March 26, 2023
Hello followers, this morning we arrived in The City of Abidjan, a city of over 4 million in the country of Ivory Coast (30 million). Ivory Coast is a former French colony.The water route into the harbour is quite scenic. We moored at a brand new section of dock. There was totally no activity in the harbour, this was maybe because it was Sunday today.Most harbours we have been in, there is always a ship being loaded or unloaded, being it Day or Night. Today we’re going on a tour towards the neighbouring town called Grand – Bassam, roughly an hour’s drive.Grand -Bassam was the first French Colonial Capital in Ivory Coast towards the end of the 19th Century. Today the government offices are located in Abidjan. Today Grand -Bassam is a Unesco Heritage Site. There are many old colonial buildings all over the town. Our first stop was at an old light house build in 1915 and inactive since 1951. The odd thing is, it doesn’t sit not on the water , but in the middle of the town. Apparently it used to be at the entrance of a lagoon, but over the years it all silted up. The light house, like most of the other buildings in the town are very much in disrepair. If no maintenance is done on the building’s, they won’t be around anymore in 10-15 years. We also stopped in at a museum, it had old pictures on the walls from the French colonial era. The museum was also in need of repairs. After the museum we stopped in at an hotel on the beach where they served us a buffet lunch. The lunch was lovely. The adjacent sandy beach was being used by hotel gast and local families.There were a handful of vendors on the beach selling local souvenirs.I am not sure how many stars the hotel was rated at, but it also needed repairs badly. One thing I noticed in this town was, nearly half of the cars on the road are orangy – red. What’s up with that? After the lunch we headed back to the City. The drive back, showed us area after area of people and families living in currugated steel old sheds and garbage everywhere. Not very pleasant living conditions. When we entered Abidjan, there are a lot of highrise buildings, making it look like a glamorous City. I am not sure why they call the City the Paris of the south. Looking back on this City, it didn’t impress me much. I guess that’s what life in this part of Africa is like, overcrowded and a lot of poverty. The bright side is, the children still smile. 😁
Cheers
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