Days 16 and 17 were uneventful days at sea, sailing around Ebola-land (Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia).
November 21
This morning we arrived at Abidjan, the capital of the
Ivory Coast. Since it was a French colony, the country is officially known as "Côte D'Ivoire", but I don't want to have to key in an "ô" every time I mention the country. Unlike Senegal, the Ivory Coast has had more than it's share of coups, and a couple of recent civil wars. Fortunately, I was not aware of this during our visit.
Abidjan is the largest city in the Ivory Coast, and the second largest in West Africa (behind Lagos, Nigeria), with about 4 million people. It was the capital until 1983, when the capital was moved to Yamoussoukro. Downtown Abidjan is pretty modern, but things deteriorate as you go farther out into the country.
Our tour today took in Abidjan, followed by a visit to the French colonial town of Grand-Bassam, about 15 miles away. The next few shots are from central Abidjan.
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| St. Paul's Cathedral, built in the 1980's |
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| "ADO" is Alassane Dramane Ouattara, the President--he won the election |
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| Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire |
As we left Abidjan for Grand-Bassam, things got decidedly more rural and less prosperous.
Grand-Bassam was the capital of the Ivory Coast in the 1890's, but the capital was moved because of flooding and yellow fever epidemics. A lot of the colonial buildings remain, but there's not that much else there.
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| A street in Grand-Bassam |
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| An old colonial building |
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| More colonial architecture |
Our first destination in Grand Bassam was the
Musée National du Costume. The Wikipedia Entry for the museum tells you pretty much all you need to know.
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| The front of the Museum |
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| In back of the museum |
One thing I hadn't noticed until we were getting back on the bus at the museum, is that we had a bit of security with us....
We got back on the bus and drove literally half a block to an oceanside resort for some refreshments and a concert by an African drum and dance group.
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| Vendors waiting for the bus after our exhausting 1/2 block trip |
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| Enjoying a coconut at the resort |
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| On the grounds of the resort |
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| On the beach |
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| The pool at the resort |
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| Our security buddies |
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| Vendors on the beach |
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| The performance (which was very good) |
When we got back on the bus, we had to battle through a phalanx of vendors trying to sell us stuff.
On our way out of Grand-Bassam, we encountered a parade, including one participant who apparently had never seen a tour bus, so he took a photo of us.
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| More scenery from Grand Bassam |
We then headed back to Abidjan, passing lots of villages, markets, and shops along the way.
While we were in Grand-Bassam, it apparently poured in Abidjan. This was the only rain that we encountered on the trip, and technically we didn't even encounter it.
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| Rain didn't help the street conditions |
Back in Abidjan, we passed through a couple of more modern areas, and then stopped at a craft market. The sellers in Abidjan were easily as aggressive as those in Dakar and Banjul.
That night on the ship, the entertainers and crew put on their "farewell show".
Next:
Days 19-20: Takoradi and Accra, Ghana
