Home » Togo » TOGO

West Africa, Malta and the Balkans in 1999

TOGO

Bec
2004-09-18 20:01:00

Displayed times (last time: )

Kpalimé
It took three hours to cover the hundred km between Ho and Kpalimé because of police roadblocks and slow border formalities. Kpalimé is small enough to visit most of it on foot in a couple of hours. After a couple of beers is at the New Harlem Bar, I walked up the street to the best restaurant in town and had an excellent poulet basquaise with French fries before turning in at the Hôtel Domino shown here.

Atakpamé
Atakpamé enjoys the same mild climate as Kpalimé but it is bigger. There is a train station, two big churches, some secondary schools and a busy market.

I stayed at the Peace Corps' "maison de passage" up the hill from this big church. The Peace Corps people were friendly and did not mind answering my questions about their work and living conditions. It was most interesting. They have an extensive collection of paperbacks they will trade with you. I spent a couple of days there doing nothing, reading on the front porch and drinking beer with the kids. Then, I took a taxi brousse for the four hour drive to Lomé

Lomé
Lomé is a fine big city with a great beach on the Atlantic Ocean. I first stayed at the California Hotel, two minutes on foot from where I took this picture, in a residential western suburb.

Hôtel California's environment was nice but much to quiet so I moved here at the Hôtel du Boulevard where there was more action. Then I did my sightseeing and made appointments to meet my internet contacts.

Victor, a retired high ranking Togolese came over and we had a good conversation on the long term future of Africa, on the utopia concept of a Federation of Ethnics and on the necessary struggle against corruption. The next day his chauffeur picked me up and we continued solving Africa's problems over whiskeys until late at night. There was no way I could have had this contact without ...