realisation like that, but that's the best I can do!After the tour we returned to Kanté to sleep there Monday night - have rarely been so glad to have electricity, some things really make you appreciate others!

On Tuesday, we saw a little of Kanté, which is pretty small, and then headed to Kara which is the ancient capital of the North because Togo was originally not at all like it is today. We had hoped to find a restaurant serving pizza and cinnamon biscuits but after searching we discovered that it no longer exists :(  and the trend of disappearing and appearing restaurants and sites will continue... Instead we found somewhere where we basically had breakfast for lunch. Really just hit the spot. We also made our way into the Grand Marché there - not as easy as it sounds, this involved negotiating an open sewer with our bags on our backs, plus about 1001 people wanting to cross the same point at the same time. You gotta love it here! After Kara, we went on to Sokodé to sleep the Tuesday night, and found the best café ever (and right next to the hotel) where we ate every meal until leaving - the Barack Obama 'yes we can' café to be precise!


Am going to have to finish here for today and will continue next time as I have no minutes left on the clock and it is also just about to rain so I have to go and make sure my room is waterproof etc!

x