Last few days of 2009

Lomè was our home for the next day at least, as our passports were held at the Benin Embassy for the visa. We did the usual wander round town, passing through markets and flagging down Fan Milk salesmen (thank God they still have these guys; lifesavers in the heat, dishing out cheap ice cream and frozen lollies). The one thing that Togo didn't have was taxis. Almost all of the vehicles in Lomè were motorbike taxis, that zoomed dangerously in and out of the traffic at speed, ferrying passengers all over the city for about 100 CFA (15p). Some were terribly overloaded, and every time we tried them out we had a pulse-racing few minutes going the wrong way down roads, cutting across busy junctions and squeezing past giant lorrys! Good for the old heart though!

The beach was quite wide, but because it is in the city itself, it has problems with crime. We checked out the sea one afternoon, and were immediately joined by a shady couple of characters. We headed through the cramped market, where Kez bought some material to use as a sarong/skirt. This reminded us to get some funky African suits made up. Most men wear a trouser, open shirt combination made from bright and vibrant colours. Pyjamas here we come!

We returned to the Benin Embassy to pick up our passports and visas, after a sweaty day hiking across Lomè. Little did we know what was about to happen. After being made to wait silently outside the snotty woman's door for five minutes, she came out and took us into an adjoining room, where the Ambassador of Benin sat behind a huge black desk. We were in no way prepared for this and must've looked like right states! We were polite as we could be, as the large man looked over the visas and signed them off. His office was massive with lots of souvenirs from around the area, and he had four phones on his desk. A very important man!

After having a wash and recovering from meeting a dignitary, we splashed out a bit again and had pizza for dinner. It was nice to have a change, and afterwards we played a game of pool in a room next to the restaurant. Tomorrow was New Years Eve 2009, and we were heading inland for the celebrations to Kpalimè!

Pronounced Pa-lee-may, Kpalimè is a large town a few hours above Lomè, and was going to be our base for excursions during our time in Togo. Unfortunately, we didn't have too much time in the country, because the impromptu visa on the border meant we had to leave by the 4th January. No matter, as we certainly made the most of it!

The bus ride was a little uncomfortable, as we'd left Ghana and its great rule of only three people to a minibus row, and were back to standard African "You can fit four or five on there"! Me and Kez were sandwiched between two massive ladies on the back row. Popping out of our seats, and nursing bruised hips, we arrived in Kpalimè and went to Domino Hotel, a small establishment in the centre of town. Looking back it was a very good little place, clean, with running water and electricity - essentially luxurious for us!

We took the afternoon easy, as it was New Years Eve and we decided to start in the traditional fashion by buying a bottle of gin to see in 2010. The gin only cost around £1.20, the same price as the bottle of Sprite cost to accompany it - bargain! We firstly went out for a three course meal at a hotel, before returning to our room for pre-drinking and an increasingly rude game of charades! As the last hour of 2009 came upon us, we went into town and had a few beers at a local bar. No one else seemed to be celebrating, but we did a countdown, cheered and then tried to sing 'Auld Lang Syne' as best we could - a few mumbled lines!