Cote D'Ivoire

On to another African country: Cote D'Ivoire, or as you might know it, the Ivory Coast. 

The country decided in the mid 80's to go by the formal name of 'Core d'Ivoire' (according to them, it should not be translated into the 'Ivory Coast', and it is actually illegal to do so). In case it wasn't obvious, it was one of those French owned countries until its independence in 1960. But the French influences are still abound in this country that, was once the success story of West Africa (but was thrown back into a Civil War in 2002, and again in 2011). Things have stabilized since, though, and there isn't any official US Department of State Warnings, so if you know where to go, and probably, more importantly, where not to go (hint: the southwest) in the country, you can visit and enjoy it's gorgeous beaches, rain forests and mountains. 

Also implied in the name, is that they have a lot of Ivory, or elephants. But in actuality, because of the Ivory trade, and poaching, there really aren't many elephants left. Some numbers have it as high as 800 elephants, other's have it as low as 200-300 elephants living in a few isolated herds. Either way, it's sad. There's no official numbers for just how many elephants were in the area when the French set up shop there in 1600's, but experts estimate there were hundreds of thousands. Most of the elephants were likely hunted in the early 1900's, when the price of ivory skyrocketed, but there are still plenty of people in the Ivory Coast selling trinkets made from ivory (nobody knows exactly where they are getting their supply from). 

Today, though, the main exports are petroleum, cocoa and coffee. The country actually supplies 30% of the world's cocoa (making it the largest producer in the world). 

Back to animals for a second, there many not be tons of elephants there anymore- but it is home to some of the smartest chimpanzees. In the Tai Forest, you'll find chimps using stone tools to break nuts, and chewing leaves to use as sponges. 

Cote D'Ivoire is home to more than 60 ethnic groups (the Akan people are the most prominent). Some of those ethnic groups live up in the mountains, including the Man, who are known for their mask ceremonies and stilt dancers. 

It's a soccer crazed country, where the national team is considered to be one of the best teams in Africa. (It probably helps that one of the best players in Africa, Didier Drogba, calls Cote D'Ivoire home. (Fun fact: the national team is called Les Elephants) 

 Apparently I missed taking a picture of the Cote D'Ivoire flag, but if it looks familiar, it's because it is just like Ireland's flag, only backwards (they are orange, white, green; while Ireland is green, white, orange) 

And our landmark is one of the two capital cities in the country. Yamoussoukro is the political capital, but Abidjan is the economic capital and the most populous French-speaking city in West Africa. Twenty percent of the county's population lives in  Abidjan, with exciting nightlife, and ten buildings that are taller than 279 feet. 

I also forgot to take a picture of their postcards, so I just had to go snap a few. 

Calib's featured the chimps and some Ivorian's playing soccer. 

Peyton put the skyscrapers of Abidjan off in the distance, and had some of his stick people dancing the popular 'coup decale' (cut and run) movement. (Reggae is also very popular there). 

And Hayden's post card featured the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. Inspired by Saint Peter's Basilica, this church is even bigger (86,000 square feet bigger to be exact). In fact, it's the biggest church in the whole world. 

For dinner we needed a little help from Amazon. So, we ordered the Maggi seasoning (cubes that look kind of like chicken bouillon), and this cous cous like stuff that you just add water to and then warm it up in the microwave. It's really weird, but it did say 'product of Cote D'Ivoire' which was exciting. (Also, cameo by our pineapple for dinner there too.) 

 So for dinner we had the Attiere (couscous), with Poulet Braise, Ivorian Tomato Sauce, Ivorian Salad, and pineapple. 

This one earned two spoons up. 

Asa and Peyton were the fans here. 

Calib and I didn't mind it, but we wouldn't be asking for it again. Hayden ate the chicken and the tomato sauce and the pineapples, but basically skipped the salad and attiere. 

Peyton surprisingly also didn't care too much for the attiere (and he really likes cous cous), but he ate about half of his, and the rest of his plate. He has like three pieces of chicken too. He REALLY liked the chicken. 

Asa gives almost everything a spoons up, so there's that. (But he does still talk about the 'grass bananas') 

Peyton colored Cote D'Ivoire in a nice pink color, right there on the Coast of Africa next to Burkina Faso and Liberia.  

That's 88 down, 105 to go! (Won't it be so fun when that second number goes below 100? We're excited for it!) 

Next Up: Columbia