Just after I wrote yesterday’s conclusion, that we are from now on just transiting, Alonso spots a few youths along the road, in traditional dress. We stop at the next village, called Zoukougbeu, to inquire, and indeed, they are part of an initiation group of 40, that spends some seven months in the forest. To … Read more
Everybody got their visas, so no extra day in Grand Bassam, and no day excursion to Abidjan. A pity, in a way – missed opportunity – but on the other hand most African cities so far haven’t impressed very much (although Abidjan may have had the capacity to do so, a bit more: green, clean … Read more
Grand Bassam We have another day off, because some of us still need to arrange a Liberian visa, in nearby Abidjan. Which will take at least one day, and possibly two. We decide to explore Grand Bassam, after the long day yesterday, and leave a day in Abidjan for tomorrow, if we do get another … Read more
Today is really a transit day. We leave early from Elmina, and make our way to the border with Cote d’Ivoire, a pretty unremarkable drive. At one stage we cross a river, with next to us what looks like an old railway bridge. And for the rest, along the road lots of activity, people selling … Read more
A little on Cote d’Ivoire’s history. In the years preceding the arrival of Europeans the territory of Cote d’Ivoire consisted of an assembly of relatively small kingdoms, in the shade of the larger Ghana, Songhai and Mali empires to the north. Several ‘immigrant’ groups existed, like groups fleeing the Asante in neighbouring Gambia and Muslim … Read more