Togo
Togo

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Top 10 Travel Destinations Togo
Show all
Travelers at this place
    • Day 94

      Fucking Togo

      April 7 in Togo ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      Die Grenze nach Togo ist am Morgen früh erreicht und die Grenzformalitäten verlaufen auch ziemlich entspannend. Der Grenzübergang ist direkt am Meer und die Straße nach Togo säumt ein Bilderbuchstrand zur Rechten und links sehr moderne Häuse. Bereits beim dritten Kreisverkehr werden wir angehalten. Ein Busfahrer hat seinen Bus am Strand versenk. Die Bergung Dank meinen Gurte, anstelle deren selbst geflochtenen Seilen ist schnell vollzogen. Bei einem Bier, das wir als Lohn für die Bergung bekommen, stellt sich heraus, dass es sich um ein ghanisches Lehrerkollegium handelt, die auf zweitägigen Ausflug in Togo unterwegs waren. Nach dem hundertsten "Thank you" and "Good bless you", fahren wir weiter. Drei Kreuzungen später meint Julia einen Pfiff gehört zu haben. Ich sehe nichts, höre nichts und weiterfahren ist immer gut, ist meine Devise! Kurze Zeit darauf werden wir von zwei jungen Polizisten auf einem Moped überholt. Die Sache eskaliert ziemlich schnell. Sie behaupten wir wären bei Rot über die Ampel gefahren. Unsere Einwände, es wäre Grün gewesen und einen Pfiff hätten wir nicht gehört beeindruckten zumindest den einen nicht. Als er unsere Papiere einfach in seinem Rucksack steckt nimmt Julia ihm den Rucksack weg. Er tobt und deutet auf seine Uniform. Ich schrei Ihn gensu so an " und ich bin der König von Bayern" und nehm Ihm
      kurzerhand den Schlüssel von seinem Moped. Auch alle Versuche, dass wir sie jetzt gerade online im World Wide Web senden würden, nützt nichts. Sie fuhren einfach zurück und wir haben nur einen Zettel, dass sie uns Führerschein und Fahrzeugpapiere konfesziert hätte mit dem Namen des einen MOTHERFUCKERS Polizisten.☠️
      Wir treffen sie dann wieder an der Kreuzung, wo sie gelangweilt wie vorher 20 m von der Kreuzung weg und 100m hinter der Ampel im Strand stehen. Alle Versuche zur Deeskalation nutzen nichts. Der eine, der gebrochen Englisch spricht, würde meinen Bestechtungsversuchen gerne nachkommen. Das andere Arschloch bleibt kompromisslos, weil er weiß dass am heutigen Tag seine Polizeistation zu hat und wir bis morgen bleiben müssen - die Dreckssau. Wir fahren trotzdem zur Polizeistation wo ein weiteres uniformiertes Arschloch gelangweilt rumsitzt und uns erklärt es ist Sonntag, am Montag können wir unsere Strafe zahlen. Also stellen wir unsere JuSe demonstrativ vor die Wache und ich beginne einen Motorradlüfter als Dachlüfter um zu funktionieren. Es war der Lüfter den ich von dem Motorradhändler in Monovroa mir mitgenommen habe, anstelle seiner kaputten Kupplungsarmatur. Julia sucht derweilen die Notrufnummer der deutschen Botschaft, die sich auch prompt meldet. Camila, die junge stellvertretende Botschsfterin kennt die Situation zur Genüge, da sie selber, trotz Diplomatenkennzeichen hier schon von diesen korrupten Polizisten aufgehalten worden ist. Sie versucht per Telefon die Polizei zu erreichen und steht dann plötzlich mit ihrem Diplomatenauto bei uns. Auch sie kann aber bei dieser korrupten Station heute nichts mehr erreichen ist bei diesem korrupten Zecken nicht zu erreichen. Sie bietet uns an vor der deutschen Botschaft die keine 500 m weg ist zu parken und dort zu nächtigen. Nachdem wir Ihr aus Dankbarkeit einen Leberkäsedose von uns mitgeben freut sie sich und meint ihr Mann sei Österreicher und hätte große Freude daran. Florian kommt auch später mit der mittleren Tochter zu uns raus, mit einem Tablett gefühlt mit einer guten Flasche Rotwein, drei Rotweingläser und zwei Biere nach deutschen Reinheitsgebot gebraut. Vorher treffen wir noch einen deutschen Geschäftsmann, der für den größten chinesischen Tomatenmark Fabrikaten tätig ist. Er klärt uns auf wie die französische Politik aufgrund von alten Verträgen aus Kolonialzeit Afrika ausbeutet. Französische Firmen brauchen in den ehemaligen Kolonien angeblich keine Steuern zahlen. In Togo ist der einzige Tiefseehafen Westafrikas. Dieser ist in französischer Hand und von den Milliarden die umgesetzt werden sieht das Land offensichtlich nichts. Darum sind die Scheiß Polizisten offensichtlich suf ein Nebeneinkommen angewiesen. Florian gibt uns auch einen netten Einblick über das Land und Westafrika, derweilen wir mit ihm die Flasche leeren. Da ich bei den Reparaturarbeiten vor der Polizeistation die Akkus der Bohrmaschine und der Flex gebraucht habe, lade ich diese über das Bordnetz wieder auf. Offensichtlich zieht das aber so viel Strom,dass das Sicherheitsrelais abschaltet und somit auch kein Kühlschrank funktioniert. Kein Problem, ich habe ja vorgestern Nacht die Noteunspeisung über die LKW Batterie mittels Schalter eingebaut! Also einfach nur Schalter umlegen und fertig - dachte ich. Doch alles blinkt und blitzt wie eine Disco. Offensichtlich ist der Schalter kaputt, so meine erste Diagnose. Also alles nachmessen, draußen beim Kühlschrank auch die Kontakte überprüfen und das alles um Mitternacht vor der deutschen Botschaft. Letztendlich ist das Problem so simpel das 24 /12 V Relais hat nur 8 Ampere und beim Umschalten war auch die Wasserpumpe an, die bis 16 A zieht. Einem Elektriker wäre das wohl nicht passiert, sowas pasdiert bei learning by doing.
      Read more

