The Thing About a Good Posse.....

Mmmmm Togo! It's great to be here. A funny thing happened on the way though - did you read the last post. But seriously folks, we'll be here all week.

After lengthy bus rides and too many matches and double beers to count, it was the perfect time to see some sights. But this is Togo, more of a do-it-yourself vacation spot. The supposed highlight of northern Togo is the mysterious cave dwellings inhabited by long forgotten savages. But in order to get there we had to choose our own adventure. Go to page 17 (the next paragraph) if you wish to visit the caves. Or skip to page 25 (the bottom of the post) if you just want the thing about.

Over the course of our adventure we hire a taxi driver named Capitain, are forced to hire two local guides, and baksheesh the local chief. As soon as word gets around that some white guys are paying for a visit to the caves, everyone and their baby pig gets involved: 14 local slingshot-toting children, a flock of sheep, the aforementioned piglet, 5 shirtless teenagers, a guy with a speakerbox tied to a stick, a cow, and the guides we actually hired. We assume that, collectively, this crowd will come together to unravel the unknowns of these long-forgotten, recently remembered caves.

Our hike included beautiful maize and sorghum fields, a steep sprint up a ravine, and then a descent through a metal ladder to the cliffside caves themselves. Our posse led us on a tour through the caves, which actually turned out to be cereal storage facilities built in the 19th century to avoid the taxman. Turned out not to be savages at all. And no one really lived in them. Another mystery solved. Turning to our next mystery we commence our search for Toucan Sam and are led on hands and knees into a narrow bat cave oozing with hantavirus. Probably. However, despite our best efforts, we couldn't locate any Fruit Loops or Trix. We emerged to wash off the hantavirus in a trickling cascade and beautiful views over the surrounding plains tasted better than a bowl of Count Chocula and strawberry milk.

The thing about a good posse is, "C'mon everyone! Some white guys are paying for a trip to the caves! Bring your animals! Someone call Speakerbox!" But no rabbits because Trix are for kids.