When we visited Togo in January, we made a quick stop at the market in Kpalimé. It was Sunday, so most stalls were closed. In fact, we were told that only the Muslim vendors were open; apparently, Christian vendors take Sunday off. The market was large and winding with stalls down multiple side streets and crowded all together.

Right before we left town, John and Tammy stopped to buy some fruit. They purchased 30 oranges for about $1.50 American. In Togo, they eat oranges differently. Right there on the side of the road, the vendor “peeled” off the rind (which was yellow!) with a big knife and sliced off the top. People then just “suck” the juice and flesh out of the top of the orange. They gave an orange to Ruth and Clara, being the little sister, did not want to be left out… so she got the top of it. Both girls just went to town eating those oranges and by the time they were done, they had just sucked both oranges dry.

One thing we love about West Africa is the abundance of fresh fruit. Everywhere we went, we saw vendors selling bananas, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, and more. Our girls could not get enough of the fruit!