African Cruise
Photos by Philip and Yoko Galvin
5. Abidjan, Ivory Coast
After arriving at port in Ivory Coast, we took a bus tour in Abidjan to Grand Bassam which is a World Heritage site near Abidjan. The entry to the port was very scenic as follows: Then, we saw a couple of policemen on their motorcycles right in front of our ship. We automatically thought that the city must be very dangerous to have policemen around us. But that wasn’t the case. Apparently, the traffic in this city is so congested, we needed to have their escort to visit anywhere around this city. Thanks to the policemen, our bus, caravanning with 7 other buses, were treated as if we were Abidjan’s royalty in the busy traffic.
Our guide was a young man who was from Gand Bassam. From our windows on the bus, initially we saw many modern buildings before we got on the highway to Grand Bassam.
The sights along the highway were very surprising to us. We have never seen such sights anywhere in the world we had visited before. There were shacks that were selling tires, various types of furniture, art pieces and wood materials. These products were all exposed under the sun. To make matters worse, there was garbage everywhere. There were rocks or tires on the roofs of buildings, so they wouldn’t be blown away by the wind.
While we were viewing these sights, the guide proudly explained that in his country, polygamy was allowed (up to 3 wives) and many men had more than one wife. Hearing this, one of the women in our bus asked him, “Can we have three husbands, too?” Everyone laughed at her comment.
After 45 minutes we arrived in Grand Bassam which is also a famous resort town. The scenery outside improved a little, though there was still a lot of garbage on the streets.
The old French colonial capital of Ivory Coast in the 19th century, Grand-Bassam was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. This is because the colonial architecture and town-planning were once considered outstanding. However, the town is now filled with decaying 19th and 20th century houses.
We always love watching children no matter where we visit. Here are so many happy and lovely children full of life in Grand Bassam.
In Grand Bassam, the first place we visited was the National Museum of Costume where we saw that the displays of examples of traditional dress in a former governor’s palace.
Then we visited a Crafts Shop. At the entrace, two musicians were playing powerful sounding drums. We wish you could hear the sound.
Next, we visited one of the Nzema villages where our tourist guide came from. We were welcomed by some golden statues of their current royalty members.The statues were very impressive.
After we returned to Abidjan city, we visited St. Paul’s Cathedral which was surrounded by many beautiful stained glass windows.
After visiting the church, the bus drove us to a market place in the city. There, the vendors were so aggressive, we hesitated to ask any questions. However, we saw many interestig sights there, including a soldier with a gun.
The whole tour took 5 hours without any lunch. So, by the time we came back to the ship, we were starving.
In summary, it was a very interesting trip. Unfortunately, no matter where we went in this city, we saw poverty and garbage everywhere except for where rich people live.
Visiting a country such as this one makes us realize how lucky we are to live in Canada.
