THE MIDWEST AFRICAN SERIES, DAY 1 – DAY 5
DUBLIN – PARIS – ABIDJAN
African Cup of Nations, Abidjan. So here we go, time for another trip and this time we are getting to a number of countries after having travelled quite a bit last year but only visiting 2.
WELCOME TO COUNTRY NUMBER 162…COTE D’IVOIRE
After the hardest landing on record, I arrived into the Paris of Africa, let’s see if it lives up to its name…
WHERE IS ABIDJAN?
Abidjan
African Cup of Nations, Abidjan
THE IBIS
With a bit of luck my trip to Ivory Coast coincides with the African Cup of Nations which means two things; great atmosphere and shit hotels at extortionate prices! Usually you know what you are getting with an Ibis; a compact room and clean comfortable bed but I’m currently paying £200/night to listen to the renovation on the floor below..welcome to Africa. Quick note – the drone made it through airport security, not sure how as they flagged it during the bag search but good result so far!
African Cup of Nations, Abidjan
DAILY INFO….
- HOTELS –
RADISSON BLU 7.5/10
IBIS ABIDJAN (ZONE 4C) 5/10 - ATTRACTIONS –
DAY 3 – JACQUEVILLE
On day 3 (our first morning in Ivory Coast) we ventured out of the city of Abidjan and to the fishing village of Jacqueville. What I had expected to be a walk around a traditional village turned into me and my guide downing shots of the local gin with the chief…a sign of things to come?
The village is impressive and actually very clean but we didn’t get to see much beyond the chiefs living room. Anyway we blasted a few more shots and bolted, I could see how things were going to end up lol.
African Cup of Nations, Abidjan
MORE DRINK
Staying on the island we stopped at a local coconut farm and was interesting to see there is zero wastage for this product. As we all know the coconut is used to make coconut oil, water and milk but the shell is also burned (slightly) and sold as a charcoal. People would use this as an alternative to gas which can be fairly expensive to run. Still cheaper than the Ibis!
Then after we were back on the drink again, stopping at a roadside vendor to try the local palm wine… it’s hard to explain but imagine Fanta lemon, warm, flat, no sweetness and a harsh smell…so pretty much nothing like Fanta Lemon but it had that bitter taste. My guide said we can only try a small bit as it can cause stomach issues but then proceeded to give me two cups of the stuff 😬
African Cup of Nations, Abidjan
FLAG….
- ORANGE – Stands for the nation’s land, especially the savanna that dominates the northernmost parts of the country.
- WHITE – Is a symbol of peace.
- GREEN – Represents the forests that dominate the southern portion of the nation as well as hope for the future.
DAY 4 – ABIDJAN
If I thought we were on the beers early yesterday then that was nothing compared to today. By 09:30am we had already opened a bottle of the local gin. This morning we ventured to Campement which is, let’s just be frank – a slum. We took a little walk and the first stop of course had to be at a gin stall. I don’t know what the locals were thinking when a tourist is getting knee deep into the local brew before breakfast time.
Campement was the sort of place I like, no tarmac, no westerners, an entirely self efficient mini eco system with everything the locals need. It could do with a clean up but sure that adds to the charm…
RELATED READ: THE BIGGEST DERBY IN THE WORLD
TREICHVILLE
After a stop at a local cave – basically another shabeen (shady bar), we headed back to the city to another area called Treichville to explore the market. This place as you would expect was on an industrial scale, selling everything from cow skin to wooden statues of fat women…you want it they have it.
FACTS ABOUT IVORY COAST:
- LANGUAGE – French
- HELLO – Bonjour
- HOW TO CHEERS – Santé!
- BEVERAGE OF CHOICE – Gnamakoudji juice
- POPULAR SPORT – Football
- STAPLE DIET – Grains and Tubers
SCRAN
So far (it’s only been 2 days tbf) the food in the Ivory Coast has been pretty decent. Generally when I feel I am risking it I go for the usual chicken and rice (hard to mess that one up) but I know the gin I am having on the regular is probably a decent prevention! We stopped at a local dromme, which is a popular open air dining area. I might have only had chicken and rice on this trip so far but it’s been pretty decent.
After a quick visit to the country’s 2nd capital Bingerville (back in 1900) we headed back to the ‘comfort’ of the beautiful Ibis to listen to the symphony of drills and jack hammers. That’s what you pay $240 a night for in Africa!
DAY 5 – GRAND BASSAM
On our last full day in Abidjan we took a trip to Grand Bassam, the resort capital of the Ivory Coast just 40km south of Abidjan. Here we visited the palace of the local tribal king, apparently a very privileged thing to experience, not to mention a look at his slippers lol.
Life in Bassam is chill, there aren’t a ton of hotels and the community is greatly mixed between locals and tourists who live side by side. This was also the site of the terroist attack in 2016 where 4 gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs stormed the beach and surrounding hotels killing 30 people. The town has yet to recover fully.
AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS
The reason I decided to delay my trip an extra year was for this, Ivory Coast just happened to be hosting the African Cup of Nations and I wanted to see how serious the people of this continent took their football.
After the usual few beer at the local cave bar we headed to the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in Plateau. We got tickets (€50) to the Nigeria Cameroon game and the atmosphere was pretty insane. There was a small group of hardcore fans from both teams, each with drums, trumpets and anything else they could use to drown out the opposition. Fair play to them though, they did not stop the entire match!
DULL
This was no match for the game I watched in Iraq (link) a few months before but was good to see people express themselves by dancing on the terraces lol. The match finished 2-0 and in the end well deserved by Nigeria. I’m not sure whether my guide is super chill or just never gets excited, hes originally from Nigeria and I think smiled only when I brought him a water lol.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s always a major culture shock in Africa but after a few days in you come to grips with it. What a few days here in Abidjan, the Paris of Africa – still not sure how it got the name.
NEXT UP
The real travel starts, as we begin our road trip into Liberia, Africa’s first republic and country 164!! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
163/229
This is episode 1 of The Midwest African Series, for the entire series click here.
To watch the video of my trip, check out my YouTube and the highlights on my Instagram.
