Angré Chateaux is about a 20 to 30 minute drive to the city; I thought it was quite sweet that this taxi driver had a Lego man watching the road for him.
It was absolutely wonderful to meet up with fellow Rotarians in Abidjan. Being part of the Rotary family has made Africa so much smaller and accessible.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a formal meeting (usually a weekly meeting attended by all the members) the week that I was in Abidjan, the next one is this week. Fortunately, I still got to meet the President of the Rotary Club of Abidjan, Dr Sandrine Kouamé.
They treated me to a wonderful evening of local food, oh my goodness it was delicious! I ate way too much. There was Attiéké, the local version of couscous; chicken in a sauce they call chicken soup; fried bananas (absolutely thrilled about this!); fried yams; fresh fish; grilled (braai'd) chicken with spicy sauces.
I did not have an itinerary or idea of the activities planned by Melanie from Lionesses (who Margaret was traveling with, and the catalyst for the whole Côte d'Ivoire trip); but I was certainly not dependent on this to make my trip successful; it actually all worked out incredibly well as my days were jam-packed with the most incredible meetings, thanks to amazing strategic alliances (BCW, IoDSA and Rotary). Due to this I was unfortunately not able to join them for supper, as I had made other plans, but how is this for crazy, we all landed up at the same restaurant!
On my hosts' recommendation, I had the oxtail. I am a massive fan of meat! [I must admit that I was grateful that I wasn't sitting with Margaret and Melanie, as they are both on a vegan mission...] I am used to oxtail being served as a stew, with a couple of oxtail bones in a sauce...not in Abidjan! Look at this deliciousness!
This was washed down by a delicious local beer
Fabulous new friends!
From left to right: Dr Sandrine Kouamé, President of the Rotary Club of Abidjan; Me, my host Désiré Woï, Past President, Rotary Club of Abidjan and his lovely wife, Casimira Oliveira.
The next morning on our way to the Lionesses morning function; we made a pit stop at the Boulangerie...sjo, there really are very few things as delicious as a freshly baked croissant straight out of the oven!
On the drive to the hotel, this government building stood out for me as being architecturally quite fascinating with its rose-tinted windows.
I was thrilled that Casimira and Sandrine joined the morning session of the Lionesses launch in Abidjan.
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| Marvelous Margaret Hirsh, Me, Melanie Hawken |
Carol was one of the inspiring entrepreneurs who spoke at the session. Carol Hien, is the founder of Carol’s Produits Naturels. She had us all in tears with her story of personal tragedies that she was faced with before embarking on her entrepreneurial journey.
She found her niche making jams and has won numerous awards for her products, innovation and business acumen. She ended off by admitting to us that she does not know how to read or write. What an incredible woman! I was thrilled to see her product at the duty-free shop at the airport.
On the way to the airport, Casimira was kind enough to make a quick pit stop at the local craft market; I definitely want to come back to spend a lot more time here.
And before I knew it, I was back at the airport, ready to fly back home to the Southernmost tip of Africa. As the saying goes in Afrikaans: Oos, Wes, Tuis bes (East, West, home is best)
This has been an incredible experience, I am proudly African, and look forward to more adventures on our incredible continent!
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