R. Doug Wicker — Author

The NCL Dawn made port in Abidjan on 21 March 2025, two days after we departed the island of São Tomé. I’m going to be honest with you and say that Abidjan was my least favorite African port of call. That’s not to say I regret our visit to the République de Côte d’Ivoire. I most assuredly do not. For one thing, it helps pad out my list of 107 countries and autonomous regions that I’ve visited. So, what’s not to like? Well, you’ll find over this week and next that there’s not a lot here to see. That’s mostly a byproduct of the fact that Côte d’Ivoire’s per capita GDP is a dismal $2,728 (nominal)/$6,960 (PPP). How poor are things here? Let me show you what passed as one of our first tour destinations on this day. This is the sad remnants of a former colonial house in Grand-Bassam, east of Abidjan:

This historic building is in only slightly better condition:

We walked past these buildings because our guide insisted upon taking us to a local school. As we progressed down this short street, we saw yet another rundown colonial house:

Then we arrived to the school:

View from the Musée National des Costumes (National Costume Museum) of Grand-Bassam

“La Petite Marianne” (The Little Marianne), a bronze statue in the French colonial quarter of Grand-Bassam:

And a preview image of Wednesday’s article on the Palais Royal de Grand-Bassam:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)