Almost time to go

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Trip Start Dec 14, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Jan 16, 2009

  Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Yes, the end is near. Two more days before I leave and I have seen all that I can. We were in a village named Divo for Sunday night and trust me, Greyhound is a lot better than the bus ine we used. The terminal here in the city was packed so full, I didn't think another thousand people people could find space in the thousands already there. There had to be at least sixty busses going in different directions and the organized confusion was amazing to see. After two road checks by the army, we enjoyed a bumpy ride down the highway for a good eighty some kms. We left the main road and travelled down a secondary highway that made the roads in Saskatchewan look good and once that pothole smashed a window, we were forced to pull over. Mind you, if the lady hadn't yelled at the driver for a couple of minutes, I am sure he would have kept going anyways. It took us between 3 & 4 hours to get to Divo and once we did arrive, it was time for a beer. Some would say to wash down the dust and heat, but others would say to celebrate getting there in one piece. I will let you guess which one I chose.
The crocs were sleeping in their pen when we got to the hotel/motel, just little buggers about four feet long, but I took some pics of them anyways. Saw a couple really big spiders, dozens of termite hills and of course, jungle for as far as the eye could see. I wouldn't want to get lost in that place; it matches our own forests in size and even has the wounds of clear cutting to make me feel at home. Rubber trees, coconut, pineapple and so much fruit bearing trees lined the roads that I thought of BC and the Okanagan Valley a couple of times. Of course, different types of snakes live here and though I thought I saw one, I wasn't allowed to go take a closer look. Not a big deal, really and to be honest, I was more concerned about the mosquitoes than the snakes. Thankfully, I have only one bite to report but I am sure that it could have been a lot worse.
Ah yes, the beer went down pretty good and so did the red wine. It was tough to be rude and naturally, I tried the white palm wine as well. That stuff had quite the kick and it was a good thing we were eating lunch as we drank. The heat was making the humidity even worse, I think, so we went back to the hotel/motel to cool down for a while before dinner at the same place. A phone call warning us of an African witch on the loose made us choose a different place for our evening meal and no matter how hard I try, I just can't get the knack of eating with my fingers like I am supposed to. The fish was good however, there were no witches around and all in all, the night had its own tinge of magic. Still, the little guy selling tissues at 11pm was an odd sight. The work doesn't stop around here; it would take rain to stop anything from happening. He did a good job of dancing to the american music and we all laughed at his moves. But all nights come to an end and when we left the next morning, I was a little sad and happy to be going back to the city.
Counrty life is very hard from what I can tell, worse than what I am used to seeing. But the cleaner air was a nice change from the city and then, things went downhill. We were on the milk run going back to Abidjan and stopped at every little village that lined the road. I counted eight stops before we got back to the main highway, but bananas had to be dropped off, hot peppers sent out and papayas passed out to the locals. It was hot, humid and I should have been happy to get back. But I had a bad feeling in my gut for some reason and it wasn't from being sick.
I was going to the Canadian Embassy to ask some questions before I left this Friday and I just didn't feel right. Of course, the staff there filled in the blanks for me. There is something wrong when your embassy staff won't speak to you in English. You heard that right. I was denied service in my country's main language. When the receptionist wouldn't even look at me, I really wanted to say a few extra words for her, but the french here are just as arrogant as they are back home; and as deaf. I can imagine the uproar if a french Canadian was ever denied service in french, but the rules have never been the same back home so I shouldn't count on it being any different here in Africa. You can bet that I will be letting the right people know about this when I get home and one way or another, this embassy will remember my name for some time to come. They won't even return my calls. And no, I did not do anything wrong to earn that treatment; being anglais was enough for them.
But after another cold one, I cooled off and just shook it off as more french ignorance to reality. I still had a few days left and it has been a good experience nonetheless. I should be back in Canada this Saturday and I am glad to hear that the cold snap has fled the country just as I am about to get back. I did send text messages that it would happen. Haha. So I will sign off and hope that I get one more entry in before leaving. If I don't, I just might have to contuinue my journeys end through other means from my own computer. Bye for now and I hope the walks are clean; LOL.

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