Ivory Coast

I found one of the best things I have done in any country in the Ivory Coast, and it wasn’t just the music, the literature, the movies, the food, the physical prowess, or the festivals that we will also enjoy. It was the half hour of sitting quietly while the animals of Comoé National Park scamper around me. This compilation of camera-trap research videos by Juan LaPuente is just lovely, and a great introduction to nature in the Ivory Coast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNX-YNJHxM8

Another lovely thing to do in the Ivory Coast is to watch the series of four documentaries on Kanopy showing the various uses of the balafon, an Ivorian instrument maybe halfway between a xylophone and a marimba. If you aren’t ready for four hours of documentaries, at least enjoy this balafon concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSSokqSi8HU

Other Ivorian music includes:

· Ivorian reggae by Alpha Blondy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igl2aaa-09g

· The French musician of Ivorian descent, Vegedream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h_pgqpG5Yo&list=PLeLM5nNgwshsqnnzLAU97AkaEwWTgcQnM

· Ten more Ivorian artists quickly introduced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_b0EPmsD8s

I’m loving the music and the nature, and I also want to dive deeper into the thoughts of the country, so I went looking at the Los Angeles County Library and found two young adult works. The first was a graphic novel. I had never read a graphic novel before – don’t tell my children! Aya: The Secrets Come Out by Marguerite Abouet is based on her childhood in the Ivory Coast in the 1970s. It deals with things she experienced with her family and friends including wealth disparity and social issues. There is also a Aya movie on Amazon based on Marguerite Abouet’s work.

The second book I read, The Bitter Side of Sweet by ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Tara Sullivan is a story of three young people forced to harvest cocoa in the Ivory Coast. The book has a light touch on the most difficult experiences in the story and introduces young people to the idea of supporting chocolate that doesn’t include the child labor sometimes involved in this major chocolate producing country. Even the adults participating in chocolate production don’t always know the end results of their labors. Mini Metropolis produced a program on cacao farmers in the Ivory Coast showing that many of them have never tasted chocolate. They share their first experience with chocolate with us here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woAG4tp90Dc

I have tasted chocolate before. I have even tasted attieke before (I’ll talk about that when I get to Liberia). But I just found out there is a new Ivorian restaurant in Oakland and I missed it when I was there last week! I am determined to try it when I return to the San Francisco Bay Area in August. Here is a review: https://www.berkeleyside.org/2020/11/23/alloko-garden-brings-a-taste-of-ivory-coast-from-a-ghost-kitchen-in-oakland. If you want to try making your own Ivorian food, try here: https://www.whats4eats.com/africa/ivory-coast-cuisine

I only found one movie from the Ivory Coast or with Ivorian characters free online (Moi Un Noir https://vimeo.com/294911765), but I found two more for a fee on Amazon (Diego Star and So Long, Africa). I also had a lot of fun watching Ivorian taekwondo athlete Cheick Sallah Cissé in his Olympic bouts in Rio de Janiero in 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwXwGvT_95g

I looked hard to find more on the stilt dancing, but didn't find much. I guess I need to go in person to get the full experience (always true of course!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VPNXLxtYgc

I also found videos that let me experience a little more of the Ivory Coast on:

· Yamoussoukro, the abandoned capital https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_wpzPX7C8

· The Festival des Masques (click on CC to get subtitles and click on settings to change them to English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qijZrC4I_a0

· The Festival des Glae (again, click on CC to get subtitles and click on settings to change them to English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AbXBGpoLxM

· A travelogue on both Ghana and the Ivory Coast. We get to the Ivory Coast at the 28 minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Wpc60HT4Y

I didn’t find as many online resources for the Ivory Coast as I usually do for my blog, but I am still amazed at how much is available to travel to the Ivory Coast while staying at home. If we get there in person, there is plenty more to do and see: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-ivory-coast/#more-17723

When the pandemic is over and we are traveling freely, a trip to the Ivory Coast would be best planned using your local travel advisor. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive. May we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in the Ivory Coast and throughout the world.

Photo credit: Eva Blue https://unsplash.com/photos/4k-v1yGHoQ4