Saturday I got up and caught a ride with Jessie and Debbie, headed downtown to check out the local Ivorian fabric store, which reminded me of L.A.’s garment district. Now that my mind is filled with visions of my new house it was very fun doing some preliminary planning. (The fabrics are typically very bright and busy, yet unique in design to Cote d’Ivoire.) Afterwards we decided to head to Treachville, which is not an especially nice part of town – this is where the chicken market is located, which is most notable for its cases of avian flu, much to the dismay of Health and Human Services. The chicken market is only a section of a huge covered multi-storied open air marché (market) where hundreds of vendors sell everything from purses, to fruit, to tennis shoes, to hair cuts, to Dior perfume (which was seemingly so out of place I laughed out loud). 
Saturday afternoon met up with a bunch of folks from work to drive out to a little village about 45 minutes out of the city, the starting point for the Hash (Hash House Harriers is a group that is mostly comprised of expats that get together to run/walk trails & drink every Saturday.) This served as a great way to safely explore the countryside and get to see a village, it really was beautiful. With the amount of rain in this area the gently rolling valleys were thick with semi-rainforest vegetation. In other areas there were crops of rubber trees growing, small fields of corn and small family fish hatcheries – a world away from the city life in Abidjan.
Sunday was the beach adventure to Grande-Bassam, via the road to Bassam – quite an experience. Going out past the turn to the airport means heading past shacks for as far as the eye could see. Coal vendors labored in the soot, supplying the necessary energy for most of the surrounding households. Wrecked or burnt out cars served as a median to the two lane road, military check points littered the drive (luckily we’re exempt). On occasion the thought that the previous three weekends I had spent is huge metropolitan areas in another world came to mind. Made it to Bassam without a problem, after paying a cover fee, we lounged on a ocean/pool side chairs while w
e waited for the lunch buffet to be set up – note: I strongly discourage eating a buffet in Cote d’Ivoire if you actually want food, if you just want the experience of grown adults rushing four tables of food in a matter of minutes then by all means, this is your opportunity. The party I was with decided that this buffet bonanza was a result of a survival culture, but I must say, anyone who was eating at this resort is well beyond survival.
It was great to soak up the sun and listen to the wave’s crash just a few feet away – learning to deal with the hard part of my hardship tour J However, please, enjoy our clean California beaches, please.
Saturday afternoon met up with a bunch of folks from work to drive out to a little village about 45 minutes out of the city, the starting point for the Hash (Hash House Harriers is a group that is mostly comprised of expats that get together to run/walk trails & drink every Saturday.) This served as a great way to safely explore the countryside and get to see a village, it really was beautiful. With the amount of rain in this area the gently rolling valleys were thick with semi-rainforest vegetation. In other areas there were crops of rubber trees growing, small fields of corn and small family fish hatcheries – a world away from the city life in Abidjan.
Sunday was the beach adventure to Grande-Bassam, via the road to Bassam – quite an experience. Going out past the turn to the airport means heading past shacks for as far as the eye could see. Coal vendors labored in the soot, supplying the necessary energy for most of the surrounding households. Wrecked or burnt out cars served as a median to the two lane road, military check points littered the drive (luckily we’re exempt). On occasion the thought that the previous three weekends I had spent is huge metropolitan areas in another world came to mind. Made it to Bassam without a problem, after paying a cover fee, we lounged on a ocean/pool side chairs while w
e waited for the lunch buffet to be set up – note: I strongly discourage eating a buffet in Cote d’Ivoire if you actually want food, if you just want the experience of grown adults rushing four tables of food in a matter of minutes then by all means, this is your opportunity. The party I was with decided that this buffet bonanza was a result of a survival culture, but I must say, anyone who was eating at this resort is well beyond survival.It was great to soak up the sun and listen to the wave’s crash just a few feet away – learning to deal with the hard part of my hardship tour J However, please, enjoy our clean California beaches, please.
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