Introduction To This Ivory Coast Blog

This blog is about Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire), a fascinating country I had the good fortune to visit in November 2007. I had met some people on the Internet and for several had corresponded with them from my home in Northern California. Finally I decided that since I wanted to take a photographic expedition, because I needed something of a change and a vacation, and because I would be able to assist these folks in getting better known all over the world with my photography, I would take a trip there.

In October 2007, I flew from JFK Airport in New York via Emirates Airlines. Having spent more than a deade some years back in the travel business when I took innumerable trips to many distant places, I can tell you that Emirates proved to be a wonderful airline that greatly exceeded my expectations. The journey to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire did, however, seem endless. After crossing the Atlantic, we flew across the Sahara to Dubai, where we had an 8-hour layover. We then went on, again via Emirates, to Accra, Ghana, stopped briefly, and then continued on to Abidjan.

Later, in October 2008, I returned to Cote d'Ivoire. Photos from both trips are mixed through this blog. This second time I took Air France from JFK to Paris, changed planes and boarded a flight from Paris to Abidjan. Coming from California, where I started my voyage in San Francisco, made this an entirely too long a trip to do in one stretch. Next time around I shall overnight in Paris -- see my relatives there -- and try to get a little rest before continuing on.

Arriving in West Africa makes one feel as though he has been living all his life in a black-and-white movie and has suddenly been thrust into a Technicolor world. The colors everywhere seem more vivid than they do at home. And people dress more colorfully, too.

With that introduction, let me show you a few of the sights I saw during both my stays.

The Largest Catholic Cathedral in the World

Early November, 2007

Would you believe that the largest catholic cathedral in the world is in Yamosoukro, the capital of Cote d'Ivoire ? It is bigger than St. Peters. I was told by a guide that it has been full only two times, once for the Basilique's consecration by the Pope and another time for the funeral of Cote d'Ivoire's first president, Houphouet Boigny.

All the photos here date from early November, 2007. I am not posting these accounts and photos each day as events actually happen. I am writing and posting almost a year later. The official Google dates of the blog poasts have been changed because that is the only way I have been able to order my posts in some kind of coherent narrative about what I found in this West African nation.

Everybody's Hustling -- In A Good Sense of the Word

In Abidjan, everybody's hustling. I don't mean this in the bad sense of the word. This a country where, if you are uneducated and lucky enough to have a job, perhaps you make U. S. $2.00/day. Maybe you can only make $1.00, and that might or might not be enough to buy enough food to keep you going.

The lady below is just one of hundreds I saw by the side of the road carrying on their produce business on their heads. I'm not sure where people get what they are selling. If this were Samoa, it would have been from garden plots they have outside town. Maybe these people come in for the day from villages. Maybe they buy their goods from relatives or friends -- in effect, from a wholesaler. I was told that many of the people selling pineapples go down to the wharves very early in the morning and get their pineapples free because the fruit they are given has been deemed toi ripe to ship.

How people manage a living always fascinates me. It also makes me realize how lucky I am.

The next two photos are of street salesmen selling their wares. There's a bridge in Abidjan where traffic goes very slowly, and as the cars creep along, young salesmen like these walk slowly by cars, trying to make eye contact with the drivers, and trying to sell whatever they are carrying..

It looks like this first young man is selling photo frames and "Welcome" door mats. He has lots of competition because the other young man in the picture below the first is selling the same things. They're probably just two of dozens with identical wares.

I saw alarm clocks, tool kits, boxes of kleenex, paintings and many other items being sold by these young men. I was told that most of them are from other countries, have no education, and work in this line of business simply because they have no other way to earn enough to pay for their daily food and accommodations. You have to admire anyone with enough fortitude to get out there in the strong, hot sun and work like this.

And you have to realize that this is a desperate business. If you don't sell enough during the day, you won't have enough for food that evening and the next morning. My overall impression of Cote d'Ivoire is that although there are some very wealthy people there, the majority of the population lives very close to the edge.