This morning as agreed we slept it and caught up on a few tasks.
For lunch I suggested we go 10 minutes (on Sunday) across the lagoon to a
restaurant called l’Embarcadère. It’s right on the water in Treicheville across
from Plateau. We took a taxi over and wrote down his phone number so we could
call him for a ride back.
We had arranged with Paul to come to the hotel at 2:00 if he
found that Michel was well enough to receive us. He was ill yesterday and not
able to join us. Our agreement was misunderstood however. As we were finished
lunch about 1:30, Paul called to say he was at the hotel ready to go. So we
hurried as much as we could.
Even on a Sunday the drive out to where Michel and Paul live
is traffic heavy. Today was no exception. We found him in seeming good health
and in good spirits. He told us he has trouble with high blood pressure.
In
truth, communication with him was difficult because in the yard, one of his
renters was holding a celebration for the birth of a daughter. African
celebrations are loud. The recorded music is usually distorted by the volume
pushed through tortured systems and speakers. So to talk we had to speak
directly into each other ears.
He offered us food and soft drinks from the celebration. We were
full and couldn’t touch the food, but had a soft drink as we sat with him. I
told Paul he could have my plate and after he finished his meal he started
right in on mine, and polished it off too. Michel repeated several times how happy
he was that we had come to visit him.
After a time, the young mother, beautifully dressed, and her
family and friends, dressed in the same colors began dancing toward the group
gathered. I didn’t realize until they danced over to us that they were carrying
a basket to collect money for the mother and child. When Lee and I dropped in
the equivalent of a few dollars they cheered loudly.
Once that was over I asked Paul to send a runner for a taxi,
which arrived fairly quickly. We left Paul at that point since it is near his
house, and Lee and I traveled back to the hotel through heavy traffic.
We met at 7:00 for dinner at the Ibis restaurant. Tomorrow
we will make the long trip to Man, hopefully it will be uneventful and boring.
mary
2020-02-27
Even though it was challenging to communicate over the noisy celebration, it's encouraging to read that Michel was happy you made the effort to visit him.
Melchiade
2020-02-28
Thank You Mr Joël and Lee ,i am sure that your aventures was very important to Abidjan membres and maked them happy.