Weekend in Abidjan

World's whitest Santa in downtown Abidjan

I flew from Daloa to Abidjan on Friday afternoon. Lots of people are heading out these days, and three other women from the mission were leaving on the same Air Maroc flight to Casablanca at 2 am, so we all went out for pizza with a couple of others from the Abidjan office.  

We ate in Zone 4, the quarter where I'm staying, across the lagoon from the central business district.  It's close to the airport and has a lot of european residents.  Since the war many prefer not to have to cross the bridge to get to their flights.  Just in case.  As a result it feels about as far from Daloa as imaginable.  In many ways it feels like a French city, except you're more likely to see sheep walking down the street.

A shady handicraft-stall-lined lane at CAVA

On Saturday morning I went to CAVA, the Centre Artisanal de la Ville d'Abidjan.  I have heard about it since I got here, and it was definitely worth it.  It's a fantastic place with handicrafts from all over the country and beyond.  They have an incredible variety of wooden masks and carvings, not to mention painted textiles and much, much more.  The vendors are persistent and persuasive but not too pushy, and very happy to take time to explain the different pieces and how they fit into the culture.  It was all I could do not to come away with more than I could carry.  It helped that my suitcase was already pretty full.  And that I ran out of money.  Thankfully they only take cash!

Cathédrale St Paul d'Abidjan

Today I ventured across the bridge to visit St Paul's Cathedral, which was opened by Pope John Paul II in 1980.  I had seen glimpses of it from the bus to work during the two weeks I stayed in Abidjan on arrival in June, but this was the first time I saw it up close.  It's quite modern, and looks a bit like a musical instrument or a suspension bridge.  I think it's really cool.  Unfortunately it was closed for repairs so I couldn't go inside, but there was a choir practicing in a covered area outside and that was a beautiful experience in itself.  

It turned out that a Mass had just started in one of the other buildings, so I sat in for that - my first in Africa.  I'm sorry to say the singing was not as good as the choir outside.  I think I was the only white person there, although there was a woman and perhaps her daughter who could have been Indian. The sermon was about marriage.  The priest started out by emphasizing that Marriage is between Man and Woman which didn't particularly endear him to me.  It may have been his way of drawing in the rest of the audience though, as he went on to try to convince them to get married and stick to just one partner.  Neither of those is an easy sell around here, so I felt a bit more sympathy for him.  At the end of the Mass they blessed us all and prayed that for all of us who don't have children, this would be the year.  Priorities are clear, at least.  I wondered what the one nun in attendance thought of it.

Afterward I walked around the downtown area a bit, but everything is closed on Sunday so it was pretty quiet.  Now I'm all packed up and ready for my flight which leaves at 11:10 tonight.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Stations of the cross leading up to the cathedral