Côté d’Ivoire: Back to Abidjan

When we departed from Grand-Bassam, we expected that the tour was over. Nope, not at all. Though it wasn’t stated in the tour description, we were taken on a drive through Abidjan, with a few interesting stops that suddenly made the tour better.

Our first stop was at the Cathedrale Saint Paul Abidjan-Plateau. Designed by an Italian architect, the church was constructed between 1980-1985. It has a unique and modern design that our guide said is representative of an elephant head with tusks … perhaps so … if viewed from the right angle. I enjoyed the colorful “painted” stained glass windows which depict native African themes mixed with religious ones. There were some beautiful mosaic panels around the perimeter of the church as well.

Next, we went to the Musée des Civilisations de Côte d’Ivoire. I thought the museum was very interesting. Opened in 1942, it has artifacts in its collection that date from 10,000 BCE to the 21st century — archaeological as well as ethnographic … and also photographs and contemporary art pieces. Though the labels on the few exhibits we rushed through were in French, we would have enjoyed spending our day at this museum.

Just when we thought that we were finally on our way back to the ship, we made one more stop. You guessed it. Another craft market. This time, Mui and I remained on the bus. We were “marketed out” and ready to get back to our “cruise haven.”

In hindsight, we should have just taken the shuttle into the city and wandered on our own to these and other sights. Yes, t was hot and humid, but I think our day would have been more enjoyable. C’est la vie. But we ended on a high note, so that’s a good thing.Read more