Postcards from Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Cost)

March 27, 2023

Cocoa Capital of the World

When and Where: 03/2023 – Abidjan

73^rd Country Visited; 10^th African Country Visited

Interesting Facts:

- Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, is the ninth largest city in Africa with roughly 5.5 million people.

- The Ivory Coast is the top producer of cocoa in the world. The cocoa production of the Ivory Coast and Ghana combined account for over 60% of the world’s cocoa production.

- Of all the countries I’ve visited on the 2023 Holland America Grand World Voyage, the Ivory Coast is the only country which has a Level 3 Travel Advisory from the State Department: Reconsider Travel.

Prior to arrival, I had a tour booked with Delaware’s Across Africa Tours. A few days before arrival in the Ivory Coast, I received notification the tour had been cancelled. I scrambled to find another tour. There was one Holland America tour with space available: a visit to a botanical garden and an orphanage. Ideally, I did not want to take this tour. The morning of the excursion, I was able to change up tours and take a trip to the Banco National Park for a nature hike.

Similar to the previous day in Ghana, I witnessed abject poverty up close in the Ivory Coast. The level of poverty is hard to describe and is best seen through my pictures. Unlike Ghana, the countryside was littered with trash. After a short drive through the heart of Abidjan, we arrived at Banco National Park. Banco is a government protected inner-city park. It was a sweltering day with temperatures in the mid-90’s and high humidity. We had two tour guides: one French speaker, and one bi-lingual guide who translated for the French speaking guide. The tour group started out slowly. As we walked along the dirt path strewn with puddles, we saw various flora native to the Ivory Coast. The tour guide made several stops to describe what we were seeing. Halfway through the walk, I was drenched in sweat. We continued to walk. Along the trail, we encountered a group of children performing an Ivorian version of Tai Chi. A short time later, we passed a packed open-air Catholic mass. Further down the trail, we heard the sound of drums in the distance. As we approached, we noticed an impoverished village in the middle of the park. The makeshift housing did not have indoor plumbing. At the end of our tour, we had a brief stop at a museum in the park.

At the exit to the park was a small stream. The tour guide stopped to tell us the story of how impoverished illiterate immigrants from neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso were human washing machines. The all-male group of washers collect laundry from homes in Abidjan, bring the items to the water to wash, then lay the items in the grass field to dry and later fold. From a distance, the water looked murky. The men in the water were hard at work scrubbing the clothes and thrashing the clothes over nearby rocks. Other men were responsible for laying the clothes on the lawn for drying. A third group was responsible for collecting and folding the clothes. It was a complex process. At the end of the day, the folded clothes were returned to the families. Without the ability to write or read, the immigrants somehow know what clothes belong to which residences.

After the park, the tour continued through other neighborhoods of impoverished Abidjan. We finally arrived at a wealthy neighborhood, Cocody, where our tour group stopped for a Ivorian lunch. The bustling restaurant served local beer and varying foods family style. Being a finicky eater, I wasn’t able to get my bun-less burger. Multiple dishes arrived, some fish, some (unrecognizable) beef dish, and two chicken dishes; all of which were served over beds of rice. We also were served French fries. I ate the fries, some rice and a few bites of chicken. Overall the food was good, but the beer was better, particularly after the long hike. After lunch, we made our way back to the cruise ship. I second guessed my decision to tour the park due to the heat, but at least I did my daily cardio. All the Ivorians I met were warm and welcoming. However, I don’t see myself ever making it back to the Ivory Coast.