Back

It took 12 hours, a beer, a pack of gum, a loaf of bread, a Coke, 3 bathroom breaks, a half a pintade and a Fanta, but I finally made it back. I didn’t really see too much on the road that I haven’t seen before. However, I did come to the realization that there are 4 types of people in Togo. First, there are those who are lucky enough to have running water (provided the water pump/electricity works). Second, there are those who live in the city and have communal running water. This is where there is a pipe with a nozzle sticking out of the ground, a person walks up under it with a bucket on their head, pays the fee, and stands there for a few minutes filling up before truckin’ it back to their house. Third, there are those who have to pump the water themselves. There is a mixture of foot pumps and hand pumps throughout and I don’t think there is a real rhyme or reason to it. They are predominantly found in the countryside or on the outskirts of the cities. Fourth, there are those who have to old-school it with a hole in the ground, a length of rope and a 2 liter leather satchel. I saw a little girl filling up a 25L basin at a well like this. The water was close to 75 feet down. And I thought I had it rough having to jump up and down on a little pedal for 5 full minutes.