    • Day 69

      Togo Toga party!

      March 24, 2023 in Togo ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

      Toga Party in Togo? Of Course!

      The origins of the toga party is the 18th century, when people held parties in Roman dress as a form of entertainment. The idea behind the modern toga party is a party which is meant to reference the legendarily profligate and decadent parties held in Ancient Rome.

      First lady Eleanor Roosevelt held a toga party in 1934 to spoof those that compared her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt to "Caesar". It became popular in 1978, when the film Animal House depicted a much more raucous version of the toga party making it a lasting tradition.

      Some wonderful costumes! There were awards for various categories including most creative and most obnoxious! Bruce came in second in one category. You be the judge for which one….,

      There are 13 photos, then 2 videos and 7 additional photos. The 2 videos were one but had to be split based on the size limitation. It was recorded by the staff and ran on our local tv station. It is a good summary of the evening.
      Read more

    • Day 69

      Lome, Togo - 1

      March 24, 2023 in Togo ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

      We landed in the port at Lomé to an energy filled greeting with singers, dancers and stilt walkers. It is the capital of Togo. Togo is boarded by Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Benin. It is 22,000 sq miles (long and narrow) and has a population of about 8.6 million people. As the colonial town that had German, British and African traders it became the capital of Togoland in 1897. It was a key location for these traders selling their wares and getting away from paying British taxes. It is a key center of their economy from exports of coffee and cocoa and with the production of oil as its major product. They became independent in 1960 and their primary language is French. We did not spend any time in this city because we had a big afternoon outside the city. We drove by some lovely beaches in our way to Sanguera.

      There are 10 photos, followed by 1 video, then 10 more photos and 1 more video.
      Read more

    • Day 70

      Lomé, Togo

      March 24, 2023 in Togo ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

      Togo, a West African nation on the Gulf of Guinea. In the capital, Lomé, are the multistory Grand Marché bazaar and the Fetish Market, offering traditional talismans and remedies relating to the vodun (voodoo) religion.

      Today we booked an afternoon tour to see a Voodoo ceremony in the village of Sanguerra not too far from Lomé.
      We boarded our big bus, our tour guide was talking all the way to the village telling us in details about Voodoo religion. Too much unnecessary information. Approximately 33 percent of the population practice this religion.
      The road was good until we turned toward the village. Unpaved road was full of huge potholes filled with water. Impossible to see how deep the potholes were. Sometimes I thought the bus will fall on its side, but we made it.
      It was very interesting to see the dancing and chanting of local people.
      After ceremony, back on the bus.
      In the evening we has a Togo toga party. Lots of passengers and crew members came dressed up in “Togo” outfits and there were music, singing and dancing.

