So I just got back from Cote d’Ivoire and it was amazing!!! I have to say that it was one of the best trips of my life and I feel like I had such a unique experience being one of the only tourists in a post-conflict zone. I was traveling in a group of six girls from the University, 3 Americans and 3 Canadians. I think that our group dynamic was very advantageous to us in the long run. The location was incredible because Abidjan rivals any big American city in terms of development but the streets are empty. In many of the hotels that we stayed in we were the only ones there, the only ones eating at restaurants, the only ones at night clubs. Even more amazing was being the only people at The Basilique Notre Dame de la paix. It was being at St.Peter’s and being the only people there. It was the most bizarre experience of my life. A huge basilica replicating the Vatican in size and structure plopped down in the middle of an African village. The entire thing was so surreal. Yamassoukro is strange because there are 6 lane highways running through the city that used to be the ex-presidents village of 500 people and there are no cars on the highway. You can easily walk across the whole thing. Down by the Basilica you can lay in the middle of the road, it is a ghost town. Very eerie, almost impossible. I felt like I was seeing a desert mirage, I still can’t believe everything that happened. There were tons of police checkpoints and we got stopped 25 times on Halloween trying to make it back into Ghana. Ridiculous! I guess it is better than letting rebel forces get through. I have to say that overall I felt very safe; more safe than I usually do in Ghana. I think a lot of that had to do with the lack of people, in Abidjan I was walking the skyscraper lined city streets and there was nobody hounding me, harassing me, asking for money, or trying to steal things so I actually had the chance to look around and enjoy my surroundings. In Ghana I am often paranoid about all of the things going on around me and I get easily stressed out but this was just a place to roam freely. There was an amazing amount of diversity in Cote d’Ivoire as well. Many Lebanese, Malians, Burkinabe, and mixed French Ivorians. I met so many different and wonderful people on the trip and I feel so great right now. The food was awesome. Street side open air coffee bars line the neighborhoods and at any hour of the day you can find men sitting and sipping a Nescafe or espresso served with crisp delicious baguettes. There is yummy couscous type cassava, stews, futuo, and the usual African street food. Sandwiches are a riot, they have street ladies who have about 10 pots of boiled food including spaghetti, potatoes, beans, peas, beef heart, eggs, avocado stew, omlettes, chicken, and fish and all of it is served on a baguette. There is no sandwich combination that can surprise me now. There is also a ton of French food like croissants, Lebanese falafel and hummus, and rocking chwarmas.
The shoes were really funny as well. Most of the men wore Jellies, the little sparkly shoes that 3 year old girls wear at home. I think Tabitha had a pink pair when she was maybe two. They are soccer shoes in Cote d’Ivoire and at a dollar a pair they are a much more reasonable option for the children playing soccer in the streets. The neighborhoods in Abidjan varied a great bit because the Plateau was the city center and was very upscale, or was in 1983. The whole city was like a time capsule from 1983, you could imagine it in its height, the glitz and glamour of a modern 80s city. La Deux plateau was my favorite area and had a great fun and young feel to it. It was filled with light skinned immigrant people while Treichville was more of an African immigrant population and was a great area with a fun but not overwhelming market. I can’t say enough good things about my experience, it was beautiful and amazing and I am so happy that I didn’t chicken out at the last minute and decide not to go, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
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