For most of us, attending a family wedding is no big deal. We hop in the car, drive a few miles or perhaps a few days, and there we are. For one Sunshine Coast resident, it wasn't so easy.Winston Barliszen is just back from a marathon trip to the Ivory Coast (Cte d'Ivoire) where he took part in his only brother Roger's wedding.And right from the moment his plane touched down in Abidjan in the West African country, Winston knew this would be no ordinary tourist trip. After 30 hours in the air and many transfers, the first bit of bad news was no luggage. Ordinarily that would be a huge inconvenience Ñ in this case it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. For anyone with luggage, the airport was intimidating. People would come up to them "volunteering" to hold on to the baggage or to watch it for the owners. Some had a hard time holding onto their belongings, a fact the Canadian government warns about in its travel advisory on the country.The Ivory Coast was a colony of France that achieved its independence in the 1960s. French is the predominate language in the country. This posed no problems for Winston. Before he retired to the Sunshine Coast, he was the principal of a French immersion school in Dawson Creek. However, because of ongoing hostility to the French, the Sechelt man was careful to begin all conversations with strangers with a bit of English."Very few could understand, but they'd know it wasn't French," he explained.Roger is one of about nine immigration officers serving nine countries in West Africa. He met Judith, his bride, when he first came to the uneasy country. The Canadian government does not advise travel in the Ivory Coast because of past hostilities, a grim fact Roger experienced first-hand. In November 2004, Roger had to be evacuated from the Canadian embassy during an uprising that resulted in the death of eight people by rebel forces. The retreat under cover in the back of a car was a harrowing experience.As with many poor countries the world over, the Ivory Coast does not have enough employment for its young men. The major export of the country is cocoa followed by palm oil. In the cities, young men are always on the streets regardless of the time of day, a fact a visitor from our country found strange. "Here men are working during the day and it's unusual to see many men on the street," Winston said.The Ivorian people work long hours for little pay. One woman, who works as a maid for a Canadian, puts in 16-hour days for $220 per month and, according to Winston, is "very happy to have the job." Truck drivers earn about $200 per month.The average life expectancy in the country of 17 million is 48. The country, one-third the size of B.C., is predominately Muslim. The strong Evangelical Christian presence in the country was noticeable in the long marriage ceremony with its unique African touches.Some of the differences between our countries pose threats to tourists' health.One evening Winston, along with a number of other Westerners, decided to go out for a drink. And although our government warns to drink beer only from a bottle and to clean the neck with lime first, Winston decided to be brave and have his beer from a glass. When it was his turn to buy a round, Winston went up to the bar to place the order for the many drinks. Much to his horror, when the bartender ran out of glasses, a waiter merely went to a vacated table and brought back the number of glasses short for the order. The bartender then filled the order without washing the glasses ÑÊdisgusting enough under any circumstances, and especially harrowing in a country where meningitis has occurred on an unprecedented scale from 1999. "I was pretty uneasy for a couple of days wondering what I was in for," Winston said.An outing to an Ivorian restaurant proved interesting too. Unlike Canadian restaurants where your order is cooked on the premises, Ivorian restaurants function only as clearinghouses. Your order is taken and the waiter then goes to the little stalls along the street and picks up what you've ordered. Then the meal is served sans utensils. "Everyone eats with their hands," Winston said.Even the leaving of the Ivory Coast proved unusual for our intrepid traveller. "I rode back to the airport in an armoured car," necessary because the semi-exiled leader of the opposition party was returning to the Ivory Coast on the flight on which Winston was scheduled to leave the country. With elections planned for the end of October, the Canadian government was taking no chances with the visitor's safety.It's fascinating and interesting. There is a sense of unease and you do have to use prudence. I used a lot of prudence sometimes," was Winston's summation of a trip of a lifetime. And he echoes the advice of the Canadian government Ñ it's not a place for visitors."Under current condition, I couldn't recommend it as a tourist destination."
