Postcards from Côte d’Ivoire: Entry 5

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine?
(Where are Alicia’s feet this week?)

Friday, February 26, 2021

Oh boy, what I week we’ve had this week mostly traveling back and forth between our Abidjan apartment and the future site of our retirement home on Lac Labion in the subprefecture of Jacqueville. Sekou has been working with surveyors and builders so we can start to build the perimeter wall around the property, which is almost always the first step. I grew up on the Great Plains of the U.S. where fences - especially in town - were considered at least suspicious, and at most just darn rude. So, all of this the “walling off” of property that happens here still seems weird to me, although Sekou has convinced me it is also practical from a security perspective. I draw the line at razor wire on the top of our wall, though. No.

What I love most about our property at Jacqueville is the natural beauty, which is unfortunately disappearing because of the explosive population growth in the Abidjan area, at least. Fortunately, Côte d’Ivoire (CI) has already protected some of the most sacred old-growth forests through their national park system, and through cooperative efforts with UNESCO to have them designated World Heritage Sites. One of those national parks - called Parc du Banco - is right in the heart of Abidjan and a regular stop on our tours.

At Lac Labion I am so alert to the wildlife around me that I can actually pass an entire hour and only have the urge to grab my cellphone because it’s my camera, too. The lake is teaming with fish and frogs  and I understand there is a resident type of crocodile that consumes fish only. It’s much smaller than its eastern cousin the Nile crocodile and is no threat to humans. There are snakes, too, but not likely venomous. I’ve never seen either a crocodile or a snake. What I do see, in numbers and varieties that are overwhelming, are BIRDS!!! Are you a birder? Well stay tuned because as soon as our property is a little more developed, I am hosting a birder’s tour of Côte d’Ivoire. I’ve started to make a list, so I guess that means I’m officially a birder…? I’m also very familiar now with the Avibase World Checklist for Birds for Cote d’Ivoire. Thanks to the crowd-sourced information at Avibase, I am 99% certain I’ve seen the following species, and lots more I haven’t had time to document and research yet. I wish I had a camera with a telephoto lens (on my wish list now!) so I could share my own photos of the birds, but Avibase has a good selection, and I did my best with more stationary flora and fauna with the old iPhone.

Alicia’s Lac Labion Bird List (to date)

1.     Pied Kingfisher (on pirogue ride 2/21/21)

2.     Western Black-headed Oriole (eating palm nuts from our trees 2/24/21)

3.     Black Kites (pair always fishing and riding the heat foils coming off the lake)

4.     Red-eyed Dove (residents greet us every time we arrive)

5.     Pin-tailed Whydah (male doing mating dance for two females on 2/24/21)

6.     Pied Crow (ubiquitous)

7.     Either an African Jacana or a Spur-winged Lapwing? (On shore and running on lily pads- I didn’t get a good look at its feet. If it’s a Jacana the feet will help me ID next time I’m there.)

8.     Flock of White Ibis (haven’t figured out the type yet- but they are also ubiquitous here and the national bird) 

Sekou and I feel very fortunate to have been given permission by the tribe to “buy” land here so we can enjoy the breathtaking beauty of nature when allowed to flourish in all its glory. And we look forward to sharing this little garden of Eden with all of you. We also take stewardship seriously and are already talking to the villagers we’ve befriended about how we can help protect the health of the lake and the ocean beaches nearby. For example, the villagers wash their clothes on the shores of the lake. We wonder what could be done to provide them an alternative - like a well in the village itself - so their lives are easier, and the lake is protected. Our caretaker Koblan is working on arranging a meeting with the village chief so we can discuss how we can work together to help protect his sacred lands. Want to join us on a future Travel with Purpose Tour? Perhaps you’ll spend a day at our property working with the locals on a village improvement project that also helps protect those gorgeous BIRDS!!! - Alicia

 Koné Consulting
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AND LASTING IMPROVEMENTS

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