Monday, 25th August 2008
My flight to Abidjan from Accra aboard an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 757 jet was uneventful.
Landing at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport gave me a good idea of Cote d’Ivoire today. The airport though having good facilities was largely deserted and the activities way too low for an international airport of its status. The airport officials were warm and friendly though. Abidjan like the rest of Cote d’Ivoire lives in past glory. The bulk of foreign investors that made Cote d’Ivoire tick have since taken their leave as a result of a civil war that has left the country divided into two.
Coming here, I didn’t have any high expectations especially since I have been following news from Cote d’Ivoire for years, but I did not expect to see some unkept streets, dusty bus stations and very smelly lagoons. Armed police/soldiers dot every part of Abidjan, perhaps looking out for the slightest signs of civil unrest, and armed to quench it with a brutal force. The surprise attack from some rebels that took Abidjan by surprise in 2002 cannot be repeated – it appears.
The people on the street appear friendly, as they go about their daily business. You stare at someone for too long, and the person smiles at you and greets: Bonjour. Try the same thing in Lagos, you will be lucky to get away with the person just frowning at you, or hissing. Worst scenario? The fellow can heap insults at you. “Why you dey look me like Lukuman? You never see fine girl before?”
I moved to Grand Bassam in the early afternoon. Grand Bassam I can say has the same status as Cape Coast in Ghana to the extent that they both served as capital cities of their respective countries, during the early exploitation period of the European colonialists. Coconut/palm tress dot both sides of the road to this town and just before you get into the town, you get to see an arts & craft village with several carved artefacts displayed on both sides of the road. I will definitely be back here to feed my eyes and buy some souvenirs. I was made to understand that foreign tourists once swarmed the village like bees on honey but I did not see a single white face as we drove past. This is another stack reminder of the negative effects of war and conflict.
Many of the streets I moved through are paved but the sidewalks very sandy. You can be sure the beach is close by. I cannot compare this town to any town I have visited so far. One moment you think you are in the northern part of a coastal West African nation and the next moment, you would think you’re in southwest Nigeria. Yoruba-speaking people from Nigeria are everywhere you go and I understand they have settled and traded in this country for several generations.
The Internet cafés I used so far are good and the Internet connection speedy. The keyboards I find very confusing since they are designed for French-speaking users. I switched to my laptop and was horrified when the battery went flat and I couldn’t recharge it since the power outlets are different and my laptop’s 3-pin rectangular plug did not fit into their 2-pin roundish power outlets. Communicating with the café attendants is another story altogether. It was funny and a bit frustrating at the same time. Facial expressions and gesticulations did not take me far. On two occasions, someone around who could speak a little English came to my rescue. I wait to see what happens when no English-speaking individual is around.
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Interesting trip. The language dichotomy is what scares me the most when considering a trip such as this. But I expect you’ll catch some fun.
Cheers!
I am sure you will have fun. The language ‘problem’ alone is funny.
Anyway, you are likely to come by someone who can speak some English. From my experiences, more people in Francophone countries speak English and we both know less people in Anglophone countries care about French.
I can’t help wishing I took my French language classes in secondary school more seriously.
Ive enjoyed visiting your blog for over a year now.Keep it up.
lol! Dave , I wish I was a native english speaker and more importantly I wish I could speak at least one african language.
I have visited Cocody , Daloa and Yopoughon when i was teenager, my father has friends in IC so we followed him. Cocody is superbe, people are just a little bit too xenophobic , I am not sure whether they notice it because it does harm relationships, nobody wants to be reminded every minute that “you are not at home” after all the entire continent is ours and we are supposed to love where we want.