Cote d'Ivoire

Cote d'Ivoire (CdI) turned out to be nothing like I'd expected and actually better and easier in a lot of ways which was a very nice surprise since it's currently having the most problems in West Africa with it's ongoing civil war crisis. We did have a significant amount of CFA currency left over from Senegal so as soon as we crossed the border being out of money was no longer an issue. We stayed a night in Tabou, just across the border and right on the beach. It was tempting to stay and get delayed again but Sky kept us "on schedule".
The biggest city in CdI is Abidjan and it has a horrible reputation for crime and expense, even in the best of times, and we wanted to avoid it as much as possible but knew we'd have to change buses there at least. There is no overnight transport in CdI at all, which gives an indication of how bad the security concerns are there. Almost everywhere has overnight transport. So we made our way to Abidjan slowly in order to avoid a late arrival and ended up stopping in Sassandra, another quiet beach town once very popular with tourists. We were the only ones there I think and people were surprised and happy to see someone again. A lot of stuff had been shut down and the little market was mostly empty. Oddly enough, CdI felt a little like paradise to us. Sierra Leone is an ex-sketchy country, Liberia is still sketchy and has nothing, but CdI is an ex-successful country so all the old infrastructure is still there. Sort of. For the first time in a couple months and several countries, we had 24hr power, plumbing (non-bucket showers and flushing toilets) and mostly smooth roads. The countryside showed us all the signs of mass deforestation for the creation of plantations as we passed seemingly endless rows of rubber, oil palm and coconut palm trees. During our long walk into Sassandra we were given a lift by an old Dutch plantation owner. Strange guy but he refused to leave when war broke out, calling CdI his home, as it has been for the past several decades, hanging out with locals and blaming most of the troubles on the US and France.
But rolling through the bigger towns and cities it was easy to see the shantytown shacks all crammed together on the edge of town. It looked like the usual market squalor until you realized that it wasn't the location of the market but families were living in the little "shops". We'd worried about corrupt police and the many check posts along the way but they never did more than glance at our passports, smile and wave us on. There were a lot of stops though. Dad counted 16 just on the 5 hour ride between Sassandra and Abidjan.
Abidjan was the hell we expected, especially around the market area where the main bus "station" is. It was noon and yet the drivers were afraid to drop us off and wander around to find our next ride. Each company has a couple vehicles and operates from little stalls scattered around the huge market area so there is no way to know where to look for the one you want. The market was teeming with people, ankle-deep mud, foul smells and unfriendlies. We'd been told to sit tight while others checked things out but that turned out to be useless as only the most ridiculously expensive options were considered on our behalf (as always). It wasn't until I started running around (with a handful of "helpers" following) that things started working out. That didn't prevent others from making very rude, unwelcoming comments, demanding money or shaking sticks at us. But then the Adjame market has always had a bad reputation. Needless to say, we were happy to leave on the first ride heading further east. Without further problems we made it to the border and were the last people across as they closed up at sunset. The Ghanaians were welcoming but again afraid for our safety. We were told that many Ivoirians come across the border to rob the otwn and the border guards were involved in the occasional shootout. So, in order to ensure our safety from the thieves and riff-raff now that it was dark, we were escorted to the hotel by two now off-duty border guards. Even with them watching, the moneychangers on the street were the only ones to ever (that's all time ever, ever) try to short-change me by using a rigged calculator and a huge wad of bills that were not accurate. Good thing I always check carefully. Overall I'm glad we made the decision to cross the country via the coastal road and I have no interest in seeing more. Oddly enough, we spent almost exactly the same number of hours crossing Afghanistan. It's just sad to see yet another country that had so much self-destruct so quickly.
Ammon