African Adventures Part 2 - Jacqueville
I went to Jacqueville this weekend (August 28-30)with Marie-José and Lindsay.
Travelling to Jacqueville is so much simpler than travelling to Yamoussokro. We left le Plateau and took a taxi to Treichville, a district of Abidjan where we found the Jacqueville bus station (le petit gare de Jacqueville). This bus station is so much nicer than last week at Adjamé. We bought our tickets without any problems and were told the bus was leaving at 5:30, and we even boarded at 5:28! It was almost unbelievable for us to have actually boarded the bus on time! This bus was smaller than the one to Yamou but more comfortable and of course, completely full. Marie-José has remarked during her three weeks here that "Everything in Africa is loose" and we noticed this too when we saw them close the door with a rope (kinda like our fridge here...).
So, we took the bus to Dabou where it stopped and we got off and boarded this little boat. It's unbelievable the things people bring with them on these trips to their villages..mattresses, tubas, large bowls of fish etc.) The boat started on its way and I took a look at where we were heading. I couldn't believe they hadn't built a bridge. The trip is less than 5 minutes. As soon as you get on the boat, you can see the other side and the bus waiting for you on that side. There is also right next to the dock, a very old shipwreck. It was a ferry boat for cars half sticking out of the water.
After we unloaded the boat and reloaded onto another bus. This bus also had a door that didnt close as well as two holes in the side where windows were supposed to be. Haha. At first, we thought it would be nice to have the fresh air, but with the speed at which they drive here, it was almost cold for once!
We arrived in Jacqueville probably around 7:30 pm and it was pitch black. It is always very dark here in Côte d'Ivoire quite early, but in Abidjan at least there are streetlights. The only lights around the bus station where we got off were headlights from the occassional car or fires where women were cooking street food. We all remarked how this was the Africa we had been expecting. We had no idea how to get to the hotel we wanted to stay at, so eventually we found a taxi. We went to the Hotel le campement which we had found in our guidebook. The taxi was creaking and making so much noise we were sure it was going to fall apart but we eventually made it there. The hotel was just out of town and was fantastic. For 16 000 CFA we shared a "bungalow" with a double bed and a single bed and washroom facilities. Our bungalow was right on the ocean and you could listen to the waves coming and going all night.
In the morning, we asked the owner of the hotel what was around this area and she told us we could walk up the dirt road and visit various villages.
So, off we went. The first village was quite close. There was something going on inside a building so we crept in a bit to see what it was. We suspected it was a funeral and our suspicions were eventually confirmed when they carried out the coffin with this very young girl wailing behind. We tried to talk to an elderly lady who had stayed behind but she didnt speak French. We did find a few children who could though and they told us it was an old man from the village who had died and that they were going to bury him now.
We left that village and continued walking down the dirt road. We saw everyone gathered around the gravesite and a few boys jump in to lower the coffin.
This is going to be shorter than it was, cause I just finished it and the computer crashed and this was all that was saved:(
The next village we saw a woman getting water from a well and we went to talk to her. Her French wasn't too great but we were able to talk a bit. She had one baby on her back, one about to be born, as well as two little children around here. They were probably 2 and 4 years old or something. They were carrying large pots of water on their head, quite large and heavy for their age and size. Her husband came up from the ocean shortly after where he had been fishing. It was afterall, a fishing village. He spoke broken English but no French. He showed us around the village and took us to meet the chief of the village. The chief was quite young really, perhaps in his 30s or 40s. We asked how many wives he had and he told us 20, and that there were 20 women in the village. Haha. We didn't actually see any though, we assume they were cooking or tending to their numerous children.
We thanked them for their hospitality and off we went down the dirt road to Grand Jack, a large village where there are even two large churches.
The sun was getting hot as it was getting around noon, so we decided to turn around and we headed back to the hotel where we had a nice lazy afternoon on the beach and playing in the water. The waves were amazing, but the current is very strong.
For supper, we went into Jacqueville to a maquis. We ate "agouti" as that was the only meal they had. We didn't know what it was and I am glad as it turned out to be a large rat. We ate at a common table with a few other men who came and sat down during our meal, always inviting us to join them. Everyone was so friendly here! When it was time to leave, we weren't too sure where we were, and there were no taxis, so we began walking in what we hoped was the right direction. The streets were quite dark but noone felt scared to be walking alone as everyone was friendly and wished us Good evening as we walked along. What a wonderful change from Abidjan! We did eventually find a taxi near the bus station to take us back to the hotel, just as creaky as all the others. Haha.
We had a nice relaxing evening, sitting on the deserted beach, chatting and sharing a couple Flags (the local beer).
Sunday morning, we walked back into Jacqueville to catch the bus back. On the way, we saw a man cutting coconuts and Marie-José wanted one, so we asked the man if he would sell us one. For 50 CFA we got a coconut. Then his brother showed up and offered us more, and brought us to see how they smoke the coconuts and bag them to export them to France. As we were leaving he gave us a large bag of probably 12 or so coconuts and asked only that we send him a copy of the picture we took. A pretty great deal I think!
Unfortunately, we had to return to Abidjan after that.
This weekend I was supposed to go to Burkina Faso by train. However, they do not have sleeping berths anymore so I didn't know if I am adventurous enough to spend 28+ hours sitting. I am leaving next Friday morning (Sept. 11) by plane to visit the capital, Ouagadougou, as well as Bobo-Dialasso.
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African Adventures Part 3 Burkina Faso
African Adventures Part 4 Mali and Return to Burkina Faso
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