Last Saturday was our much-anticipated, oft-delayed roadtrip to Bolgatanga, a city in the far north of Ghana, nearly to Burkina Faso. Matt, Angela, and I had planned to go the Wednesday before while a visiting team of volunteer doctors was working, but one of the doctors was called home suddenly when his mother died, so we delayed our plans.
The city of Bolga is significantly larger than Nalerigu, though smaller than Tamale. One of the missionary families at the hospital graciously let us borrow their van, and we recruited one of the hospital’s drivers—Issahaku— to drive us up there, since we aren’t registered on the insurance to be able to drive ourselves. It’s about a two-hour drive over some pretty rough roads, and I realized too late that I had forgotten to take my Dramamine. I didn’t want to be knocked out for our whole trip, so I gritted my teeth and bore it. It was a relief when we finally arrived. The city is known for its craftsmen and their baskets, so after lunch at a local restaurant called Swap’s (I ordered pizza; Matt had goat curry), we headed over to the craftsmen’s village for some shopping.
The baskets come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, from big round pots to long breadbaskets to tall laundry hampers. My main goal was to find a good sewing basket for the quilt I’m making, but, of course, we didn’t stop with that. In the end, we had about 11 baskets and a stack of colorful straw fans. We’re hoping these will hold up in the Southern humidity when we get home. On our last trip, we bought some local palm fans, which kicked up a good breeze in Nalerigu but turned limp as rags back home.
You’re making a quilt???? That is on my “bucket list” to do when/if I retire.
Love,
Mama
Hey, I’m making a quilt, too! Well, I bought the fabric and washed it. That’s as far as it’s gotten! Are you making yours with the fabrics you’ve been buying in the market?
Hang in there on your quilt. If Lila can make quilt tops, I’m sure you can make a whole one. Looks like all it takes is time and imagination. It will be your quilt and there will be non other like it.
Take care of yourselfs,
Noonan
Wow. Sounds like I should post about the quilt. This is my first excursion into quiltmaking, but it’s going well so far. I’m using various patterns of the local tie-dye cloth in shades of blue and brown. My stitches are definitely improving as I go along, and I’m getting a lot faster. I’ve almost used up the spool of thread I brought with me, so I went to one of the local shops (picture a stall open to the air on one side with piles of random goods stacked around) this afternoon and bought another spool. I’m prepared to be very impressed with myself if I actually pull this thing off. It’s a combination project for my down time and keepsake of my time here. I want something from Ghana to snuggle up in when I return to the cold Tennessee winter so I can still feel the heat of Africa.
You’ll have to post a picture when you finish!
Megan, how impressive a quilt sounds. I love quilts, but they have always challenged my sense of patience. Knowing you, you will get the job done.