by phil | Jan 8, 2014 | Stories, W. Africa
The year began with death. According to Arouna, Maimouna was killed by “cold air.” Whatever happened, it was an inauspicious start to the year. And then Ansar Dine arrived in Konna and France went to war in Mali. During this time, state television station...
by phil | Dec 18, 2013 | Biz, Cote D'Ivoire, Stories
Here are a few observations and lessons learned from nearly two months of running a full service restaurant in Abidjan. Running a restaurant is a great way to meet people. Among our regulars, we have the captain of ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire’s most...
by phil | Oct 3, 2013 | Cote D'Ivoire, Stories
If you want to tropicalize yourself (you should do this at some point in your life), Abidjan in August might not be the place to do so. The rainy season lingers, the sky is gray, and cold showers – normally a relief – leave you breathless. As a pale...
by phil | Feb 20, 2013 | Cote D'Ivoire, Stories, W. Africa
I’ve come to realize that the main reason I travel is to learn things and to form relationships. The best way to do that is to take your time, get comfortable, re-visit. The following is part 1 of a piece on Toits Rouges, a neighborhood in the Yopougon quartier...
by phil | Dec 31, 2012 | Stories
Sunset, Niger River, Bamako, rainy season I am writing from Abidjan. I was also here on this day one year ago. It’s quite a fun place to be on the 31st of December. In early January 2012, I traveled from Abidjan to Bamako. I went to the Festival in the Desert in...
by phil | Sep 15, 2012 | Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Stories
While waiting for a customs agent to come to an agreement with a man that had many jerry cans of palm oil on our minibus, we stood in the road and listened to Chéché Dramé on my girlfriend’s cellphone. Trucks and busses tore past, slaloming around potholes,...
