Togo Taxi ridin

The "taxis" we take from Farendé/Kuwdé to Ketao to Kara are, how should I put it.... unique and somehow still alive. Many of these cars are the rejects of the states - small, stickshifts that were unable to pass the emissions tests in the US, so what do we do with them? Dump them in western Africa to destroy the ozone in a region already on the equator. So a quick run down of some of the taxi adventures I have had thus far

The white van to Ketao
This van is ridiculous - the windows are cracked and stitched back up, it is pretty much just a shell, you can see the ground through the floor by the front seats, you need to wear a helmet because when it hits a pot hole you could get a concussion, and it breaks down every 10 minutes and then a kid has to get out and push start it to get going again. One time, we had the misfortune of having to take this taxi again, and it broke down 2 minutes into the trip on a hill. A kid had to run the 2 km to Tchikawa, grab gas in a water bottle and run back. The driver then opened up the engine, took a huge gulp of gasoline IN HIS MOUTH and then spit it into a tube for the oil in the engine. GROSS! He didnt even gurgle some water - I wanted to throw up...

The Ghana flag car
So one Wednesday on our way from Ketao to Kara, Alex and I rode in a car with a Ghanian flag. We were just driving along when the driver pulls over. He grabs his papers and a 1000CFA bill, gets out of the car, and walks over to the policeman who apparently had pulled us over. He walks back to the car 2 minutes later and Alex asked what happened - it didnt seem like he had done anything illegal (not like there are rules on these roads anyways...). He said that he didnt do anything - the policeman just wanted some money so he pulled him over and took it. Alex asked him how he felt about being shook-down, isnt it unfair, etc. His response was C`est comme ça, That`s just how it is. Hmm a little eye opening.

Anyways, those are just some examples of what is typical of the taxis here.

This week, I am preparing Kabyé beer to sell at market. Its going to be hilarious, and everyone is ridiculously excited to try the nsara`s attempt at a boisson. I cannot believe I leave the north in 4 days, and Togo in a week.