My Togo Road Trip Experience – Part 2

Happy New Month Guys!!!

In case you missed the first post of the series, please click here.

In my last post, we had just noticed that our passports were not stamped out of Benin Republic and into Togo at the borders thanks to ABC Transport. Unfortunately, we did not have the floo powder which we could have used to transport ourselves back to Benin Republic (*joking*).

So we decided, instead of visiting Koutammakou as we originally planned we would go to the ABC Office in Lome and use the opportunity to visit Lome. We needed to seek clarifications on how to resolve the stamp issue.

Day 2 –  Agodeke, Togo to Lome, Togo

In the morning, we went to the bakery to get bread and eggs for breakfast with us pointing to the particular bread we wanted and showing how many we wanted with our fingers. The baguette bread is quite popular in Togo. I absolutely love this bread and was quite happy and content eating it.

P.S. Togo is a francophone country. It was difficult finding people who understood English and even Pidgin. I always assumed Pidgin was a West African thing. Language barrier was such an issue during this trip. Thankful, we had someone who spoke a bit of French and was able to translate for us. 

On getting to the ABC office in Lome, the official we met said there was nothing they could do for us in Togo. However, if we followed the luxurious bus from Ghana (via Togo) to Lagos they could sort it out for us. Waiting for the bus from Ghana was quite risky because we were not certain there would be 5 free spaces for us (from our experience in Benin Republic) and the bus would not arrive Lome earlier than 1pm. This meant we would be getting to Lagos quite late.

Prior to the incident, we had intended getting to Seme border on our own because it would have been faster. She also mentioned that if we were to go back to Lagos on our own, we would pay money at the borders where our passports weren’t stamped. We gladly picked that option over waiting for the bus from Ghana.

We walked into Grande Marche (meaning Big Market) which was just behind the office. The market reminded me so much of Balogun Market. Just by the edge of the market, we noticed the Lome Cathedral standing tall above the Grande Marche.

The Lome Cathedral is one of Togo’s oldest buildings built in 1902 with its German neo-Gothic architecture.  We didn’t go in because we were wearing shorts. We however, took lots of pictures and then headed to the arts and craft market.

I feel like a trip to a new country/place is incomplete without visiting the arts and craft market. Crafts are usually a lot more expensive at the airport and hotels. *eyes Eko Hotel* If you are visiting Lagos for the first time, find time to visit the Lekki Arts & Craft Market as well as Nike Art Gallery (here). In Abuja, you should visit the Arts and Craft Village in Central District.

A trip to Lome is incomplete without visiting the Independence Square. The Independence Square was built as a tribute to Togo’s independence from France on April 27, 1960. It was locked when we go there but we were able to take pictures from outside.

Just beside the Independence Square is the single skyscraper and famous Radisson Blu Hotel 2 Fervier. The Hôtel du 2 Février is by far the tallest building in Togo with 36 floors and standing at 102m.

After we were done at the Independence Square, we took another taxi to the famous Lome Beach which was a bit rowdy but the waterfront was amazing! We were told it wasn’t a safe beach so we decided to go to the Baguda beach in Agodeke. We sat by the bank of the beach listening to the amazing tides of the water and thinking about how we could stay there forever.

Day 3 – Agodeke, Togo to Kpalimé, Togo

We had already postponed our trip to Koutammakou due to our passport issues. However, discussions with our Airbnb host and other people revealed that the journey would take at least a day+ for a round trip to Koutnokamu. We then decided to visit Cascade de Womé . The Cascade de Womé is one of the two waterfalls in Kpalimé. We chose the Womé waterfall instead of the Kpimé waterfall (Cascade de Kpimé) because the Womé fall is easily accessible and closer to the Kpalimé city centre.

Our host was kind enough to drop us at the park where we took a cab to Kpalimé. It took us about 2.5 hrs to reach Kpalimé. On getting there, we then booked some okadas to take us to the waterfall, wait for us and bring us back to Kpalimé. But we had to drop by the Tourist office about 15 mins away from the waterfall to pay for the entrance fees and register. I thought it was interesting that they were able to keep accounts of how many people visit the waterfalls, months with the highest number of visits. Tourist attractions in Nigeria hardly keep such details which is quite unfortunate.

165 steps and 15 minutes later, we got to the bank of the waterfalls. Unlike most waterfalls in Nigeria where you have to hike up to the waterfall, this waterfalls requires hiking down.

The waterfall was amazing and quite different from what I was used to. As much as I like #ChasingWaterfalls, I typically run from cold water and didn’t even take change of clothes. This time around after so much convincing and someone literally holding my hands, I entered the water. It was cold *ughh*

500 pictures and 1 hour later, we were headed back to Kpalimé where we took a cab heading to Lome and then to Agodeke.

We then headed back to the hotel for wifi dinner and then our apartment where we prepared to leave for Lagos the next day.

P.S. We were yet to sort out our passport issues.

The final post is coming soon, please bear with me.

Thank you for reading! 

Simi