Country #139: A tale of two cities

Our arrival into country #139 began with a change of plans. I had booked a tour of Abidjan city through Where’s Next Tours. The communication with them was fantastic and they were waiting for us ship side as soon as we were permitted to disembark. They walked us over to a shuttle full of older people- which is to be expected given the median age of our fellow cruisers was Jurassic. We were ten days into the cruise and most of our fellow passengers were energetic, fun-loving people with great stories to tell. This shuttle was not currently occupied by that variety of elderly folk. We had more of the whiny, complaining ilk. 

I quickly called an audible and approached the Where's Next coordinator to see if it was too late to switch to the Abidjan/ Grand Bassam combo tour and its slightly younger demographic. Lucky for us, she was super accommodating and soon we were off to Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire’s first capital city. 

We were matched with a soft-spoken, knowledgable guide, who began by explaining her country's history. On thing was quickly becoming clear. The women of the Ivory Coast are badasses. The coordinator who was adeptly corralling aging tourists onto three different buses- and was still able to help me switch- a woman. Our young guide, who was fielding questions with ease- a woman. The reason jailed anti-colonial leaders were freed by their captors- women. In 1949, political leaders were imprisoned for standing up to their French rulers. They sought freedom by engaging in a hunger strike but to no success. That's when around 2000 women took it upon themselves to march from Abdijan to Grand Bassam, about 30 miles, to demand the release of their husbands, brothers and sons. The French responded with violence and arrests but eventually, the political pressure from their repeated marches became too much and most of the men were freed or given reduced sentences. It is seen as the first major female led uprising in West Africa. Today, there is a monument to those brave ladies. 

Going further back in time, our guide told us how the original leader of Grand Bassam was unable to read or write, much less speak French. When the French colonizers arrived and had him sign a document, he had no idea he was ceding all rights to his lands and that his people would be subjugated to the least desirable areas. The French split the town into four quarters: the residential (where grand homes would be built), the commercial (where other lovely buildings would house French commerce), the administrative (ditto on the  impressive architecture) and the village. Guess where the locals were relegated to. On our tour, we walked through the remains of the first three sections. 

The tour revealed a faded glamour that is in various stages of upkeep. As a UNESCO recognized world heritage city , it is hoped that the efforts to preserve this living history will continue and be expanded. 

We stopped at one administrative building that has been turned into a cultural museum. Unfortunately for our guide, this was situated right next to a souvenir market. While this group was not as whiny as the first,  they were problematic in their own right and ditched her explanation in search of trinkets. Only three of us remained with her as we battled the recently arrived cruise ship excursions for space in the museum. 

They missed out not only because she was able to add context to the displays but also because souvenir vendors were everywhere. A bathroom stop on the beach brought them out of hiding. Three young kids approached me but once they realized I was not looking to buy anything, we were able to just sit and have a nice moment of connection. The oldest was eleven years old and was learning both English and German in school. His pride at carrying a conversation in English in front of his two younger siblings was evident. My attempts at French were a lot less gratifying but they gamely played along. 

After another quick walk around Grand Bassam, we headed to Abidjan, one of the country's two capital cities. While Yamoussoukro is the official political and administrative capital, Abidjan is the economic capital and its largest city.

Our time in Abidjan was limited- to be fair, it’s a cruise stops, our time everywhere was limited- which is a shame because this city, modeled after Manhattan, and known as the New York of West Africa, had a lot to offer.  We hit a couple of highlights, such as the souvenir market because with this group, of course we did. 

We stopped at the Pyramide, a former shopping mall which was partially destroyed by fire but remains a landmark of the city for its unique modernist architecture. It is currently the subject of an architectural competition seeking ways to rehabilitate and preserve it for future generations.

A busy city and street art would have been enough for me but our guide pointed out the one thing that is always guaranteed to delight me. Bats!! She didn’t seem as excited about them as I was but it’s not the first, or last, time that my enthusiasm for all things bat isn’t shared by all.

We crossed back and forth amongst several bridges taking in this bustling modern city that stands in sharp contrast to the much humbler and older Grand Bassam. 

Our last stop was the St Paul's Cathedral, the second largest church in all of Africa. The largest, the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, also happens to be in the Ivory Coast. It is actually the largest church in the world, even larger than St Peter's in Vatican City. It is located in the other capital,Yamoussoukro, about a three hour drive from Abidjan. We certainly didn't have time for that.  

As it stood, we somehow managed to momentarily misplace our driver while exploring the Cathedral. 

With time running out, people started panicking and threatened to become as whiny as the group I’d already evaded. But the truth is I owe that original cantankerous bunch a big thank you. Had I stayed on the original tour, I would have seem only one side of Côte d’Ivoire, whereas I was at least able to see two very different parts of this fascinating country.

It saddened me a bit, as we were pulling away, to know that this would be my last "new" country of this cruise. There was still plenty to see but the original impetus had gone by all too quickly, particularly because we skipped one of the countries. Stupid PAC. But the three I did get to briefly visit were all wonderful in their own way and well worth becoming a "cruiser".