Togo to Ghana

Even though Togo and Ghana are next-door neighbors, they are extremely different.

Reasons why Ghana is cooler:
-Cars have windshields that are in one piece. In Togo, you're riding in luxury if the windshield isn't broken.
-Not all roads are covered with potholes.
-Hotels in Ghana come with functioning showers, soap, towels, and sufficient toilet paper. Even the cheap hotels.
-English!!

Reasons why Togo is cooler:
-Togo has motorcycle taxis, which are insanely fun to ride.
-The French of Togolese is easier to understand than the English of Ghanaians.
-French > English
-Food, souvenirs, hotel rooms, etc. are cheaper in Togo.
-People in Togo have more of a tendency to make marriage proposals and the like (at least from my experiences).
-Sorghum beer is found only in Togo.
-The cuisine of Togo is more delightful.

Togo wins.

However, Ghana is still an excellent place. I joined up with Lizzeth and Erin in Lomé, Togo, where we crossed the border to start our vacation in Ghana. We spent a day on a bus heading to Cape Coast and spent all of yesterday hitting up the tourist attractions there.

First was Kakum forest, where we did a canopy walk. This may have been the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life. Am unfortunately having trouble posting a picture, but just imagine skinny, precarious rope bridges really high off the ground and attached to tree trunks.

Next we went to the Elmina and Cape Coast castles, which were used during the slave trade to store the Africans to be shipped across the Atlantic. As many as 200 slaves would be crammed into a chamber that's maybe the size of two bedrooms. People couldn't go to the bathroom except on the floors of these chambers, which meant they were sleeping in their own muck. The chambers were usually really dark and had very little ventilation. After 3 months or so trapped in one of these chambers, the slaves passed through a "door of no return," after which they boarded a small canoe which would take them to the slave ship.

All for now.