My first time to the Motherland! I was very fortunate to be able to fit this trip into work travel. Not only was it my first time to the continent (side note: my 5th of the 6 inhabitable continents), but I didn’t have to pay for it! It was truly a life-changing experience. Of all the places I had been to up until now, there was a catering to tourists: gift shops, street performers, guided tours, etc, but Abidjan is catered to business people and residents living the day-to-day, so it was a truly authentic experience. Because of this, it felt out-of-place and morally conflicting to go around taking pictures with a Nikon DSLR. I would stick out like a sore thumb, which I, apparently, already did. So, most pictures were taken with the iPhone 7, which is less obnoxious.
When we first arrived we went to dinner at a nice French restaurant. As you probably know, or can likely assume, Côte d’Ivoire was colonized by the French, so the residents speak french, and there is an abundance of french cuisine. We were accompanied by a resident, and this made everything manageable. Without him, we may not have made it; everything is in French, and most people, especially the taxi drivers, waiters and waitresses, and other people you need to navigate, speak french. The next day, we ventured out to Yamoussoukro, the capital city, to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, the largest church in the world, to eat local food (sole was very popular) and have some delicious, fresh coconuts. During the trip, we also visited Grand Bassam coastal area to see the beach, a traditional costume museum, and markets. We ventured through the city during a work day of Abidjan, chaotic to say the least, and saw La Pyramide, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and ate plenty. During a return visit, I would definitely go to a nature reserve.
As mentioned above, most pictures taken with iPhone 7, except those taken at the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace.
Jenai M. Davis 