Gran-Popo to Lome - Day 279

Date: May 24th, 2010
Distance: 57km
Country: Togo

Got on my way again today. I saw Christoph as I was leaving Benin. His father had come in for a UN conference in Lome. So the two of them were riding in a nice air conditioned car as I pushed my overloaded bike through the wind. I do sometimes wonder why I do this. It was nice to see them though, and they wished me luck on my journey.

I rolled out of Benin and into Togo without any real hassles. No one seemed to notice that I neither officially left Burkina Faso or entered Benin. I guess is really didn't matter.

The ride along that border area is amazing. Long sandy beaches with a smattering of palm trees. There are often groups of men standing on the beach pulling in long fish nets. In Togo, around the town of Aneho, the colonial influence is more apparent. Lots of elegant but ruined buildings along the road. Sort of an indication that things haven't really gone all that well since independence. It did seem like a nice place though. So maybe things are looking up.

I stopped on the outskirts of Lome at a place called Chez Alice. A E couple on a motorcycle who met me along the road in Benin recommended it. It was a cool place and they let me camp there for 1,000 CFA, or about $2. I also got to go to the beach and do a little swimming. The swimming there isn't that great. By not great, I mean a bit dangerous. About 10 feet out the sand drops off pretty quickly. So the water at your feet is dropping down and pulling you under while the waves on top try to push you over. Once I stepped off that ledge and got tumbled pretty good, I decided it was time to stick to the shallow surf.

Back at the hotel I had some dinner and met Tom, another American. Actually, he confused the heck out of me at first. He came up and said "Biking through europe and Africa sure beats working in the states." Turns out he is a volunteer from Benin who had heard about my trip from a couple other people. So when he checked into the same place and saw my bike he knew who it was. We chatted for a good long while before heading off to bed.

-Dravis