Adventure #3: Riding a Zimi

In Lomé the main form of transportation is a zimi john (aka, motorcycle). They zoom, zig & zag all over the place, making driving quite difficult. They weave in and out of traffic...pass on the right, pass on the left...simply, they are all over the place!

If you want to go anywhere in the city, you can either hop in a cab OR jump on the back of a zimi. Now, those of you who know me are aware that I am extremely risk averse. I have only ridden a motorcycle back home 1 time, and at the 30 mph mark I think I trembling with fear. 

So, when the group I was with suggested we take zimis to the restaurant we were going to, my brow furrowed and  I got a very scared look on my face. I'd rather not!!! ...... errrrrrrr

We searched for cabs for 15 minutes, but no luck. I decided I needed to take one for the team, gut it up, put my big girl panties on, and ride a zimi. 

We flagged 3 down, the boys negotiated price, and I jumped on a motorcycle behind a Togolese stranger and off we went. I held on for dear life.

At first, we were going very slowly because there was lots of traffic, so we were just passing all the cars slowly. THEN we got to the open road and took off. Now, we were probably only going about 30mph or so, but whew, it felt faster!! Also, my driver and Logan's driver felt like this was some kind of race...so they were speeding it up....

Sooooo, as the time went by I realized that riding on the zimi wasn't as scary as I thought. In fact, it was actually kind of fun! The sun was setting, and we were cruising down the beach road, and I was taking in the scenery and all of a sudden was super excited and happy! Logan was in front of me, so I didn't feel too worried about safety. I decided to make a bold move and take out my camera and start shooting away.

Here are all the pics I took from the back of a Togolese Zimi John. Adventure #3: Success!