Togo - Benin: People-to-People
 Bicycle Africa / Ibike Tours

  
     
     
 

Dispatch 3 - Bafilo

  
 

Sekode-BAFILO (50km, 30mi).  A pleasant ride through several villages and through Bafilo Pass.
Points of interest: Faille d’Aledjo

  
     
 

Sokode, Togo, national highway north of town Sokode, Togo, national highway north of townApproaching Sokodé, and to the north, the countryside gets a bit more of a roll to it, it becomes increasing sparsely populated and the road cut become narrower.  All of this works favorably for creating a more esthetic traveling experience.  The traffic volume is so low that is sometimes feels like a world-class bike path.

 

The village construction in the area used a lot of local materials for constructions.  A frequent exception would be the town mosque.

The lack of grain crops and the presents of cotton suggests that the soil is generally not very fertile.


 

Togo, village north of Sokode selling fire woodWhen a village had a lot to sell along the side of the highway it was generally bundles of firewood and backs of locally made charcoal.  Big trucks ply the highways, stopping in the villages to buy firewood and charcoal to take it to the bigger towns and cities.  Some of it will even make it all the way to Lome on the coast.

 

Central Togo forestEventually the hills that had running north-south along the western border of the country veer to the northeast and bisect the country.  This offers one of the benefits of most hills -- views and vistas, lower temperatures and drier air, though you can still see the humidity blanketing the low lands.

Faglia d'Alédjo, Bafilo, TogoFaglia d'Alédjo, Bafilo, TogoHalf way up (or down, depending upon what direction you are headed) the ten kilometers of hill to Bafilo Pass is the Faglia d'Alédjo.  It is a fun little feature where the road is split with one lane going on each side of a monolith.  It is probably one of the most photographed single features in Togo.

Aledjame, Bafilo, Togo At the top of the hill, Bafilo Pass, the vista opens up for a view of the village of Aledjame.  Having climbed out of the lowlands the temperature and humidity were markedly less and moreAledjame, Bafilo, Togo comfortable on the plateau.  Even sweeter for the bicyclist is it is down hill from Aledjame.  In our situation, going northbound, it was sixteen kilometers of decent to Bafilo town.

 Addendum:
For as little traffic as there is on these roads you would think that the odds of two vehicle hitting each other would be slim. Despite the mathematical odds it seems to happen with some regularity.Sokode, Togo, national highway truck wreck
In this accident, one truck managed to bring this section of the national highway to a standstill in both directions -- with the exception that bicycles could pass.
 

 Next dispatch.

  
 

 
     

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