Ivory Coast Itinerary

Ivory Coast Itinerary

Arriving on Abidjan airport, Ivory Coast, after a nice flight. No driver yet. We wait outside, call him. He turns out to be inside. In approximately half an hour he takes us to La Maison d’Akoula. La Maison is owned by Bernard, a French man who once co-owned a restaurant at the Champs-Elysées in Paris.

We arrive in the evening. There is a lovely pool in the well maintained gardens of the hotel. By boat we cross an estuary and arrive on a land strip close to the sea. This is our home for some time.

Only the next morning we see what kind of small paradise we are in. A beautiful house overlooking the sea and an outside restaurant annex small bar. Lunching and dining directly on the beach! The waves in the sea are really big, great fun.

Every morning after fresh-up I sit down on the terrace before our home. The lovely Odile brings me a coffee the moment she spots me. It is a detail – but all this kind of details makes the paradise more complete.

Walking along the beach we see a big house, bar and chairs before it. We install ourselves and like to order coffee. Alas, it’s a private house. Along the beach a lot of private houses owned by more wealthy Ivory Coast people and foreigners.

Coffee at our own place. The bartender is a young guy named Martial. Conversation in French, the language of this land. It turns out Martial knows everything about William Shakespeare. His plays, his literature and his life. Even the rumors about his very existence. Imagine you meet a guy in Ivory Coast who knows more about a medieval playwright from England than a European!

On this trip we also brought our snorkeling gear. The sea would be too rough and not much to see. However Îles Ehotilé National Park lake should be snorkeling material. The lodge owner assured us snorkeling was possible, but due to heavy weather there wouldn’t be clear sight. We decided to try.

However, while going towards the national park we already saw several patches of shiny surface on the estuary: not a good sign. We ended up kayaking towards a tiny settlement not even shown on maps. To this day we are unsure of the reason why plans were changed, it could be because of the bad sight underwater or that our guides had other intentions.

We ourselves were as much of an attraction to the people in the village as the village and the people were to us. This village lived off trading with Ghana, only 3 miles away. It was interesting to see such a small village and how the people lived, but not what we expected. On the way back we saw a few Kingfishers and a couple of seagulls as compensation.

A day excursion with guide/driver Yao. First via the coastal city Abidjan. A lot of traffic here. The former capital is still the most important economical hub.

Continuing the road we see a lot of Chinese factories – like in most African countries. Yao tells us that not all Africans are happy with the Chinese influence in their country. For instance, the Chinese have fishing rights in coastal waters. They come with big fishing boats, leaving less fish for the
locals.

Northwards we drive till we arrive in Tiassalé located in the lagoon district. The Bandama river we explore on a pirogue, a long, narrow canoe made from a single tree trunk. This nature trip is beautiful. We spot some birds, some hippo’s too.

More northwards is the new capital called Yamoussoukro. Here you find the palace of the first president , Félix Houphouët-Boigny. He governed the country from Independence in 1960 till his death in 1993. He was buried in a tomb inside the walls of this palace. It is now regarded as the sacred resting place of the father of the nation.

To the east of the palace is the man-made Lac aux Caïmans, home to the infamous crocodiles of Yamoussoukro. They were handpicked by Houphouët-Boigny for their ferocity. They were assigned political and military ranks according to their strength and size. One of the biggest was called Chef de Cabinet. They were fed chickens. This feeding stopped in 2012 when one of the feeders was unexpectedly eaten by the Chef de Cabinet.

In the middle of a very African landscape this big church stands out. It was built in the last years of Houphouët-Boigny’s reign. The dome is 20 meter higher than Europe’s tallest Roman Catholic church – St Peter’s in the Vatican. There’s place for 20.000 worshippers. Two seats in front still have a sign for the president and his wife.

Because maintenance cost was too high for Ivory Coast the church is now in possession of the Vatican. A very devoted and nice guy shows us around.

When the French came to Ivory Coast two centuries ago they found a nice natural harbor they called Grand Bassam. They set up a trading post there. More French people came living there. They built houses and residences, which must have been beautiful in the past. Now what you see is gone glory – yet interesting. Several of the houses are overgrown with plants.

St Paul’s Cathedral is a beautiful church. Biblical stories in stained glass. But also a full range of African wildlife pictured in this way!

Onward to Treichville Marché the biggest market in Abidjan. Barbers, butchers, couturiers and street food sellers encounter a noisy, ceaseless crowd. Indoors, outdoors, busy everywhere.

Crafts and Arts you see and buy at Couleur Bois. This big shop used to specialize in objects made from coconut nuts. Now they sell more than that including a wide range of furniture and art items.

We finish the day – and our time in Ivory Coast – with a nice dinner in Le Toit d’Abidjan, overlooking this lively city from above.

This trip was made in 2019.

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