Our trip to Togo in December 2007

Togo. Ah Togo.

Visiting Togo was quite an experience. The beautiful city of Lome has changed into something else, unrecognizable. A different sort of hustling, bustling sort of beast. Wow.

The people? Just as nice as always.
Maman. Widowed now. Just sad to be there without Papa with Maman, or Maman with Papa. And to think that they were just about to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Maman is strong and has always been. As far as I could remember my parents have always lived separate lives together. You have to see it to understand. Living together and never arguing or fighting, but different lives, beside each other.

Getting outside of Lome was simply a treat. The african countryside is like no other place. The Baobab trees in their majesty will just remind you of where you are. They are like the king of trees, like the lion is the king of the jungle, so is the Baobab. The Flamboyant trees that you will see in the Carribeans and Hawaii, looking so imposing and royal, just seem like little princes in the countryside of Africa.

Nassogne.
Gosh, I wish I could go back there tomorrow with Debbie and the kids. Kelly and Leah will love that place. Was that paradise, or what? We were the ONLY guests and they treated us as such. They treated like we WERE the only guests and they were afraid to loose us. They needed some company in paradise, I guess. But we had to leave, and we hated to leave too. Can I just go back? The calm of the place was serene. The people were like "what else can I do to worship you better" kind of people. You know what I mean. At your service, Sir. And they didn't even checked us in. Nothing like, what's your name, address, credit card number, driving license, "the name of your first born son", kind of BS you see in America before you get a stupid hotel room. It was more like, "look at all the rooms we have and take the room you like". Of course, we took the room with the balcony and dining/living room, bathtub. They call it the apartment. For us, it was the nicest room. The praying mantis even came with it at night. You have to ask Debbie about that part. The ugly-beautiful bug trying to "chop" me when I was removing him nicely and gently.
Good food. For breakfast, our hosts at this bed and breakfast place asked what we wanted to order. We simply told them the sort of breakfast we typically eat: eggs, fruits... so why don't you just cook something for us. They surprised us with one of the best breakfast we ever had. (Have I already asked if I can go back again?) Greeneries with beautiful tropical plants and flowers complete the picture. Birds were singing like crazy. Everywhere.
At night, you stepped out on your "private balcony" and you see the most stars you've ever seen in your life. You feel like Jacob. And the shooting stars are pretending to be having a contest. Everywhere! You've got to see it to believe it. And my wife was right there beside me. We contempleted the starry night together. I don't have to tell her all about it. Actually, she was the one who got me out of bed to see all the stars. You go back to sleep and sleep like a baby after that sight. Then the rooster wakes you up like in the country. You get up with a smile thinking "I can just kill that rooster" "I didn't hire you as an alarm clock, african rooster!" but you smile anyhow.

Atsintsin.
Have you ever been in the middle of nowhere? If not, you can go to Atsintsin. May be I can charge the people of Atlanta some money to take them to the "middle of nowhere". That will be an experience for the city people. But it's a beautiful jungle. If you die there, no one will notice. You will just be buried right then and there and rot, peacefully.
Let's be more serious. Atsintsin is far and isolated. I've invented a new word after my last visit: an "inland". It's like an island but surrounded by land, if you can imagine that. If you have plenty of money, you can build an airstrip in the middle of the 200+ acres my Dad bought and land there with your own airplane. You will really have your own "inland" for sure. Guess what? I just checked the dictionary and the word "inland" already exists. I was shoked, actually! I wouldn't think some other English speaking people could have been there before Debbie and I. Well, you just never know.
Atsintsin has the potential of been a beautiful ranch one day; if someone is optimistic like me, and has a vivid imagination like Andre (oh that's me again, sorry). With our own airstrip to boot. I forgot about the money part.

Going to Togo and coming back from Togo was it itself a pretty pleasant experience. We flew business class and were treated like royalty. You just have to experience the five course meals with wine, the leather recliner seats... to understand what I'm writing about. You feel bad for the people in economy class. All this, thanks to a friend of a friend of a brother-in-law. I think we even pay less than people in economy so don't let the "business class" throw you off. We were still in first class and were treated like first class VIPs. No one said the world is fair. I'm ready to go back to Togo, first class again.