Togo - West Africa - page 977

High-speed wireless access, or wi-fi, is increasingly the norm in top-end and many midrange hotels across the region;
expect the number of places offering this service to grow rapidly over the next few years. Wi-fi access in such places is
sometimes (but not always) free. In some countries, it may also be possible to obtain internet access through your mo-
bile.

FRENCH KEYBOARDS AMY KARAFIN

Many internet cafes in Francophone West Africa have 'French' keyboards, which can slow you down when typ-
ing if you're not used to them. Happily, though, some are loaded with English-language settings. To 'Anglicise' a
keyboard, look for a 'Fr' icon on the bottom right of the screen, and scroll up to click on 'En'.

Maps
The regularly updated Michelin map Africa: North and West (sheet No 741, formerly No 153, then 953, then 971; scale
1:4,000,000) is one of the best and most detailed, and something of a classic. It's lent its name to the 153 Club
( www.the153club.org ) , whose members have travelled through the regions covered by this map. Whether you join the
club or not, the map is something no overland traveller should be without. Even so, if you're driving don't rely solely on
the Michelin map as its scale makes it insufficiently detailed for most desert navigation; expect a few discrepancies
between the map and reality, especially regarding road information, as old tracks get upgraded and once-smooth high-
ways become potholed disasters. The map excludes the southernmost portion of Cameroon.
Worth noting are the maps produced by the Institut Géographique National (IGN). The Pays et Villes du Monde series
(1:1,000,000) and the more recent IGN Carte Touristique (1:2,000,000) have country maps, which are excellent and
available for most countries in West Africa.
If you're likely to be driving off-road (or simply love maps), you really must get hold of as many of the IGN-pro-
duced sheets as part of the Carte Internationale du Monde series (1:1,000,000) as possible. Devoted to West Africa,
they're noted for their almost peerless topographical detail. Their drawback is an important one: they were surveyed in
the 1960s and don't seem to have been updated since, meaning that road detail is not to be trusted and even a few natur-
al features (such as the extents of Lake Chad or Mali's Lake Faguibine) are no longer accurate.
For GPS electronic maps, try Tracks4Africa ( www.tracks4africa.co.za ) .
To try and track down these and other West Africa maps, your first stop should be Stanfords ( www.stanfords.co.uk ) ,
the world's largest supplier of maps. They have stores in London, Manchester and Bristol in the UK.
In France, IGN ( www.ign.fr ) sells its sheet maps at stores in Paris and Dijon.

EXCHANGE RATES

COUNTRY US$1 C$1 A$1 NZ$1 €1 UK£1 ¥100

Benin (CFA) 497.5 501.4 515.6 408.2 655.96 802.5 585.1

Burkina Faso (CFA) 497.5 501.4 515.6 408.2 655.96 802.5 585.1

Cameroon (CFA) 497.5 501.4 515.6 408.2 655.96 802.5 585.1

Cape Verde (escudo; CVE) 82.4 83.1 85.4 67.6 110.3 132.9 96.9

Côte d'Ivoire (CFA) 497.5 501.4 515.6 408.2 655.96 802.5 585.1