Côte d’Ivoire is more than a stopover. It’s a story you travel through

It unfolds on the road, over meals, through conversations, in old streets, coastal towns and moments you understand only afterwards. Our week started in Abidjan, the country’s economic capital, before moving across Côte d’Ivoire in a way that few short visits allow. From Abidjan, we flew to San Pedro, travelled along the coast to Assinie and Grand-Bassam, returned through Abidjan, then made the long road journey to Yamoussoukro and further north to Korhogo, before flying back to Abidjan for the return to South Africa.

Seven days, one country, too many layers to pretend we understood it all. But enough to feel the shifts. Abidjan announces itself with confidence.

You feel the city’s energy almost immediately: the way people move, talk, negotiate and laugh. It is not a city that lets you switch off completely. It expects you to pay attention.

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For a South African, there is a familiarity there: the way people cross streets with confidence, the way taxi drivers negotiate lanes with their own private logic and the way the city somehow works even when it looks like it might not. At traffic lights and busy corners, street vendors appear with remarkable timing, offering everything from tissues to cellphone covers, chargers and things you did not know you needed until someone held them up at your window. Very quickly, my colleagues and I learnt that survival, charm and basic manners required a small French starter pack:bonjour(hello),merci beaucoup(thank you very much) andje m’appelle(my name is).

We did not become fluent but we became enthusiastic. Sometimes enthusiasm is enough to get a smile, directions or a little patience. San Pedro offers a closer look at Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa economy.

To stand among cocoa trees is to see a global product at its source and to feel the labour, land and livelihood behind it. From there, Assinie pulls you closer to the water. For couples, families or travellers looking for calm, coastline and comfort, Assinie is an easy recommendation.

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