September 3: First Day in Lome
Early start
I woke up at 6:30 in the morning. Not because of jet lag, but because on the beach I heard music again. Drums and bells. It sounded like the final lap of a race. When I opened the curtains, I saw men in shorts and tank tops running. I later asked a program driver about it, and he said different groups go running for exercise. Along the way they play drums or bells.
The musical wakeup call was my first opportunity to see Lome in the daytime. It was only then that I realized my hotel room had a view of the beach, the ocean, the restaurant, and the hotel pool. It was so beautiful, I didn’t mind that I had to get up at 6:30
a.m. to see it. By the third weekend though, I was wishing I could sleep in a bit later.
Second haggle
Mary, the program officer who arranged my visit, picked me up at the hotel a little before 12. She knew I needed to use an ATM, and said she needed to as well. Afterwards we could go somewhere for lunch.
I got into her car, a large Toyota station wagon. I was surprised and impressed that she would be willing to drive in Togo, let alone in such a large and expensive car. I found out later that she has worked in the region for many years and is married to a guy
from Benin, so she has learned to cope more or less with the road conditions. Also, the car had been bought at the port of Lome so it wasn’t that expensive.
We drove to the nearest bank, which I learned later from my map is on Rue de Commerce. As we got out of the car, a man approached us trying to sell necklaces. They looked nice, but I didn’t want to get into bargaining just then. We got our money at the ATM machine while a security guard sat a few yards away, then we went to the nearby supermarket. Many of the
products were French, and many were grain-based. The only things that stood out as unusual to me were the peanuts in old liquor bottles, halal meat (15 percent of Togo is Muslim), and the chocolate bars in the refrigerator section. It was also at the supermarket that I saw some good postcards; Mary said it was probably a good place to buy them so I did.
As we left the supermarket, another gift seller approached us to see if we wanted to buy anything. He had some cloth purses and pencil cases that looked interesting. I passed on the leather wallets and the leather-covered fruit knife. I chose two cloth purses
and a pencil case. Mary helped me get a price that left me fleeced but not completely fleeced. As I was getting ready to leave, a woman wrapped a cloth in traditional African colors around my waist. I don’t think anyone has done that to me since I wore a hula
skirt in Hawaii, and given that I was 5 years old and don’t remember much about the Hawaii trip I’m not even sure about that. It seemed to be a good fit. Again, I probably paid too much but Mary helped me get a halfway decent price. As I was leaving, the same lady gave me a bead bracelet, which she said was a “cadeaux” (a gift). For some reason, I was touched by that generosity. I wear it all the time now.
Mary said at that point we were at the entrance to the artisans’ market. I was stunned to hear that. The road into the market was a dirt one, and the stands looked quite ramshackle. It didn’t seem like a proper home for artisans. I was afraid if I didn’t leave
soon I’d spend all my money in one day. Mary said when I got back from Kara, she’d have a Togolese person take me shopping so I wouldn’t get ripped off. Plus by then I’d have a better sense of the country and of the value of goods.
As we were getting in the car, the man with the beads approached us again. Again they were tempting, but now I was sure we didn’t have time for that. He seemed pretty angry about that, especially since he could see I’d bought stuff elsewhere. He was even standing in the car doorway, and I feel lucky that I could eventually get the car door closed. But I did and we took off towards the center of town.
Lunch in Lome
As we were driving, Mary saw a croissant place and suggested we stop in. It looked a little dingy, but I didn’t want to be picky. However, it turned out that although they advertised croissants, they didn’t have any. Nor did they have coffee. The shwarma and fries looked good, but Mary said sometimes lettuce has bacteria in it, and if I was going upcountry, I shouldn’t risk getting an infection. She said she knew another good Lebanese place, so we drove over there. It’s next to the Hotel Palm Beach, which she said was walking distance from my hotel if I go in the daytime and don’t carry a big purse. I never got brave enough to walk back though.
Instead of Lebanese food, I opted for a French ham and cheese sandwich (served on a baguette panini-style) and “Cocktail du Togo”—a blended drink of avocado, banana, mango, and honey. The cocktail sounded awful when I first read the description, but then I thought, when I will I have another chance to drink a cocktail du Togo? And although the green color from the avocado was slightly off-putting, I couldn’t taste it so the drink was delicious.
Second night at the hotel
Mary drove me back to the hotel around 2:00. I put the essentials into my wallet with a strap, left my purse in the hotel, and started to walk along the beach. The street food and street people looked interesting. I might have walked on further, but the
clouds started to gather. I just barely made it back into the hotel before the storm hit. I was a little disappointed—I wanted to walk around more. By the time the storm had passed and I was motivated to leave the hotel room, it was nearly dark. I was afraid to be out on the street alone at night given all the warnings I’d heard. There were taxis and motortaxis which could have provided a fun adventure, but I wasn’t sure where to go or how I’d get a safe taxi back to the hotel (a leftover paranoia from my recent trip to Mexico City, where taxis are a target for bandits). I probably also would have been overcharged for the ride. I thought about the Hotel Ibis café/bar/disco across the street, but when I checked it out at 3:00 p.m. it looked pretty seedy and I was sure at 6:00 p.m. it would look even seedier.
In the end, I decided to stay in the Ibis compound. I went to the bar downstairs and tried an “Eku”. It’s a Bavarian beer that is bottled in Togo. It was very good. The bar staff offered me peanuts to go with it, then toasted coconut. Yum.
I went to dinner at the same hotel restaurant I’d been at the night before. This time I decided to branch out and try an African dish, gboma dessi. I wonder if the waiter, Ambroise, was surprised at my choice; he made a point of saying it was a Togolese dish and then gestured to the plant on the table to indicate I’d be eating a plant. I asked if it was hot (since cooked plants generally can’t hurt people as much as raw ones can) and he said it was. So I went for it.
I feel bad that I couldn’t finish all of it, and not just because I paid 6000 CFAs for it. It was spinach, meat, and fish in a brown spicy pasty sauce. The rice on the side helped balance out the heat of the dish. I could have done without the crab claws and crab body on and in the dish, but other than that it was great. The waiter asked if I wanted dessert, but I pointed at my stomach and said I couldn’t. He said in English, “tomorrow, don’t eat outside.” I laughed and said next time I wouldn’t.
Tags: Africa, Food, market, Togo, Travel
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