      Tomorrow is another port and also we are loosing one hour.
      Read more

    • Day 69

      Lomé, Togo - 2 VOODOO

      March 24, 2023 in Togo ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

      In the small town of Sanguera we found a community that practices a VOODOO ceremony. Voodoo is a religion followed by more than a third of the people here and although many people in this region are Christian also, they still outwardly (and sometimes secretly) practice voodoo. We had an opportunity to learn about their very interesting and intriguing rituals. We had gone to a Voodoo ceremony in 2017 before in New Orleans, but this was very different. Centuries ago, slaves from Africa brought Yoruba gods to the Caribbean and South America and eventually made their way to New Orleans. There it came to mixing of African gods with the saints of Christianity and the symbols of the Catholic Church.

      We found both ceremonies very spiritual. Unfortunately, many Americans associate voodoo with dolls and pins. We did not see any if that and the best we could tell it never was part of a ceremony. It was probably because voodoo was and is such a mystery it made a good Hollywood plot and “character” (somewhat like the maltese falcon and language that was not from Malta but made up for the movie).

      A memorable ceremony began as we were welcomed by the Chief Priest and he purified the ground with a cornmeal type mixture and alcohol that we were about to walk on to experience the sacred ceremony. The actual ceremony is more of a ritual dancing which was very freeform where some of the dancers go into some trance for certain Gods they worship but not for other ones. A trance will allow the spirit to take over their body and often so draining, it weakens the person when they get out of it. They wear certain colors and paint themselves to represent the God they worship. To sacrifice, and make offerings they are paying back for getting what they promised to the Gods for fulfilling their needs. The rhythmic drums felt like very sacred music.

      Vodoo in Africa’s more than a religion, it is a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion. Its fundamental principle is that everything is spirit. Humans are spirits who inhabit the visible world. The unseen world is populated by spirits, mysteries, the invisibles, and angels. The spirits of ancestors come from those that are recently deceased (not so different from Judaism where you are named after a recently deceased relative, to carry on that soul. All these spirits are believed to live in a mythic land called Ginen, a cosmic “Africa.” The God of the Christian Bible is understood to be the creator of both the universe and the spirits; the spirits were made by God to help him govern humanity and the natural world.

      The primary goal and activity of Vodoo is to serve the spirits, offering prayers and performing various devotional rites directed at God and particular spirits in return for health, protection, and to get closer to the. Spirit possession plays an important role in Afro-Haitian religion, as it does in many other world religions. During religious rites, believers sometimes enter a trance-like state in which the devotee may eat and drink, perform stylized dances, give supernaturally inspired advice to people, or perform medical cures or special physical feats. Vodou ritual activity (e.g., prayer, song, dance, and gesture) is aimed at refining and restoring balance and energy in relationships between people and between people and the spirits of the unseen world. Sometimes these ceremonies are associated with holidays but other times its on a certain day of prayer in the week (usually Saturday and Sunday). And sometimes its just “when the Gods call them”. They can last hours or sometimes up to three days, in the case of the indoctrination ceremony.

      To continue the “theme” was our Togo Toga party (see separate post).

      There are 13 photos, followed by 2 videos and then 7 more photos.
      Read more

    • Day 103

      Lomé: Sanguera Voodoo Ceremony

      March 24, 2023 in Togo ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F

      Our tour today was for a voodoo ceremony in Sanguera.

      This particular ceremony was billed as the real thing … as opposed to a show put on for tourists. I’d read that this was the thing to do in Lomé. Alrighty then.

      Even though the duration was only three hours, and two of them would be spent getting to Sanguera and back, I went ahead and booked the ship’s tour. At least the drive to/from the village gave us a glimpse of daily life in Togo. Quite similar in many ways to what we’ve been seeing in the other West African nations we’ve already visited.

      During the bus ride to Sanguera, our guide explained a bit about voodoo, saying that it is a religion in which people believe in multiple gods. He named several and told us the purpose of each, but I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t retain much of the information. I do recall that he mentioned that there are eight main gods, however. The ceremony we would be witnessing was for the purpose of celebrants putting themselves in a trance to communicate with these gods.

      When asked what percentage of the population believes in voodoo, he said it was hard to quantify … for the simple reason that even those who are Christian or Muslim may also practice voodoo. That said, ⅓rd of the population claim voodoo as their only religion. The guide was also asked about the use of voodoo dolls and pins, but he glossed over that. From photos I’ve seen of fetish markets in Togo, I know that the pin-stick-dolls do exist and are used … for both good and bad voodoo.

      Upon arrival at the village, we were greeted by the chief and elders with a libation ceremony designed to welcome us. The ceremony consisted of the chief mixing up a batch of libations using maize and alcohol. I was happy to see that the libations were poured on the ground as I’d been dreading the idea that we’d have to drink the concoction. We were then led to benches and offered beverages … soda or beer.

