At noon on the 30th of March, I landed in Abidjan, only to find out that Air Ivoire had forgotten to mention that our flight had been cancelled.
I must say that flying with any airline in West Africa is folkloric at best. First, on arrival, one has to board the plane by walking on the tarmac and walking on these:
Second, (and this is where Air Ivoire’s reputation is made true) flights get cancelled ALL THE TIME.
Lucky for me, there was a flight the next morning, and Air Ivoire was sweet enough to accommodate the other cancelled travelers and myself at the very lofty Hotel Ibis Plateau.
I did not visit Abidjan though. In fact, I made arrangements with the hotel’s driver to visit, but he cancelled… because he had to go pick up more cancelled passengers!
I nevertheless had the pleasure to see the skyline of Abidjan, and to observe the city during the 30 minute drive.
That night, I had dinner and got tipsy on account of Air Ivoire, in the gracious company of my petulant American colleague, a cynical and amusing Croatian doctor, and a warm and funny businesswoman from Cameroon.
The Beaver
Thank you Emmanuel.K.Bensah II in Accra, GHANA, for posting on my guest map!
My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !
9 comments:
missing Abidjan! the skyline looks just like it did in the early 90s. do you know if the Hotel Ivoire is still standing? i heard that the quality had gone down a great deal. we used to live in Deux Plateaux. ca me manque l'Afrique, but one has to realise that it has changed immensely (in terms of general unrest)
Hmmm Abidjan looked like a really pleasant city. The infrastructure has remained unscathed !
But you are right, espescially around the Guinea Gulf, it seems violence has been hightened these past years.
Shame. To think these countries have so much ressources.
¡Hola Marie!
Amazing pics from Benin ;)
Besines!
K-Girl !,
Don't worry, i'm where I should be... for now. Though I'm travelling again tomorrow and am slightly worried about another cancellation.
Dinamita,
Glad you like'm ! More to come soon !
ew, I hate to see "American" and "petulant" side-by-side. Glad you're safe, and it sounds like you're having fun. But who in the world would paint their hotel in such colors and designs? My eyes are still crossed!
Saur,
Mwa ha ha ! What's wrong with being american and petulant? at least I didn't say flatulent !
(Which she is NOT - I love the word petulant. Witty and funny and expressive. Just like the woman I'm working with !)
By the way, I think that's old paint from the 80's. Now they paint everything white, which is stupid because it all gets covered in sticky dust.
Cheers,
Beav'
hang in there, beaver! i hope things start to go smoother for you.
luv,
kate
No worries, Kate, I'm all good :o)
I just like to take my time to tell a story that's all ;O)
I just re-read my favorite book "Brothers Karamozov" and I thought your dinner guests could have fit quite nicely into a Dostoevsky novel. As for Abidjan, It looks like a fantastic place from the picture. I'm sad for Coffee Addict. I would want to return if that were my home, although I do have a problem with bugs and bullets. Beav, you are amazing.
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