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| Our bikes being loaded onto a bush taxi |
Togo’s arterial “highway” from Atakpame to Kara is too busy, pot-holed, and unsafe to bike, so we took a bush taxi for these 255 km, with our bikes on top.
We got stuck in traffic behind two crashed trucks. While waiting on the road for an hour we met Peace Corps volunteers and their visiting parents. This was helpful for a Kara hotel recommendation and for learning of a volunteer, Mary, in the town of Kante, where we were heading.
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| Togo's principal road at a standstill |
The next day in Kara, we had Eydie’s bike fixed. The mechanic did that well but messed up John’s wheel, even though John didn’t ask to have his wheel repaired. He had to release his rear brake in order to ride.
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| Pitiable, marooned driver and his protected cargo |
Descending a mountain to Kante we saw where three trucks had collided and one still remained. We asked a man on the roadside about the accident and discovered that he was the driver of the remaining truck (see photo). He was staying there with the truck, ensuring the security of the cargo, waiting for his boss to release or relieve him, meanwhile relying on passersby for assistance. Here's the amazing part: he had been there since the accident occurred three weeks ago!!! ...Only in Africa!
We met Mary, the Peace Corps volunteer in Kante, and she invited us to stay at her house. We got John’s bike fixed again and this time the wheel stayed true. Brook enjoyed riding our bikes around Kante; the roads were more like trails.
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