Abidjan, Ivory Coast

With a high of 86 F and expected thunderstorms, plus additional warnings regarding theft and personal safety, I wasn't at all interested in even getting off the ship today. There were only 2 ship excursions offered and neither sounded very interesting. One was 7.5 hours and we had no way of knowing if the buses would even be air conditioned. But after thinking about the extra sea days ahead, we decided we should at least take the complimentary shuttle to a local craft market. 

 

pulling into port early this morning

Once again, local officials required that all passengers go through another face to face passport inspection before we were allowed to disembark the ship. A number of armed guards were stationed within easy view of where the ship was docked. 

We joined other passengers who were probably getting off for the same reason we were. We boarded the van and headed toward the market, escorted by a policeman on motorcycle with his lights blinking and siren blaring. I understand why the security was needed, but why the noise that only called attention to our presence? I'll post a few not-so-good moving bus window photos I snapped on the 15 minute ride from ship to market.

 

police escorting us through stop light

early Sunday morning in Abidjan

window shot

 

The driver drove unusually fast, never slowed or stopped and ran through every stop light. It wasn't until we returned to the ship that we realized it was probably so that we wouldn't have to stop, making our van an easy target for crime. If you read about Abidjan, it sounds as if it has much to offer. It's a shame that crime makes it difficult for visitors to feel safe to explore the city.

The market was outdoors with individual vendors or artists setting up their booths. The crafts were about what one would expect -  wood carvings, masks, jewelry, art. The highlight for us was a little boy kicking a soccer ball while his mom was no doubt working nearby. He and Ronnie exchanged fist pumps, but he was a moving target as far as getting the perfect photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

We probably spent less than 30 minutes there before we were ready to head back to the ship. Thankfully we didn't have to wait long for the shuttle bus. By the way, if our original itinerary hadn't been changed, we would be in Sardinia, Italy today. Just sayin'....

 

Vista Photo Contest

I learned this week that Vista is going to have a photo contest for ATW passengers. It will allow only one entry per person. I've never really liked photo contests (although I do enjoy seeing entries) because the judging is so subjective. Nevertheless, I will enter and I already have a favorite of the literally thousands of photos I've snapped since we left Miami last January. 

If you know me, or even read my blog occasionally, you probably know that I take waaay too many pictures. One reason is that I have a really heavy shutter finger. The other reason is that with digital, there's nothing stopping me! Back in the film days, I had to think hard before snapping the shutter because film cost money, as did developing chemicals and photographic paper. But this is 2026, and we can all snap happily away with no financial consequence!

I've known for some time now that I needed to spend some time going through all the photos I've taken on this trip and delete any near duplicates and/or rejects. Having been on the ship for 144 days now, that's a lot of sunrise/sunset photos over the ocean! Even I know I don't need that many. So yesterday I started going through my folders and getting rid of what needed to go, keeping only those needed to "tell the story" of wherever we found ourselves. And that was only a first run - I probably should delete many more. 

At the same time, I was looking for anything I thought might possibly be contest worthy, knowing that photography and art are always viewed subjectively and what appeals to one won't appeal to another and vice versa. You know, one person prefers chocolate, another vanilla. 

So today I'm posting images that I've set aside as possible candidates. If you've been following my blog, you've probably seen most of them already. But I'm asking you to scroll through them and tell me which one is YOUR favorite. This may help me know which one to submit. Fyi, the judge is a man. Thank you!!

 

luwak coffee beans

 

African Elephant (Durban)

Rio de Janiero

Roseau, Dominica

Rangiora

Bali, Indonesia

Komodo, Indonesia

Walvis Bay, Namibia

Iquique, Chile

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Durban, South Africa

Punta del Este, Uruguay

Bali, Indonesia wood carver

Rio de Janiero, Brazil

Nosy Be, Madagascar (1)

Bali, Indonesia wood carver (2)

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mystery Island 1

Punta del Este, Uruguay 2

Sydney, Australia

Nosy Be, Madagascar 2

Mystery Island 2

Durban, South Africa (3)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (port)

Nosy Be, Madagascar (3)

Dinner on the Deck

The Cruise Director has a daily morning show on our in-room TV where he and some other cruise person talk about what's happening on board the ship that day. We never watch it. Apparently we should have today. We didn't realize that there was an Around the World dinner being prepared by the Vista Culinary Team to be held on the deck tonight. Not only that, guests were encouraged to dress in all white. Why? I have no idea.

 

 

 

We had actually talked about room service tonight but someone mentioned to Ronnie at trivia that there was a special dinner tonight so I suggested we at least check it out. Sure enough, the culinary team had gone all out to prepare special foods, some that we don't always see. While the majority of passengers were indeed dressed in white, Ronnie was in navy head to toe and I had on a turquoise top. But we stayed and ate anyway. I will warn you - don't even look at the pictures if you aren't hungry (as I'm not now). But if you happen to be, then you might like to see a sampling of what was there.

 

I will also add that we are supposed to be keeping a low profile now as we will be sailing to Abidjan on the Ivory Coast tonight. A deck party with loud music, lights and dancing until 10:15 p.m. doesn't seem like a very low profile to me. I did see a security guy (dressed in black) however. They are on the job.

We first walked through the deck where people were already eating and visiting and the Vista Show Band was entertaining. We made our way through a sea of white-clad passengers to the Aquamar Restaurant first where there was a long case of meats, veggies, noodles, broths, etc one could select from that would make an Asian dish (?) or soup (?) I didn't think to snap a photo of that area and I don't know enough about Asian food to even know what it's called. We didn't do that; we just picked up some appetizers there.

After that we went into the Wave and then on into Terrace Cafe. Both had extensive choices. In addition to the usual fish, steak, lobster, shrimp and chicken, there was a whole roasted goat/lamb/sheep? (which one? I don't know) along with steaks and sausages made from springbok and kudu. Add to that several really large fish, some to be cooked to your liking on the spot, and one that was stuffed with ceviche. Not being a "meat person" myself, I chose a Caprese salad instead along with some Italian bread.

 

grouper cooked to your specs

  

no thanks, but the Hasselback potatoes look good

meats cooked to order

There was also quite a large selection of cheeses, pastas, breads and salads. I mostly just snapped pictures of the meats. Of course there is always the dozen or so daily made ice cream flavors and as many different desserts to choose from. I'm trying to do better with sugar, but baklava is a weakness and I told myself that honey is not as bad as table sugar. And besides, the Bible says to eat a little honey (however, "little" is the key word here). Anyway, I'm stuffed and none of this looks good to me, but I'll post pictures of it for you, my reader, to appreciate. lol But I won't try to label all of them. 

 

sea bass or tuna (??) stuffed ceviche

skewered chicken

tuna salad in middle (mashed potato)? "cake"