Saturday at the Market

Today we engaged a taxi to go to Accra by way of Aburi market. We wanted to go to the Arts & Crafts market, and then we need to drop off Jennifer at the airport, since our first team member is going home.

The market was smaller than I expected, just 20 stalls on each side of the road. This was primarily a market for woodwork, and the work was incredible. I immediately fell in love with a traditional man and woman statue set, and then a nativity, which I forgot to go back and buy: heartbreak! We found many traditional masks and wood wall hangings. I bought some things for my sons, and a leather box for my daughter.  Most of the team came away with beautiful handcrafts for their families back home.

We went to the Botanical Gardens for lunch and met Kwame (Saturday born) Michael, an artist who is soon going to the Bronx, New York to teach woodcarving! He showed us around the gardens and we saw the oldest tree in Ghana. We also saw a dead tree whose trunk and branches Michael had carved into a sculpture of people helping each other to climb up. It was so beautiful! I got a picture, and then we had to say good bye to our new friend. I gave him our contact info, and he will call when he gets to the US.

It was hard to say goodbye to Jennifer at the airport, and now our team doesn’t feel complete. It’s so sad to see her go!

The drive back was long and hot and we bought our first drinks from street vendors through the windows of the van while stuck in traffic (Sprite/Coke) it was heaven, since our water was quite warm at that point. After we got out of town, the traffic was not bad, and we made it home in time for dinner: spaghetti with spicy tomato sauce! Wonderful!