On the Brussels Air flight from Lome to Brussels.
It's 2:15AM Lome time / 4:15AM Brussels time on this 7.5 hour flight. Wonder why I am yawning :-o Good byes were emotional for all, amazing how tightly a bond can develop when circumstances are right and they were indeed right in Togo. E-mail addresses were of course exchanged with promises of follow-up. I especially became close with Bill the cook as I was informally assigned as the liaison between team Canada and the team Togo accommodations and living guys. Bill is a great guy, loves Canada and is seriously trying to find a way to move himself and family there but I get the sense it may be somewhat difficult as he does not have professional credentials that I am aware of. At parting I wished him and his family well and promised to support him in any way vis a vis application to get to Canada, either as a tourist initially or an immigrant.
The closing meal was held at our apartment complex (Casa Blanca) and was great with a wide variety of food some of it native to the Ewe people who populate central and southern Togo. The women looked marvelous with their brightly colored and patterned long outfits. All of Team Canada had either shirts and / or dresses made from colorful African cotton material and we wore these outfits to the party. Quite the colorful and joyous spectacle. The Togolese love to sing and dance to African beats which I must say are absolutely captivating.
Closing thought for the day and the adventure:
The Togolese Ewe people are very warm, thankful, quick to laugh, hopeful, proud, wonderful with song and music, have an affinity for religion (but in a quiet unassuming way) and a loving people. I will miss my quickly gained friends however I do believe that in our short time there we were able to make a small difference to 5,000 families as well as our support staff. All our lives have been positively impacted and enriched and I thank my Togolese friends for the opportunity to make this happen. There are 5 Canadians and 1 American (Eleanor) who now have the ability to uniquely drift away for a moment, with a distant look in their eyes, and a warm smile and only they will know what the adventure was rally like.
Peace to all.
Gypsy type squatters living on he old pier in Lome.
Apparently Dosseh thinks he can part the waves! These guys really do take the religion seriously. :-)
Margaret and I had a pact that the trip to Togo would be incomplete unless we put our feet into the ocean. Mission accomplished!
Just walking the beach with our Togolese friends.
"Yes Eleanor, I know how to paddle a canoe but this one step up!"
Local hand crafted in-shore fishing boat
Want to know why Mercedes Benz cars last forever? The Germans got to practice on structures such as this. This pier was built in the 1890s and it's still standing! That is metal, not cement!
1890s art work or engineering or both?
The last supper that was served to us by Bill our cook. he wore a chef's jacket for the occasion and brought a bottle of bubbly. What a gentleman.
Last looks at Togo and the beach.
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