Togo: Love Your Beaches, Scared of Your Voodoo & Monkey Attacks!

What’s the best way to say goodbye to a place? Relax on its beaches of course! Before checking out of Le Galion Hotel, I spent a couple hours reading on the Lome shore and yes, my guilty pleasure is a good ole’ Nicholas Sparks’ book!

Lome, Togo

We soon made our way to Chez Alice (chezalicetogo@hotmail.com), a German-run hostel 12km outside of Lome in Aveposo. Unfortunately, the street was under construction, so few clients meant no music or dancing like usual Wednesdays, but at least we (finally!) had peace and quiet! All except for the noise of the monkeys!

The little guy may look cute until he attacks you!

We took a 500CFA (~$1US) taxi to Lake Togo where we would canoe over to Togoville, Togo’s “voodoo” island. It would be here that those who practiced voodoo were taken to Haiti as slaves. The driver initially believed the canoe would sink if I drove, but to his surprise, I was one of the best rowers he’s seen! Note: If you get a private “tourist” canoe, it’s 4.000CFA (~$8US) one-way. Otherwise, I highly recommend taking public transport as they were paying 200CFA (~$.40) each!

I was a pro!

The Artisanal market at Togoville is only one room but proceeds go towards a local organization and you can find a few gems. After exploring the German Cathedral, we headed off to the voodoo market. We could have paid 2.000CFA (~$4US) to see “voodoo-in-action,” but decided to pass based on the creepiness factor.

Togoville's port (top), stage at the German Cathedral (middle), and voodoo market (bottom)

Back across Lake Togo, we searched for the elusive promise of water sports, but it turns out everything but the paddle boat was broken. So while the other girls napped on the shore, I jumped in an 800CFA taxi to Aneho, home of arguably the best beaches in Togo. With a chicken sandwich at La Cote du Soleil, I could agree!

Beach at La Cote du Soleil, Aneho, Togo - beautiful!

Short on cash, we had a delicious street food dinner of spaghetti, turkey, and French fries – all for 300CFA (~$.60US) mind you! Tomorrow, Benin!

Discovering Lome, Togo

Even the best planned traveler runs into scheduling snafus along the way especially in West Africa! Often, the reason for this is the good old expiring visa.

At Immigration, the line extended about a dozen people deep with a larger throng surrounding the Service Passport window. Asking around, we soon learned that a 500CFA (~$1US) fee was necessary for an application and the 1.500CFA (~$3US) visa could be done tomorrow (which here in African time could extend to 2-3 days). Thanks to my petite stature, I was able to squeeze my way to the front window to show the Immigration officer our 7-day visas. “When exactly would we have to leave the country?” “The 18^th" he said. Sigh, I was hoping for the 19^th.

So, with a day cut short, we went into high-gear-let’s-explore-this-great-city-before-we-get-kicked-out-of-the-country mode! First stop was to Lome’s Voodoo Market.

Unlike other markets, Lome’s Voodoo Market is not so much a place where one haggles for souvenirs. Rather, one explores and observes traditional voodoo practices. In fact, there is actually a mandatory entrance fee and tour guide fee.

Upon the parking in the gated market, we were approached by two Togolese who wanted 15.000CFA (~$30US) AFTER the fact that we explained we were PCVs. After much haggling, they said 9.000CFA ($~18US) to visit the market – no thanks! From the five minutes standing in the market the same size as a couple large living rooms, we saw all we needed!

Lome's Voodoo Market - I'm so sketchy taking pics out the car window

To ameliorate the annoyances of the morning, we headed off to the Grand Marche to do a little bit of shopping. Let it be noted that I LOVE haggling: I bought a Togo soccer jersey for 2.000CFA (~$4US); the vendor started at 6.000CFA (~$12US). The power of the Peace Corps Volunteer – it’s not just that we know how to pay local prices; it’s also that we don’t physically make enough money to pay tourist prices!

"Artisinat" - The Artisan Market

We spent lunch eating fish with a world famous fashion designer. It turned out that my old supervisor’s sisters, Grace and Wonder, live in Lome. We met up with the wonderful women while Grace showed us a DVD of the latest fashion show for Vlisco (the Tiffany’s of African fabric) that featured her clothes.

Just a world-famous fashion designer in action!

Cameroonians like to call this a family photo

Afterwards, we headed back to Artisan Market to finish up some shopping before heading to dinner and a movie at Greenfield. Love Lome!

Note: It’s best to go to markets in the late afternoon. Vendors tend to haggle easier as it’s the end of the day and they want to make final sales.

Butterfly Hunting in Togo

After yesterday’s 12-hour bus ride (oh, the fatigue), we arrived to the small, cool-climate town of Kpalime (pah-lee-may). Caught in a tropical paradise, one can easily admire the hilly forests, artisan markets, and cocoa and coffee farms. Only 120km from Togo’s capital city of Lome, this Southern town is a must-stop for any traveler!

Top of our priority was...butterfly hunting! The ride to Kluto, 12km from Kpalime, led us through the lush, green rain forest. Not wanting to ruin my camera as it was gently sprinkling, I can only describe the moment as a ride through the tropics surrounding by jungle and peace. Lovely!

Kamalo Falls, a mineral-spring waterfall, on the way to Kpalime

Unfortunately, it was too foggy and misty to be surrounded by hundreds of butterflies (they only come out during the sunshine), but we still caught our fair share of little guys (okay, maybe 5, but still worth it!).

Butterfly hunting can easily make one look youthful again!

Got one!

After shopping at the Artisan market, we checked out of Hotel Bafana Bafana for lunch at Le Plaisir before the two hour drive to Lome. The rest of the night was spent eating at Nems 24, a Vietnamese restaurant. Luck would have it that the owner was actually Vietnamese and though he couldn’t speak English or French nor could I speak Vietnamese, we somehow stumbled through the three languages to have a nice conversation. And yes, it led to free pho!

Spaghetti bolognaise at Le Plaisir, Kpalime, Togo