The border formalities went well with 20000CFA for a visa and 5000CFA TIP (vehicle permit). however one little scam is that they will direct you to report to a nearby police station. When I arrived a very young officer seemed nervous and asked me to wait while he called his boss. His boss arrived a few minutes later with his takeout lunch, takes my passport and disappears into his office. The kid comes out and says I should pay 5000CFA but cannot say why or give me a receipt. It was pretty obvious what was going on but for $10 I bought my passport back. I should have just ridden past the station.

The scenery turned to full blown rainforest very quickly and to add the final touch a huge rain fell for about an hour. I enjoyed the ride because the scenery was just so compelling and the rain just added to the atmosphere. Sadly, my travels through the hilly north of Togo had me witness some 10(!) recent large truck collisions in the hilly East. in one case they were still trying to extract the driver. The combination of poor roads, poorly maintained and grossly overloaded trucks and drivers with some very bad habits produces this carnage all over West Africa. I don’t get the economics of it. Are trucks and drivers that expendable? Are shipping costs high enough to accept these losses?
I guess insurance pay-outs are miniscule compared to similar accidents in the west. I didn't take any photos of this.
About 10km before Dapaong the tarmac ended and there was a pretty good dirt road being prepared for paving but the rain made for some real muddy sections. Both the bike and me were a solid red clay colour when we arrived in the town.

Ready to stop for the day, I find the Les Elephants Hotel in Dapaong. After a wash, I head out looking for something to eat. By now it is dark and difficult to see because of there is no street lighting and the headlamps of the swarms of little motorcycles just reflect off the dust. What I do see is that I'm not in Muslim territory any longer. There are bars evrywhere playing loud music.
Now I make a practice of not going to bars in countries where I'm a minority because that is the home of the drunken men who either want to be your friend or are angry with the West which I would represent. If I want a beer I'll take it in daylight at a proper restaurant or take it back to my room.
This time I seem to have no choice. Bars don't serve food but there is a guy cooking chicken out front. It turns out well. There was a lot of loud discussion in the bar but I was politely ignored. Maybe africa is different from Latin America in this respect?

I’m low on funds again and I have a deposit at Western Union but I need the internet to access the codes. Pas d’internet is all I’m hearing from the few internet cafes that exist. I must press on anyway.

It’s a nice run the next day to Atakpame. I’m enjoying the ride, the scenery and the people I’m meeting along the way. This is the Africa I want to know. The desert was a challenge but this is a much richer experience.

The Hotel Le Sahelian, Atakpume took the last of my CFAs but I managed to get a tasty street dinner of rice, okra, noodles, meat and a spicy sauce for 350CFA. For take-out this is served in a small black plastic bag. But if you want to dine in, you sit at a small bench with other male customers and eat with your right hand from a bowl. I have tried this a few times if only to provide some amusement for the other patrons watching a white guy eat with his hands.

In the morning I went to the recommended internet shop but again “pas d’internet’. When? Just a shrug of the shoulders. Hmm…I start searching and do find another that has one computer working. There is a guy on this computer trying to do an on-line course and it is painfully slow.
I wait. He is bothered I’m waiting. Finally I ask if I can use my portable and they agree. I plug in and presto I get the info I need!
The fellow, Bouka Kwami, speaks some English and we chat. He works for foreign NGOs helping to implement projects and he invites me to his office. He rides a Honda XR250 Chinese clone which is a large bike here. After the brief visit, I’m off to Western Union and back on the road.

I had decided to take a short cut from Notse due East to the Benin border at Touhoun. Get my 48 hour transit visa and continue East Abomey, Benin to the Nigerian border at Ketou (supposedly less corrupt than the busy coast border. The road from Notse was really a dirt track not a road and it gave me a chance to see how the loaded bike would handle on the many kms of dirt to come.

The road was badly eroded from run-off and slow but I really enjoyed the 65km to the border. The only other vehicles I saw on the road were small chinese motorcycles carrying big loads. Along the way there were various checkpoints by police and customs officials I assume to control smuggling. They showed a lot of interest in the bike and my trip which was nice but very time-consuming.
Here's a photo of one customs stop.

I get stamped out of Togo and visit the Benin immigration post. “We do not issue visas at borders any longer’ says the official and he shows me a directive dated May 23, 2012. “You have to go to Lome and get a visa from the Embassy there”. All my subsequent whining, complaining and hints of a bribe had no effect. Now what to do?

Fortunately, the more laid back Togo officials kindly reversed my exit documentation which would never have happened at a busier border. As I headed back it was almost dark and a light rain started to fall. So I stayed the night at an empty hotel (just 3 years old) in a small village near the border. Someone had to come and turn the power and water on! I had the impression it was built in anticipation of road improvements that haven't happened yet.
The next day there were lots of surprised looks from locals as I reversed my journey on the dirt track but again the ride was enjoyable and a nice change from the asphalt.

I was in Lome by noon on Saturday and it was great to see the coast again.

I went directly to the Benin Embassy which, of course, was closed for the weekend. Next a search of the hotels along the beach turned up “Le Galion” which at 7500CFA was a bargain.

I used the weekend to catch up on bike maintenance. Well I just lubed the chain. Worked on this report and a number of assorted tasks required to keep this show on the road. Traveling is a lot of work! Hopefully I can get my visa in one day (Monday) as I just realized that my Togo visa expires on Tuesday!

There is a nice looking beach here but there is no swimming due to a dangerous undertow and pollution from the city. It is also just too hot and very windy to be on the beach without substantial protection and shade.
My Sunday off passed quickly and I was at the Benin Embassy for the 8:00AM opening. By doubling the visa fee I “persuaded” the official to issue the visa the same day.
I went back to the hotel, packed up, had couscous in the restaurant (a treat) and back to pick up the visa at 3:00PM. While waiting outside, I noticed a fellow taking passport photos and printing them out on a tiny portable printer. Another convenience unavailable in Western countries but common here. This supports my theory that as poorer economies force a majority of the population to become “entrepreneurs” almost every street corner has just about anything someone might need. No need to trek to a strip mall as it is all available on the street or delivered to your door. A valuable convenience that disappears (except for the wealthy) with an advanced economy.

Visa in hand I headed due East to the Benin border from Lome. Disregarding the heavy traffic, the dusty road diversions and pot-holes, it was a very pleasant but short ride along the coast highway with kilometers of sandy beaches and swaying palm trees.