Back In Hot Water

We arrived safely in Abidjan a few hours ago.  Let me just say that a hot shower after a month of not having one is just about the greatest thing ever!  I'm on my way to go take another one, but first I wanted to post this picture that I snapped from the road on the way here, because I thought you might want to see what an agouti (see 6/30) looks like up close.  ça se mange=people eat that.  

Besides edible rodents, we also saw the largest and tallest place of worship in Africa, and one of the largest in the world--La Basilique de Yamoussoukro, modeled after St. Peter's in Rome.  

At over $300 million, some (including my cab driver in Washington, DC--see 6/2), criticize Cote d'Ivoire's first president for this hefty expenditure.  However, I can say that Ivoriens are proud of their Basilica... and besides, it's a popular tourist attraction.   Here I am fighting my way through the throngs.

I know, I know, my wrap doesn't match my shirt.  The guards made me put it on because they found my halter top indecent.

On that subject, I have to admit that my favorite part of the tour was overhearing another guide giving a tour, in broken English, to some Pakistani UN soldiers. In front of a stained glass window depicting Jesus riding a donkey, the guide said, "And here is Jesus on his ass."

Not your neighbor's nativity scene.  This one's carved from cashew wood by a sculptor from Yamoussoukro:

Aicha bargains for everything.  No, everything.  I'm actually complicit in her bargaining scheme sometimes--I look sympathetically at the poor sap at the market (usually, her target is selling shoes), and I shrug, asking, "What can I say?  My sister even bargains at the supermarket." After a few short minutes of Aicha's merciless austerity, he considers himself defeated, and she walks off having practically stolen another pair of shoes.  All this to say that today, at the Basilica, Cote d'Ivoire's national treasure, Aicha bargained down our entry fee.  There was a price for residents, and a price for foreigners (four times as high).  Aicha got us the student/resident price, even though we didn't have any student ID cards to show.  She put up her hands and asked, "Would I lie in a House of God?"  Voilà, student rate.