R. Doug Wicker — Author

Centre Artisanal de la Ville d’Abidjan goes by the shorthand name Le CAVA, and Le CAVA was probably one of the two highlights of this excursion. The other you’ll see in the second half of today’s article, St. Paul’s Cathedral. I think you’ll be stunned at the modern aesthetic of that incredible structure, but for now let’s look at the handcrafted arts-and-crafts treasures of Le CAVA:

Much of Le CAVA is centered around wood carving, as you might expect. But not everything here is suitcase worthy. Some of this stuff is huge:

But there are also metal artifacts which, to me, had the smell of CCC (Cheap Crap from China). Unfortunately, no matter where you go in today’s world, souvenir shops seem overrun with CCC, and it really ruins the vibe.

Other vendors seemed to carry a mixture of both local crafts and CCC:

Thankfully, most vendors seemed more interested in displaying local wares from local artisans:

The hour grew late, and our available time grew short. We had to rush to make it back to NCL Dawn in time, but we did manage (over the objections of a couple in our tour group) to make one last stop. This is St. Paul’s Cathedral:

Consecrated in 1985, this wonderfully modern take on a Roman Catholic Cathedral stuns both inside and out. But if you think the exterior is visually stunning, wait until you see what awaits you inside:

Even the main stained glass piece, monstrous in size, will leave you in awe:

One last look at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Next week I take you to our last African stop — Dakar, Senegal.

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