Hi all. I arrived in Lome, Togo (via Air Senegal from Bamako) on Nov 23. Togo's on the coast, Francophone, 5 million people, 100 Peace Corps Volunteers, same friendly dictator for the last 30+ years. Lome has good restaurants, cheap hotels and a big beach (though not for taking a dip). But a couple days were plenty. The people seemed a bit tense, cold, just not the same happy West Africans I’ve encountered in Mali and Ghana.

Went up to Atakpame for a night (scenic area in some small mountains) then over to Badou (near the border of Ghana). Hiked to Togo’s highest (maybe 40m) waterfall—pretty impressive sight for West Africa—then crossed the border to Ghana. I made it to Accra in time to watch Thanksgiving Day football at Champs Sports Bar but it wasn’t to be. There weren’t even highlights.

While leaving Togo the customs guys (on the Togo side of course) demanded a cadeau from me. As much as I wanted to explain the subtle differences between the act of gift giving and a shake down, I didn’t think it worth getting my teeth kicked in to save $2. So I forced a smile and handed over 1000cfa.

Many Togolese wanted my address in the US, presumably to get a pen pal/citizenship sponsor. Most were friendly about it and not too pushy. I also remembered how much Brook, my Peace Corps Bougouni teammate, wanted me to send her a postcard from each place I visited. Hmmmm. I could fulfill her request with something better than postcards—: handwritten letters from real people all over the world. So I started giving her address to everyone who asked. The mail should be arriving in a few weeks and, don’t worry Brook, you can thank me later.

Ghana is the promised land of West Africa. Friendly people, good public transport, English speaking (well, sort of), beaches, historical sights, rainforests and national parks, Lake Volta, beer on tap at 1/3 the price as in Mali (Duncan’s in Osu near Frankies—4000 cedis for a good size draught of Club). Really good food. Reliable, good medical services (really, you don't need to know).

I hope to be on my way to east Africa in the next week. The sun is shining, the beach beckons.