I go to Togo!

At last, after ridiculous delays that pissed off an entire planeful of people headed to Abdijan or Lome, I got here. To be welcomed by Arwen looked gorgeous in her Togolese complet. It is beyond wonderful to be visiting such a good friend on her home turf! This is a quick blog. My first impressions from one afternoon in Lome: humidity, greenery, palm trees and grass everywhere. No horse or donkey carts, only lots and lots of motos. In the market, almost exclusively women selling their goods. Beautiful women with short-cropped hair, so practical in this hot climate, and really more attracive than mounds of fake-hair braids. And the colors that never get old. Wax-printed fabrics (called pagne here in Togo) in all shades and patterns, piles of jewelry, food, decorations, and lots of Christmas gifts! Yes, Christmas is coming, and people are buying their Santa hats in the Lome marche.