Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (now known as Ivory Coast)

(2 videos)
Abidjan (7 million people) is a major city on the South Coast of Cote de’lvoire (now called the Ivory Coast) in West Africa. We were in Abidjan in 2023, and we went on a full day tour including: memorable traffic everywhere and the necessity of police escorts, whose driving antics (see videos from last time) were very entertaining. We went to the most “popular sites” of the Grand Basaam, the Costume museum, the uniquely designed St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Palace of the Governor, and the Museum of Civilization (with objects dating from 10,000 BC to the 21st century). The Country has a rich French history and interesting unique art (costumes, last time I bought pants) but has increased problems in spite of its growth.

A brief history is in the 2023 link: https://findpenguins.com/bruce-loves-to-travel/…

The Ivory Coast has grown in the past 3 years since we were there from 30 to 34 million people with many ethnicities, living very different lives from very traditional to modern, very poor to very rich as the gap gets wider. Successful deepwater oil and gas projects have increased GDP in the last 3 years from $72B to approximately $112B but people seem to be getting poorer. The presence of widespread poverty with a a growing economy is due to non-inclusive growth. While Côte d’Ivoire’s GDP figures are scaling up rapidly due to major industrial sectors, oil discoveries, and urban infrastructure, the financial gains remain very concentrated and have yet to filter down to most of the population with roughly 38% of the population living below the national poverty line. This economic disconnect is partly because: in a large Country covering 125,000 miles, Abidjan’s 800 square miles is where 80% of the economic activity remains with 60% poverty rates in the North and West where there is little infrastructure. Unemployment is very deceiving here since many are employed and very underpaid in the “informal economy” of the street vendors, day laborers and domestic workers.

One interesting anomaly we saw in the distance but impossible to miss was the towering Tower F, a supertall skyscraper being completed in 2026 in Abidjan. Its plans began in the 1970s but construction began in 2021. It is the tallest building in all of the African Continent (1,381 feet). The 75 floor building was designed to look like the silhouette of a African mask. It was built by the government to centralize scattered government offices. The top of the building features a 100’ high "lantern" structure that will offer the public 360-degree panoramic views of Abidjan and the Ebrié Lagoon.

Since we “saw the sites” last time, we just went for a ride through the city (yes, escorted) to the AKWABA (AVA) market to walk around. As we drove through this poor city (or the parts we were in), we saw beautiful murals drawn everywhere. We passed the soccer stadium, which was very popular for African tournaments in 2023 and was under major renovation since 2025 (you can see both photos in posts of 2023 and 2026). At the market, saw some great unique artwork, masks, wall coverings and carvings as well as metal (iron) work.

One funny story: We have a good friend, Dominique, who has lived in NJ for many years but is from France (we know her and her husband Nathan and we known them since 2023) and she obviously speaks fluent French. We saw her in the marketplace just as we were passing a small store that two other Jewish couples form the ship had just visited. They had been to Services I led and saw me and pulled me into this shop to see the iron menorah (see photos in posting). It sure looked like a menorah and weighed a ton made of iron. They all wanted me to buy it as Dominque passed by and decided to bargain with the vendors, in French. SO much fun to watch prices drop and haggling in French. No, we didn’t buy the menorah or for that matter, anything else in the market that day.

It was short trip out so we had time to relax back on the ship and for a change go to afternoon tea while relaxing listing to the Panache quartet. How strange to be in the depths of a city like this one moment and see their poor lives and culture and then see the wealth in the distance of the city and then be having tea listening to classical music!

The evening was filled with music, as we went to "Cool Vibes" on the piano, "Favorite Hits" by the Panache string quartet, and then late night dancing with "Dance through the Decades" and the The Jaxtones. We also enjoyed dinner with Barry & Jill and Glenn & Lori. And squeezed in another great performance of "The Anchor Inn"- taking place at a local English pub with many wonderful old songs integrated into this timeless story (checkout the poster that seems to say Shirley Winters, my mothers name).Read more