Kayleen Travels

Frying ripe plantain- Grinding pepper, onion, tomato- Mary preparing the beans- The finished product- redred with fried plantain (my favorite!)- Preparing palm nut soup-

Tega and I traveled to a city called Koforidua to visit our sweet friend, Mary, and meet her 7 mo. old daughter. 

Having been gone for about seven months, I realized the answer with great clarity.  Sandwiches.  And my mother just happens to be the best sandwich maker in the entire world :-) (Hi Mom, I love you!)

Traveling alone this past weekend to Togo had me thinking about the +/- of traveling solo: + Traveling solo fosters independence, confidence, and adventurousness + You become more social and therefore meet more people + You don't have to worry about anyone but yourself + You also don't need to compromise, which can happen if your travel buddy is more high maintenance than you, or if you have different ideas on what would be interesting or fun to do - It is much safer to travel with someone than it is to travel alone, especially when going to an unfamiliar area - It is cheaper when you have someone to split expenses with (i.e. taxi fare, meals, accommodation) - You don't have anyone to verbally discuss choices and options with, or another perspective to hear on a given option or situation - Experiences are always better when they are shared

 ( Saturday ) Justine, my gracious host in Togo.  Enjoying a drink at Pajar. Instead of a wall, the bar/restaurant was lined with cages of birds.  A strip of bars, restaurants, and shops.  Chilling with GG.  The market.  "The Big Market" also called "The Grand Market." The first church built in Togo.  Togo nightlife. Throughout the city there are many areas with loud music, chairs and tables, and dance floors. Just park your bike on the side of the road and enjoy! ( Sunday ) Excited about my new leather bag! Brunch cooked by GG's brothers- mais with pepper. I ate this for about every meal during my stay in Togo.   A city street in Lome.  Togo's beautiful beach! Eating a late lunch at Jah Love with Revelation Band (the reggae band Justine manages).  Bon appetit! Mais with pepper again, this time with small fish. I'm talking fried minnows.  Gathering outside Jah Love for live music.  Togo brewed beer.  With Justine and her b...

On March 22, 2014, I traveled to Lome, Togo. Togo is a small, narrow country squeezed in between Ghana and Benin. Lome (pronounced Loh-may) is the capital of Togo, located on the Ghana-Togo border.  To get to Lome, I had to travel from Cape Coast to Accra (2-3 hours) and then from Accra to Aflao (3-5 hours depending on traffic). In Aflao, I had to go through immigration and exchange my money from Ghana cedis to CFA. Then I walked across the border to Lome, Togo. I was lucky enough to get connected to Justine, a Togolese woman around my age, who picked me up from the border on her motorbike and took care of me throughout the weekend.  I only spent two days in Togo and remained in Lome over the duration of my visit, so I am not by any means an expert on Togolese life and culture. But based on what I saw and experienced, I want to compare Lome, Togo to Accra, Ghana. I feel that this would be the most accurate comparison, as both cities are coastal cities as well as capitals of th...

Paddle boat ride in the crocodile infested waters: Petting crocodiles!: And feeding crocodiles: