I’ve had a good weekend in Lome, allot of people seem to think im Morrocan or Arabic, I have shaved once in the last month too.
My first attempts at the moto taxi (motorbike taxi) were pretty interesting, I managed to hail one down and jumped on the back. Part way up the road he told me that he wasnt actually a taxi but would take me where I wanted to go, which he did, and didnt even ask for any money - good lad.
I’ve been on a bit of a stricter budget than normal, as the only cash machine in the country (according to Lonely Planet) wouldnt accept my bank card, so I have to wait for the bank to open on monday. As with most African cities i’ve visted you can pick up a fairly tasty meal for about 50p. The first one I got wasnt too tasty as the young lad washing the plate was a bit eager with the soap - rice and chicken with soap sauce. Im not a huge football fan but have been enjoying the Africas cup quarter finals which have been on.
Being on my own its quite nice to pop out for a quiet beer, which I did on Saturday night, in search of one of the Jazz bars. The Taxi driver didnt know what I was talking about but I managed to direct him to where they should of been. It became apparent that quite a few places closed down during last years political turmoil, I did find a relatively swish looking place in the end where I stopped for a pint. There was no-one else inside except a few drunk looking white chaps. I did my best to stare into my pint or the wall, but eventually got brought into the conversation.
It turned out they were Ukranian airman, they werent making much sense at this stage, but I couldnt decline a couple of Vodkas from them. They explained to me that they fly all over Africa delivering ‘things’. ‘Guns?’ I asked, ‘yes’ they said, im not sure whether they meant it, but think they probably did. It turned out to be one of their birthdays this coming wednesday, he invited me to his house in Kiev, I said I probably wouldnt be able to get there in time, so he said no problem I can fly back in their Anatov with them. I made my excuses and dashed for the door when noone was watching.
