Ouaga pix | africa-2011

And then we were in Ouagadougou. At first, it seemed unrecognizable, but I soon discovered that it was only a few new buildings on Avenue Kwame Nkrumah that projected an image of a "new" Ouaga. And while the city had expanded out into the bush and grown from a few hundred thousand to 1.5 million, most of the rest of the center, like this street near the Central Market, looked remarkably like the Ouaga I had left in 1978.	Looking down at the Ouaga market from the second floor
Solar panels and other household goods on sale in the Ouaga market	On the streets of Ouagadougou
Not so far from midtown Ouaga	Transport in its myriad forms
Boutique Oubda	One of my best friends in Ouaga in 1977 and 1978 was Dougoutigi, a musician who made a balafon for me. One of the highlights of the trip was to see him again after 33 years.
Dougoutigi and me	Dougoutigi's son Dramane and several others hanging around spontaneously picked up a few instruments and started playing for us.
Dramane, with Pat on the back of his scooter, on the way to Dougoutigi's house on the outskirts of Ouaga	Dougoutigi and family
Pat had a pair of sandals made to order in the Ouaga market. The shoemaker is about to glue the sole on after making some adjustments to ensure a good fit.	When we returned to Ouaga after our trip to Bobo, I went to say goodbye to Dougoutigi. He pulled down a balafon and started playing, and of course, all the guys soon joined in.