On October 7, we (the Jollof team) headed to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from Cape Coast, Ghana. Our experience in Ivory Coast started off on the wrong foot – arrogant officials at the border at Elubo and then, rude staff at the hotel we lodged at. It felt all too familiar; Abidjan reminded us of Lagos with its striking similarities – from the food to mad drivers, the city had it all.
In case you missed it, here’s a rundown of everything that happened while we were there:
We discovered Attieke!
Attieke is a staple food in Cote d’Ivoire. It is made from Cassava and looks just like Eba, a staple food in Nigeria.
We met so many cool people!
There was Francis, who let us use his concept store to film; Frederique, who was kind enough to provide us everything we requested – from a bottle of water to contacts in some countries we’ll be visiting; Stephanie, who was very cheerful and ready to supply us with hot cocoa; and Awa Sanoko – the supermodel whose beauty caused Toketemu to quake in her boots.
DJ Arafat fans are the most loyal.
We attended a memorial for DJ Arafat, the singer who died in a bike accident two months ago. There, we met a super fan who quit his job and now lives at a shrine where he keeps a candle burning for the deceased Ivorian star.
Comptoir Des Artisans the Restaurant Cum Concept Store
You should visit Comptoir Des Artisans if you’re ever in Abidjan. It doubles as a restaurant and a concept store. We had an interesting conversation with our hosts about the Fashion scene in the country and compared it to other West African countries.
Nearly died when we saw the price list at one restaurant:
The price menu for Aboussouan – a fancy restaurant, nearly gave some of us heart attacks, so the gang opted for street food.
A Neighbourhood Called Biafra:
In a neighbourhood in Abidjan called Biafra, Fu’ad went on a mission to find an Igbo speaking Nigerian that could tell him the history of the district, but was unsuccessful. How frustrating!
At the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace…
Toketemu wasn’t allowed in here, the largest church in the world located in Yamoussoukro, for wearing a “short” dress, so a good Samaritan gave her a headscarf to tie around her waist.
Jesus’ 13th Disciple lived in Yamoussoukro
We discovered that on a stained glass window at the Basilica, Félix Houphouët-Boigny – the first Ivorian president, had himself painted at the feet of Jesus.
What’s a trip without going close to a body of water?
Our visit to the Waterfall in Man, Cote d’Ivoire, was a bit of a damp squib as some teenage rascals made lewd comments at Toke and Tosin.
That’s it, folks! If you don’t want to be diagnosed with a severe bout of FOMO, keep following the #jollofroad journey on our website, Telegram Channel and Youtube.
