So there we were off to the Ivory Coast for 4 weeks. The reason for this crazy adventure? Well I suppose being married to Rocheline, an Ivorian woman had a lot to do with it. She had left her homeland at the age of around 13, coming to France with her aunt, and had not seen most of her family back home since. We met in Paris in 1993, and married in 1997. At the time of writing she was aged 24, and I was 29.
We set off on the 22nd of July 1999, taking a Swiss Air flight from Nice (where we live) to Zurich and from there onto Abidjan. The basic plan was to visit Rocheline's family, catch up on the news, bring some clothes, money and presents from France, and also to visit some of the Ivorian countryside / touristy areas.
Follow The Journey
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Transport, like most things in Ivory Coast, is an experience. There are a lot of surprises - but not all of them bad.
Show Me The Money
Change and money in general is a big hassle in Ivory Coast. Whether it be the banks' opening hours, giving exact change for small items or the lack of credit card facilities.
Let's Eat
A lot of the stereotypes about Africans eating snakes, lizards and insects were not lived up to. However, there were some more interesting items, like squirrels and large rats.
Welcome to Ottawa
The actual name of the village is Guédyo, but the Canadian ambassador had supposedly visited the village and filmed it after the name was changed.
"San Pedro, San Pedro!"
San Pedro has it's charm. The whole place seemed to have a breathtaking, and magical aura about it.
Welcome To Gnatroa
There was a funeral in the village and all the women took part in the 'dance of death'.
Welcome To Yamoussoukro
Yamoussoukro is the administrative capital and one of the nicer Ivorian towns with its greenery and lakes. Any visit must include a trip to the Notre Dame de la Paix Basilica.
Welcome To Abidjan
Despite what you might read in guidebooks about Abidjan being the pearl of West Africa, it is more or less just a big dirty, smelly, polluted, rubbish-strewn, crime-ridden shit-hole of a city.
