Show t41r trtepti - 3:So Sys : The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday February r T3 4 1990 Bush taxi is most adventurous way to explore Togo By Beth Reiber - TOGO West Africa Children in Togo spend the first year or so of their lives straddled to their moth- i : ade ery as gift - eli- or° nes )rk ?Ita - ton :ers ' tax ng ? er's back From this vantage point high above the world they go wherever she goes whether she's working the fields cooking balancing a bucket of water on her head or hawking vegetables at the local market They sleep they watch but they never seem to cry fidget complain or even talk Excellent training it occurs to me now for yet another form of transfor it's only a simple leap port from a mother's back to the confines rid restrictions of a bush taxi The bush taxi A romantic name for anything with wheels including vans trucks and buses of every age and condition Known as "taxi-bus- " in French the official language they traverse the tiny nation of Togo carrying people packed inside and bundles and animals strapped on top Not that they ever have too far to go About the size of West Virginia Togo is a sliver of a country only 100 miles across at its widest point and 360 miles long sandwiched in between Ghana and Benin on Africa's west coast In fact there's only one road that bisects the country from north to south the National Route number One "Togo is a summary of West Africa" the tourist guides like to say "Africa in miniature" But after a week of seeing what most tourists see from the comforts of a chauffeured car I was beginning to feel slightly cheated as though I were looking at Africa from a protected glass bubble apart separate and not really here I decided I would have to venture into the interior Alone By bush taxi For my destination I chose Bassar a mountain village about 250 miles north of the nation's capital of Lome and close to the Ghanian border Located off the beaten track of national Route Number One it's not one of the more usual tourist destinations but it's by no means unknown It's famous for its Saturday market a colorful affair that draws villagers from the entire region as well as for its history of iron smelting which some archaeologists maintain is among the oldest in the world It's also on the edge of the newly accessible Fazao Wildlife Reserve At less than $10 for a one-watrip from Lome to Bassar bush taxi is certainly the cheapest and most adventurous way to get there By contrast traveling by private car averages $100 a day "Bush taxis don't follow any schedule" one Togolese warned me "They leave only when they're full You might have to wait for days" "I'm sure you'll find the bush taxi interesting" was all another Togolese could say sounding not so sure Neither person I learned had ever been in one Bush taxis were evidently the transport of the peasants Encouraging however was the fact that no one seemed to fear for my safety It didn't even appear to cross their minds As it turned out traveling by bush taxi couldn't have been simpler The moment I arrived at Agbalepedogan (a wide expanse of red dirt on the edge of Lome where bush taxis depart for the interior) I was approached by a group of men who asked where I was going showed me y for lo- uct oad ice iplc ber in ove iks- to 9 m to lay tilts en A CLAWSON SHIELDS DE I X ESCO ED OURS rCi Genteattorts 4 077 11-- r 74 - - T- If War& EON 40 ' -- - r:t N 4 1i '''''-'7- s - t 44 - N 41 J - k VII' 14tsT Ali - rk 1 - I ' ' t4 I ' - dillow— - 3 J" ' '''4 4 laulawa 1110 Nit:zik $1552 ALASKA OVERLAND where to buy my ticket which taxi-bu- s to board and even where to sit My entire trip in fact was like that An immensely friendly and gentle people the Togolese seemed compelled to take me under their wings adopt me tell me what to do next And unlike some Third World countries where fares are a game of guesswork and bargaining fares in Togo are posted and regulated I decided Togo must be one of the easiest African countries to get around in making it a painless introduction to the rest of the African continent Even the greenest of novices would be able to manage though it helps if you speak at least a little bit of French You must also have patience a kind of philosophical indulgence and an almost maniacal desire for adventure Luxuries — such as toilets — are few and far between It took eight hours to get to Bassar providing ceaseless opportunity for contact with the locals With 18 adults and three children packed into a space that would have comfortably seated 14 close personal contact was unavoidable The adults mainly slept the children all threw up and I watched the landscape as it glided past the dirty windows As we traveled farther northward the flatness of the coastal region gave way to grasslands and mountains punctuated by forests of teak cotton fields and coffee one-on-o- A woman sitting across from me smiled and held out a handful of peanuts which she then dumped in my lap On her face were three scars — one on her forehead and one on each cheek — which identified her ethnic tribe Traveling with her was a woman with a question mark tattooed between her eyebrows They were both from Bassar and said they would walk me to the hotel when we got there They also wanted to meet me the next day at the Saturday market And as for restrooms well there weren't any Everyone simply went by the side of the road as though it were the most natural thing in the world men with their backs toward the bus women with their skirts lifted discreetly I later discovered that there are few public toilets in the rural areas of Togo Even in bars or restaurants a toilet is often nothing more than an enclosed space with an open ground What a relief then Bassar It has the luxury of one hotel the Hotel de Bassar which is perched on a hillside