Inland toward Togo

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  Kpalimé, Togo
Friday, November 23, 2007

Well. Good news! Second time lucky, we got our Togo visa's.
After a bit of excitement in Accra, steve's rucksack getting caught in the back door of the trotro, while we got out in heavy traffic! The result was a brisk stroll through Accra with the door boy while the driver kept going so as not to stop the other traffic! From Accra we then headed inland to Hohoe. 4 hours by trotro! wouldn't have been quite so bad if we didn't have to wait 2 hours sat in it in the mid day sun waiting for it to fill up!
Hohoe was nice enough but just a changing point for us, so stayed just one night then another trotro, just 1 hour this time 20km down a really rough dirt track,to the village of Liate wote. Head count in the small nini bus was 19 inside plus baggage and the door boy had to ride on the roof, holding a bag of rice on in one hand, and stopping the door from falling off with the other!!
Liate wote is a beautiful village set in the foot hill of mount Afadjato. Ghana's tallest mountain at 885m!
You pay a small fee to visit there as it's part of a conservation project. Paul the warden then showed us to their small guest house where we stayed for 1.75 pounds!
Then he took us to meet Stella. She has a small bar in the village and if you tell her what you want for tea she cooks for you!
Then he directed us on both of the walks, first taking the time to show us different local plants and what they are used for. Including cocoa pods and coffee beans. The first walk we did was about 2 hours return, through cocoa and coffee fields then into rainforest, that is filled with butterflies, before reaching Tagbo falls.
The next morning we got up at 5am then did the walk up the mountain. Even so early in the morning it was roasting, but suprisingly only took just over an hour to reach the top! Where there were stunning views.
By 10am we were back in the village waiting for 2 of pauls friend to meet us with their motorbikes, and take us to another village called Wli, about 14km away.
Once in Wli we checked into a slightly smarter hotel, then headed out to see Agumatsh falls.
Again the walk went through rainforest, before ending at these amazing fall! They're about 45m tall and about 10 wide. But almost as impressive as them was all the bats soaring over head. The guide book estimates half a million of them!
Well, now today we have headed into Togo. The border crossing is within walking distance of Wli. And doesn't see any westerners pass through. The immigration officials spent ages thumbing through our strang looking passports as we sat and watched a dvd!
Eventally through, he pointed us down a long dirt track toward togo.
After a 5 minute walk we found our selves in an even smaller village. With a mud brick shed to our left. When you peered in, you could see a man in a white vest sat behind an empty desk, all bar a load of stamps and an ink pad! In my best french accent i said 'immigration?'! 'oui' he replied.
Once inside the same again as at the ghanaian post, but this time no tv!
Eventually we're in Togo. After a crawling trotro ride through the mountains we changed at Adeta. Did you know an old Astra estate can seat 5 on the back seat, me and steve both in the front with the driver, and everybodies belongings in the boot . The driver would have been much better suited to a banger track! At one of the police road blocks, the police man came over, looked at all of us in the car, saw the windsreen that was shattered, then waved us through!
Deapite all odds we arrived safely in Kpalimé at about 3 this afternoon.
Will recover here then hear south to Lomé tomorrow.
Off for a bucket shower now, a beer and some desperate french revision!!
Hope all is well. Keep in touch x

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