Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Mar. 26, 2023
Many passengers became sick after Walvis Bay. At first, it was thought to be norovirus, so they removed salt and pepper shakers, bread and butter from the dining room tables. Subsequently, it was determined that the problem was actually a bacterial infection, most likely from produce loaded in Capetown. Certain fruits and vegetables were removed from the menu and a program of rigorous hand washing was introduced. The epidemic was soon controlled and Janice and I never became sick.
To add insult to injury, we have been without internet for several days, which has put me way behind on blogging. I shall endeavor to catch up over the next few weeks.
Now, let’s talk about Côte d’Ivoire.
Côte d’Ivoire, in English Ivory Coast, is a country located on the coast of western Africa. The de facto capital is Abidjan located on the east coast; the administrative capital designate (since 1983) is Yamoussoukro.
Côte d’Ivoire is bounded to the north by Mali and Burkina Faso, to the east by Ghana, to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, to the southwest by Liberia, and to the northwest by Guinea.
The ground rises constantly as it recedes from the coast, and the northern half of the country consists of high savanna lying mostly 1,000 feet above sea level. Most of the western border with Liberia and Guinea is shaped by mountain ranges, whose highest point, Mount Nimba 5,748 feet is situated in the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982), where the borders of the three countries meet.
The climate is equatorial and southern savanna. North of approximately 8° N latitude, the southern savanna type of climate occurs, characterized by the parching wind known as the harmattan, which blows from the northeast beginning in December and ending in February. The dry season lasts from about November to March. A single rainy season from April to October produces annual precipitation totals ranging from around 45 inches in the northeast and center to approximately 60 inches in the northwest. The northern region is drier than the rest of the country and, because of the elevation, somewhat cooler. South of 8° N latitude, two rainy seasons occur. Rain falls largely from May through July and to a lesser extent in October and November on the coastal fringe. Abidjan receives approximately 75 inches of precipitation annually, although considerable variations are experienced at different places along the coast. The average monthly temperature variation is small, and ranges from around the low 70s F to the low 90s F. In the forest zones and in the southern part of the savanna region, the rainy seasons are less pronounced. Temperatures vary between around the low 60s and low 100s F, and the relative humidity is often high. On the mountains farther west, there is no dry season, and precipitation amounts to about 80 inches.
There are more than 60 ethnic groups in Côte d’Ivoire. Traditionally, the groups were independent from each other, but, over time, internal migration and extensive intermarriage greatly reduced group identity with a particular cultural tradition in any given locality. Each of these groups has ethnic affiliations with larger groups living outside the borders of the country. Thus, the Baule, as well as other peoples living east of the Bandama River, are affiliated with the Akan in Ghana, as are the lagoon fishermen farther south. The forest people west of the Bandama are connected to the Kru peoples of Liberia. In the interior the Kru group is subdivided into small groupings scattered over large areas of the forest.
Islam is followed by about two-fifths of the population, found primarily in the northwest and in Abidjan. About one-third of the population is Christian, mostly Roman Catholic or Evangelical. Also present in the country are followers of the Harrist faith, a religion indigenous to Côte d’Ivoire. Founded by William Wade Harris during World War I, it claims an estimated 100,000 adherents in the country.
Abidjan, the chief port, de facto capital, and largest city of Côte d’Ivoire lies along the Ébrié Lagoon, which is separated from the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic by the Vridi Plage sandbar. A village in 1898, it became a town in 1903. Abidjan was a rail terminus from 1904 but had to depend on the meagre facilities of Port-Bouët on the sandbar’s ocean shore. It succeeded Bingerville as capital of the French colony in 1934 and retained that position after independence in 1960. In 1983 Yamoussoukro, a town located about 170 miles to the northwest, was officially named the new national capital. The transfer of government functions proceeded slowly, however, and Abidjan remained the de facto capital into the 21st century. Districts within the city include Plateau, Cocody (site of the National University of Côte d’Ivoire), Treichville, Adjame, Koumassi, and Marcory.
Here are two views of Abidjan.
The Vridi Canal opened the lagoon to the sea in 1950, and the city soon became the major shipping and financial center of French-speaking West Africa. The first of two bridges linking the mainland to Petit-Bassam Island was built in 1958. Abidjan’s modern deepwater port exports coffee, cocoa, timber, bananas, pineapples, and manganese. From the administrative and business sectors on the mainland, the city stretches southward to the industrial area on Petit-Bassam and the mineral and petroleum docks along the Vridi Canal. There are a number of wide, shady streets and gardened squares in the city; the 50,000 student Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny lies on the eastern mainland.
Abidjan has a museum of traditional Ivoirian art, a national library, and several agricultural and scientific research institutes.
There are numerous tourist attractions, most notably the immense Hôtel Ivoire, which features a bowling alley, cinema, casino, and the only ice rink in Western Africa.
The Italian-designed St. Paul’s Cathedral is one of the continent’s most elaborate churches.
North of the city is Banco National Park, a magnificent tropical rainforest.
Abidjan is a communications center and the site of an international airport (at Port-Bouët, an autonomous municipality within Abidjan).
The population of Abidjan in 2021 was 5.62 million.
Our next port after Abidjan will be (fingers crossed) Banjul, Gambia. See you there.
