Malaria struck us in Ivory Coast. You don't need it, but it catches some travelers. Mathematically, we caught this in Monrovia or earlier and suspect Tiwai Island, where everyone else we keep meeting hasn't been.

We were lucky in misfortune and were standing on the guest premises of a hospital run by the Focolari Community, a church-based organization. We received excellent medical care as well as other touching care. People shopped for us and checked on us even outside of office hours. And at night, when Wolle's fever reached more than 40 degrees, we were able to move into a room with air conditioning at short notice.

The courses were very different. With Wolle it all started with gastrointestinal issues and then came the classic fever attacks. High fever later in the evening for four days. Brigitte had a headache, only a moderate temperature, but bouts of depression. Both extremely weak. Loss of appetite in both cases, eating and drinking as a duty.

A week with an illness unknown to us in a foreign country. Far away from everything that is familiar. Not nice. But also an experience that awakens compassion for all migrants in Europe.

After being stuck in Man in the north-west of Ivory Coast for a total of eleven days, we decide not to explore the pretty, slightly mountainous surroundings any further, nor to travel along the coast. We are driven by a feeling of “let’s get out of here”. And so we head east to visit the Mole National Park in northern Ghana. We hadn't planned for it, but we need something “nice”.

So Côte d’Ivoire basically gets short shrift. In addition to malaria, there is still the African Nations Cup, which Ivory Coast is hosting. Big party for every game.