Koutammakou

14 FEBRUARY 2023

Today was one of those special days when you have no idea how the day might evolve when you start. It began with breakfast in a very Parisienne café, tucked down a dusty unnamed track.

The café sold fresh baguettes and an assortment of croissants all freshly baked. What a bazaar treat in the middle of this dusty town.

I then set off on the back of a motorbike taxi with my rucksack tied onto the back rack. We travelled north along the main road heading towards the Kara university and the small town of Kandi. Once out of town, we sailed along the smooth empty road towards the hills. The road wound upwards and then descended into a very picturesque valley shrouded in cloud. This part of Togo is under developed and oozing natural traditional life. I loved it.

At the turn off to Koutammakou, we met a group of students returning from the university. They’d got rides so far and were waiting for the local bus to take them to their homes within the Tamberma valley. We couldn’t help them, so travelled on along the track.

The Tamberma Valley

The Tamberma valley is home to the Betamaribe people, who live in compounds called tata. These consist of a series of towers connected by a thick wall with a single entrance chamber; aimed in the past, at providing the maximum amount of protection from invading neighbours and slave traders. Built entirely of clay, wood and straw with no metal or nails to be seen in the original designs, these compounds are where the families congregate. The ground floor is usually reserved for the livestock, a step ladder leads up to the kitchen and then a ladder to the roof terrace. On the roof are the sleeping quarters and the grain stores. Outside stand the voodoo shrines and the fetish objects used to protect the home and family from unwelcome spirits.

I was introduced to the king of Koutammakou and his wives, who laid out their trinkets on clothes in the hope I would buy something. The king is elected by the villagers and is responsible for the villagers security, survival and well-being. His off-spring have built their compounds on adjacent land. We walked through these to see the large baobab tree, inside which the villagers used to hide when under attach.
We continued by motorbike along the valley and eventually came to the last cluster of compounds and the police check point.

Crossing the border between Togo and Benin.

The police check point is a Nadoba in a small hut. We had a friendly banter with the policeman about valentines day and then continued on. Between the borders there is a dusty track and open fields. Once in Benin, you continue to the small town of Boukoumbe, where you can get a passport stamp at the police office – there are no police at the border. They didn’t ask for the visa nor any vaccination certificates.

Natitingou to Cotonou

As it was still early in the day, I decided not to stay in the border crossing area and to continue on to Cotonou if there was transport. It turned out that we’d timed our arrival in Natitingou perfectly for the departure of the ATT bus direct to Cotonou. I settled the amount with the motorbike taxi driver and gave him extra cash to cover the return trip to Kara and help towards his second term fees at the university.

The bus trip to Cotonou was 8000CFA. This journey was long – left at 14:00 and arrived in Cotonou at 24:00. Nevertheless, it was direct and travelled through the length of Benin, giving a good insight into the expanse of undeveloped natural forest covering most of the country. As usual the fellow passengers and the driver made sure that I had onward transport to my hotel when we terminated in the city. I had planned to stay in one of the large beach front hotels for the night to ensure there was someone available to welcome me on my late arrival. I stayed at the Azalia Hotel on the Boulevard de Marina. A real luxury and a deep comfortable night’s sleep.