overlooking the town Its 12 rooms are simple but come with air conditioning and private bathrooms and showers Singles are about $18 while doubles are $25 For travelers worried about bacteria its probably the safest place to eat It isnt however the most colorful On Saturday I headed for the market a large outdoor area where vendors had set up stalls with their Denali Park Fairbanks Whitehorse Skagway Juneau Glacier Bay Sitka Vancouver via air rail bus riverboat narrow paupe train and cruise This needs to be booked this month tor Pest price Aug S2654 t OF FAFrIOOLAR 017EREST To MEMBERS OF THE LDS CIVRON: MESA TEMPLE EASTER PAGEANT including Lake Powell Grand Canyon none Opportunities tor 'Temple Sessions in Manti St George Mesa and Las Vegas April 2 $699 tilli Cumorati 12-1- pER pfinsc Asp FARE 'cm OHL OCC oectiAIDED CUILIFOR 58314m8 11115131110E11111 Q"16 : A S SG ATC -y MAR as Based " $740 aki 5 leduitAS 'flTqvi I Up to Each WaY $740per couple so think about your (tic fr( LiCketS wiur Pianv rri eat iff )1( e- and Plafttp Holland America also offers luxury cruises to the 1Aipc-(-1 $ 69 Leh One Way Round Trip No Advanced Purchase No Saturday 14141 Stay HAWAII agt2S rTILIY 111CLE1L a Fri1111111117i irIS arid a ti( Itel price uf ai (If SIX 1e:2p-i- t riL h 2v:cirri-an- ( - 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ANGELFrom This summer American Airlines can saxe you per person$300 per couple on Fly itkway Vacations' packages to Europe if you pay in full by March 15 19901Call your Travel Agent and request American's $150 discount and Europe 1990 summer brochure All packages include at least six nights hotel accommodations and more London Theatre Extravaganza ''L7'7'N 41111nmet 104 LISA $150 dise(uni Pageant and some important American History Sights choice of 5 ilineranes S776 8 July Including o::4: e: 141'41' Save $300 Per Couple claw LDS CHURCH KISTORY 701 ways to see it as Holland America Westours papE FRO9 A K A I 47707 T&ffloyou12 cmgmlooll 11 Beth Reiber lives in Lawrence Ks Wtr even with the newly opened trails there are no guaran ( MRS A zao Of course ' how to get there: Air Afrique has the most direct service with flights twice a week from New York to Lome Climate: The best time to visit is considered to be the dry seasons which are Augustt and September and December through March For more information contact the Togo information Service 1706 Street NW Washington DC 20009 me Two days after leaving Togo I was still cleaning the dust from my ears InakwAym- City 6 tees of seeing animals in the park especially elephants We didn't see any elephants Instead what we saw were the backsides of baboon warthogs and gazelle as they fled from us in terror Kenya it isn't I would have liked to stay for days but in the end it was the dust and the heat that defeated wares under simple roofs of corrugated tin "You judge a town in Togo by its market" an American Peace Corps worker living near Bassar told me "Bassar has one of the best" There are only 15000 people in Bassar but they all must have been there that Saturday its the main event of the week a social gathering where people sell buy eat and drink The two Togolese women I had met on the bush taxi invited me for a meal of cassava and meat which costs only about 40 cents a bowl The uncooked meat lay uncovered in the sun swarming with flies I said I wasn't hungry but when they argued that I at least try a bite I couldn't refuse How could I explain to these women that if I ate their food I might become deathly ill? Scooping some up in my hand I discovered that I liked the taste And to my immense relief it didn't make me sick Another speciality of the market is a fermented tchoukoutou drink made from millet Rows of women each with her own vat and a couple of benches serve communal calabashes of the bubbling liquid Some people who come to the market never get any farther than the tchoukoutou stalls Although Bassar still remains a bit out of the way for most visitors that will change within the next year Bassar happens to sit on the northern edge of the Fazao Wildlife Reserve almost 500000 acres of wilderness and home of baboons gazelle warthogs and about 100 elephants In 1987 almost 50 miles of trail were opened to the public for the first time all in the south end of the park near a tiny village called Fazao By the end of this year an additional 75 miles of trail are scheduled to open linking Bassar with Fa- Based on Pidundtrip PLICM Add VIO Vona way Achorage Dawson i of vendors at Bassar's Saturday market proffers fish One COUNTRY ROADS 4 'i AP 11 May ! di New Orleans The Kentucky Derby in Louisville Lexington & the horse terms Great Smoky Mountains Dollywood the Sillmore Mansion at Asheville Chattanooga Nashville Opryland Grand Old Opry Grateland in Memphis America's heartland of rich culture i l' '1 )f 11114111 DEEP SOUTH Natchez Pilgrimage Atlanta Charieston Savannah St Augustine Cape Canaveral Orianoo EPCOT Cypress Gardens The South in spring bloom ano at a leisurely pace of 2 night stopovers 5 S1717 March 4t e nel Package includes six nights cc )rittnental hreakfast daih a sightseeing tour of Pans a guick-- d tour of the Palace of Versailles a cruise (In the River Seine and IT) uch more - sawit&AAIN -'- ' accomm datums "Moth asemiiii 7 41 " te N rt 111- ir "11174611 Nti ) air fare Certalri king) required using reular ' recpir( a 34:121 aLlvarlcc 11IriiC 09CT 11( Jvaila!-)i:c r priCti( )11 V'It1h an Arricricar ir ()Crier aclipc) van pa:Ltgt: pr rri ri nal rifler LiccPve BARON JENSEN l'ASTA DF A 00111101111 i )1 American Airlines is Al 1 T-1- ae Murdock tipcLiscitm EZ1: C Trave1 TENSPIL v"' ka7 0iiiAw 111Stelf ) sura t ?SO ?'!111Col Aalimaatoradiiisset4kwow1019mo r Dp ft inegirpromisonia01sti 6 6 ii: - r V V For info call TOBY-268-447- 0 Holland America Line J |