With over 6.3 million inhabitants, Abidjan is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast and the sixth most populous city proper in Africa. At a cultural crossroads of West Africa, Abidjan is characterized by a high level of industrialization and urbanization. It is also one of the most populous French-speaking cities in Africa. The city expanded quickly after the construction of the new wharf in 1931. The completion of the Vridi Canal in 1951 enabled Abidjan to become an important sea port. The canal really opened up the shipping opportunities here making it one of the biggest ports in West Africa. There are several docks within this deep water port, I believe up to 14 berths, we were docked at Berth number 1, which is closest to the city and attractions. Closest but you will need transport, an organized tour is a good idea, whether ship or otherwise. The cruise critic people as well as the ships tours came back with very mixed reviews on the tours, so just a heads up on that. The ship offered a shuttle to the Pullman Hotel where one could negotiate a taxi tour from. Another heads up, US dollars are not accepted, you will need the West African Franc, there is an ATM in the hotel, just follow the signs to the WC. Expect a hot humid day, so bring plenty of water.
Our day, well… We were docked at 7am and because we did not have a tour here (again one of those Yellow Fever caution ports), I didn’t bother to get out of the room until just after 8. We are on deck one, and fortunately towards the bow of the ship as the line waiting to leave we probably stretched to mid ship, I’m thinking, why haven’t we been cleared yet? In my excited anticipation of a band playing with dancers and hopefully a pier market I quickly got up the stairs to the promenade deck and rush outside only to hear that aggravating, beep beep beep of many trucks making an attempt to clear debris from the pier, what is this? I get to the rail when a flat bed loaded semi starts up and boom, bellows a cloud of toxic black smoke towards our whole side of the ship… welcome to the Ivory Coast. Did they not know we were coming (ah, only for a year)? We are docked at a very active working port. There are workers everywhere moving what appears to be bags and bags and bags of rice. There are flat bed semis everywhere along with tractors, bull dozers and dump trucks. They probably have at least a half hour of work to do before they can clear enough of the area to be able to get any tour or shuttle buses in. Did I mention the stench, there is something amiss in this port. This could be an interesting day.
As mentioned, no tour for us so we jump on the shuttle to the Pullman Hotel in the Plateau or downtown area. Nice hotel with a large lobby area and decent wifi for the many guests that I’m sure were slowing down the entire network - there must have been about 75 active ship users. The hotel also had a nice terrace area offering panoramic views of the river, also a nice pool area with what looked to be a nice bar and restaurant area. While we were doing our half hours worth of wifi a contingent of dignitaries strolled through on the way to the convention style meeting room, so a bed hive of activity. I researched and found what was to be a mall about 6 blocks away so we turned that destination into a good 8 block loop walk around the area. Okay, so my definition of a mall and their definition of a mall did not really match up. We arrived to “the mall” where it was only a few stores and several restaurants in an outdoor square environment. From here there were several blocks of everything for men, men’s clothing and tailor shops to men’s shoes to glasses stores after glasses store - we were in the men’s shopping area of town. Jan asked one of the clerks about the women’s shops and was told it was far away on the other side, we figured about four blocks away. Well, that’s what the interpretation was, along with only using the West African Franc here, so as mentioned, French is the common language spoken, so it was a bit difficult to get real understanding. Our stroll did take in a walk past the Mosque (very similar to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, only smaller) and some other interesting buildings. Just a note, there are really no sidewalks here, you are walking on the edge of traffic. That said, the traffic here in this area was not too crazy. We completed our loop and back on the shuttle bus and to the ship by about 1pm. Another note, no souvenir shops in this area to speak of, so no fridge magnet, insert sad face, :(
Lunch time and then it was back to deck 3 in the shade watching the activity around this very busy and smelly working port. Sail away was very scenic and interesting as we made our way to the canal and then out to sea. It was interesting watching the ship turn around in this tight area with quite a strong current, the stern thrusters working very hard churning up this brownish, garbage and debris infested water - please do not swim here.
On the other side of the canal there were, what looked like, beautiful beaches but upon closer look the shanty towns were located very close and the waters edge were there was plastic debris lining the entire beach, thick and for kilometres - sad really. There is so much potential here but it doesn’t appear to be an educational priority for the leaders, again there appears to be the distinct two sides, the resource wealthy area and people and then the poor.
Tonight was the Orange Party and a good time was had by all. This party also coincided with the famous Pub Crawl, a record 47 participants, let’s just say the Crow’s nest was a huge sea of Orange.
Some pics of our day here, hope you enjoy. Were we glad we came here, sure, if anything it will be a pin on our travel map at home. Do we need to return here, well, that’s a hard pass.
Quote of the day, “I travel because life is short and the world is huge.” - Stephanie B.
Buses waiting until debris was cleared, no band, no market, no fridge magnet.
Staff member at the hotel, all dressed very nice.
Both sides of the river.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
The plume of black smoke throughout the day, hold your breathe.
Amongst all this, you had these well dressed people.
Just found this Comment area and want to tell you this has to be the best HAL cruise blog of the year. Thank you for taking the time, It is a delight each time I see a new post. Fantastic overall: photos, outstanding commentary, with balanced reporting and a lot of really good info. Lovely, too, to see Joanne and Mitch from the Westerdam Alaska pre-pandemic and many officers we have sailed with.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of this adventure. FYI: snow on the ground here in the Lower Mainland, too bad you are missing it :)
Patricia in Richmond