You step off a tricycle taxi at Iya Alaje Market, and a woman glides past with a tower of sacks balanced on her head. Yams and greens wait under faded umbrellas, and a trader insists you try pupuru, smoky cassava pounded soft and served with asepo soup. Then someone points the way to the Osemawe's palace, as if the king were expecting you.
Beyond the market, roads run out to cocoa farms, and each December families come home for Ekimogun Day. The climate is tropical savanna, with heavy rains from April to October and dusty harmattan haze from December to February. When your own plans run out, a Local Friend knows which festival, kitchen or hilltop view should come next.