      There were already a couple of celebrants dancing to the strong, rhythmic beat of the drums … some already in a trance … others trying to achieve that state. Once the chief and the elders took their seats, more dancers joined the fray. Off to one side was a group of drummers who were hidden behind a group of villagers who stood en masse, chanting and singing to the beat. One woman had an adorable baby in a sling on her back.

      The ritualistic dancing was very much free-form. Swirling all over the place, there were occasional stumbles and near-faintings that brought out members of the village to help the celebrant. From what I gather, the stumbling and fainting is because the trance the celebrants put themselves in is very draining.

      As they continued to dance, celebrants would come over to us in the audience and shake our hands. Every once in a while, one of them would throw him/herself at the feet of the chief asking for a blessing. They also dug into bowls of maize powder, which they proceeded to rub on their faces and in their hair. On a few occasions, the chief took a mouthful of libation, which he then sprayed over the celebrant.

      We were at the ceremony for about an hour when our guide used his megaphone to say that it was time to leave. As we returned to the bus, it certainly looked like the festivities would be continuing … possibly through the weekend. Sweet-faced kids came over to where the buses were parked to bid us farewell.

      The tour was short, but interesting. I’m glad we went.
      Read more

    • Day 103

      Welcome to Lomé, Togo

      March 24, 2023 in Togo ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

      New-to-us Port: #25.

      Today, we had another O tour in another country in West Africa. But it was scheduled for mid-afternoon. This allowed us to have a leisurely breakfast as Insignia approached its berth at the commercial port.

      Initially, our plan was to take the shuttle into town, wander around a bit, return to Insignia to have lunch, and meet up with our tour group at 2:45p.

      After discussing this over breakfast, however, we decided to stay aboard and work on the Sri Lanka travel authorization we needed to complete online in order to disembark the ship in there.

      The good news is that despite the lack of a strong signal, we managed to do the deed and have received the authorization emails.
      Read more

    • Day 24

      LOME, Togo

      March 24, 2023 in Togo ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

      We were welcome to port with Togo dancers and drummers. I think they played non stop for hours. We road the Oceania's transport to the Market.
      This city is motorcycle madness. Not like Asian countries with scooters. The motorcycles are for hire and used for main transportation. The Market was the usual hub bub of activity. As you see just about everything on top of women's heads, the one that got me was a sewing machine. Voodoo has a long tradition in Togo. The country is long and narrow. 317 long miles x 87 wide with 35 miles of shoreline.Read more

    • Day 80

      Lome

      February 6 in Togo ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

      Went on an interesting trip called History and Diversity of the South . First we visited the town of Agbodrafo, situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Togo. Met the Chief . His palace looked like an abandoned building. Then we visited the slave house with a dungeon where the slaves were housed.
      Then we drove to Lomnava fishing village . unfortunately the sea was too rough for any fishing. But we visited a local house made of coconut fronds.
      We went to Hotel Le Lac for lunch; beer , buffet and creme brulee.
      Then we went to Glidj where we saw a voodoo ceremony.
      Our final stop was Zangeto village where the locals entertained us with the Night Guardians ritual dance. First the women were singing then several twirling haystacks performed!
      We had 3 coaches in convoy with an ambulance a 4x4 and 2 police motorcyclists who stopped the traffic when we joined the main road.
      Read more

    • Day 148

      One Night in Togo 🇹🇬

      March 22, 2022 in Togo ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

      Nur ein kurzer Stopp für eine Nacht in Togo. Und wen lernt man am Strand kennen, zwei Leipziger. Sehr erfrischend sich nach langer Zeit mal wieder mit Leipzigern auszutauschen.

      Just a short stop for one night in Togo. And who do you get to know on the beach, two Leipzigers. Very refreshing to exchange ideas with Leipzigers again after a long time.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Togolese Republic, Togo, ቶጎ, توجو, Togu, Toqo, Тога, Того, টোগো, Togo nutome, Τόγκο, Togolando, توگو, Togoo, Togô, Tóga, Tògo, ટોગો, טוגו, टोगो, Տոգո, Tógó, トーゴ共和国, ტოგო, តូហ្គូ, ಟೋಗೋ, 토고, تۆگۆ, Togum, ໂຕໂກ, Togas, ടോഗോ, Thogo, ଟୋଗୋ, Tugu, Toge, Togö, Toogo, டோகோ, టోగో, โทโก, ቶጐ, Toko, Тоґо, ٹوگو, Togoän, Orílẹ́ède Togo, 多哥, i-Togo

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android