Day 12 - 14th March South to the former colonial capital, and on to the largest city in Cote d'Ivoire

Photo above - making soap from Cassava in rural Cote d'Ivoire. More photos to follow below

A milion and one uses for cassava

Set off at 8am to drive two hours to the first colonial capital called Grand Bassam.

After half an hour we stopped at the roadside to see some locals working with cassava. This is a root crop which they peel, then chop up, then grind to make into cassava flour. This can be turned into couscous, various ingredients used in West African cuisine, and tapioca. They also use a boiling process to make strong soap, for clothes washing. Part of the plant can be used for animal feed. They were doing all this in the heat just off the main road. There was a bit of a language barrier, but the people working there were happy to show us the process, and wanted to have photos taken with us.

The old colonial capital

Passing through the towns and villages on the main road, I noticed that there are many more permanent concrete or brick buildings, as opposed to the wooden or metal shacks more prominent in rural Ghana.

At 10am we arrived at the historic town of Grand Bassam. This was a former French colonial capital, but not for long. Having attained this status in 1893 it was promptly evacuated three years later after an outbreak of Yellow Fever. The shipping industry on which the town depended gradually declined, and eventually the population diminished to such a level that virtually the only inhabitants were squatters, although now about five thousand people live here.

Today the place has the aura of a ghost town, with grandiose abandoned buildings lining the streets, and in 2012 the town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in light of its special historic value. The town is divided between the historic french quarter, and the area the locals live in, either side of a large river. We walked around the historic centre where the colonial buildings are a mixture of restored buildings, with locals acting as caretakers or used as government buildings; or buildings which have been left to deteriorate, with trees and bushes growing out of them. There are a lot of arts and crafts practised here, and several workshops selling these goods.

We had lunch at a local cafe, and then wandered down to the beach where the locals were enjoying their Saturday afternoon, going in the sea despite the rough conditions.

West to Abidjan

From here we drove along the coast to the port city of Abidjan, the largest city with a population of approximately 6.5 million, and economic centre of the country. The road did not hug the coast, but was a mile or so inland, so passed through a couple of small villages before we reached the suburbs of Abidjan. A mixture of beach cafes and resorts, hotels, houses and businesses.

Nearer the centre there was quite a lot of construction with road flyovers, a new railway, and new apartment buildings being built. Cote d'Ivoire has oil and gas reserves, and is currently receiving a lot of investment. We arrived at our hotel about 4pm

Tomorrow we look around Abidjan, before driving north west to the Capital Yamoussoukro.

Spotted on the road to Grand Bassam

Group working to peel and chop cassava

Cassava choppers

Mum is chopping and peeling cassava, he is not interested

Ground cassava

Making soap bars out of ground cassava

Two of the workers at the soap processing shed compare photos they had taken with the white folk

Cote d'Ivoire flag

Monument celebrating December 24 1949 when wives of soldiers matched on Grand Bassam to demand the release of their husbands who were imprisoned by the colonial authorities