A Leisurely Sunday - NOT!

A Leisurely Sunday – NOT!

Last night (Saturday) we spent some time with the prosthetists on their last night watching a movie and visiting. Then it was to bed around 10:00 pm. On Sunday I woke up bright and early as the heat prevents us from sleeping in. Our showers run from 6:00 – 7:00 am and pm only. Time for a shower and to wash out some clothes before breakfast! Clair and I were hoping to go to the beach but our plans for a ride fell through. Instead we were able to accompany Dr. Bob and his wife MJ (short for Mary Jane) to Le Petite Riviere where they wanted to visit Marco, a dear friend. They have lived in Haiti for 5 years and Dr. Bob has been involved in Haiti for over 30 years. We felt safe to be with Dr. Bob & MJ Callaway. We were excited at the prospect of getting off campus and seeing a bit of the real Haiti. Indeed we did!

Our adventure began just after breakfast of spicy eggs, bread, and coffee. We then walked through Dechapelles through the open market to the tap tap stop. In the market there was everything one could imagine for sale – even pig entrails hanging out to dry! Nevertheless there were spices, fruit, meat, clothing, and many other things. We hiked to L’ Escale where our patients stay when not in the Hanger clinic as they await their legs, receive therapy, and become competent with their new limbs. Our patients were excited to see us. Clair and I are thinking about coming here in the afternoons to do more rehab if the patients get sent home early.
We then wove our way through the country side hopping over rocks in streams and through fields to the main road where our tap tap stop was located. Soon a tap tap arrived and we were on our way to the crossroads to Le Petite Riviere. We had wall to wall people loaded onto the tap tap and we were off. MJ told us to be sure to hang on! It was one of our first moments in Haiti were we were not sweating buckets! We enjoyed beautiful scenery, the wind blowing through our hair, and then it happened! We heard an ugly clunk and suddenly the tap tap began to waver a bit. MJ commanded us to hang on and get down. Luckily the driver was able to control the tap tap to a stop. What we did not notice that Dr. Bob did notice was that the right back wheel came off and went rolling down the road ahead of the tap tap. We all dismounted from the tap tap to inspect the situation only to find that the wheel that left us all behind originally did not have lug nuts holding it on! Or, perhaps they had come loose! Fortunately, there were no injuries. Lesson learnt is to inspect the tires for lug nuts on all wheels before mounting the tap tap. We only had about a quarter mile to walk to the cross roads.

At the cross roads we took a moto taxi to the river crossing. Clair and I were on one moto and Dr. Bob and MJ on another. We told the driver “duesma” which means drive slowly! “Slowly” it seems has different meanings depending on the age of the moto driver! After a few minutes, we had to portage a small foot bridge that was about 15 feet above a ravine with a river flowing beneath it. It was quite rickety! Pictures will follow when posting my blog! Not knowing the way back meant there was no chickening out - we had to continue forward! On the other side we hiked down to the river where we had a choice of the barge cabled to an overhead wire or a boat where the crew had to bail water out as the boat crossed the river. We chose the safe route on the barge! When the barge reached the other side of the river, it was about four feet from shore in knee deep water. Several local men demanded that they give us a piggy back ride to shore! Clair, MJ, and I were then carried to shore. Dr. Bob decided this would not be the manly thing to do so he removed his running shoes and waded in! We then hiked up the hill to the town of Le Petite Riviere. Dr. Bob and MJ met their friend Marco. Clair and I were given directions to the fort and the cathedral. The cathedral was easy to spot and then we began our hike up the mountain. After a 25 minute hike we reached the top of the mountain where the old fort was sitting. We were provided with a glorious view of the Artibonite Valley. It is easy to see why the slaves chose this spot to place their fort to defeat the French! One could see for miles in all directions!

Clair and I hiked down the mountain in search of a coke! No cokes were to be found until we reached the bottom of the hill in town by the cathedral. We were so excited to find 2 cokes at one of the shops. Next, all we needed was a bit of shade. We were told we must drink our cokes at the stand. We eventually were allowed to cross the street and sit in the shade to finish them if we returned our bottles. Never has a coke tasted so good! When I returned my bottle & cap – there was much laughter! We did not want to disappoint and we returned everything!

We then met up with Dr. Bob & MJ, visited a short while with Marco. Dr. Bob saved one of Marco’s daughters many years ago so he and his friends are treated like royalty. Dr. Bob then led us off to the river via a more sane bridge and we hiked to the river barge crossing. This time however, we took the leaky boat back! I guess we felt lucky and the barge was otherwise occupied. We reconnected with our moto drivers and headed to the crossroads to catch another tap tap back to Hopital Albert Schweitzer. A very full tap tap wanted us to join them which we declined! When the next empty tap tap arrived we mounted and even had seats! We made sure to check that all wheels had lug nuts before hopping on! We forgot to tap at our stop and then got off at the main Hopital Albert Schweitzer entrance. This return route was different than our original departure route. The road is at a high incline and is full of rocks. Walking in Haiti requires that one look down at the ground so as not to fall. Looking at the ground does not necessarily mean you will not fall! The story behind the rugged roads is that the original folks who built the hospital wanted to keep tourists away and keep the hospital for the local people who needed it most. The roads were never graded or paved. Yet, it is a challenge to gain access to the hospital!

After our four hour adventure, we made it home for lunch and had time for a dip in the pool! Next was time for reading and relaxation in preparation for the upcoming week. Next week we hope to go to the beach with a group of folks where we can rent a private tap tap which is much safer than the public one! Even though we did not make it to the beach for swimming and lobsters cooked at Club Indigo (the popular beach), we had a most interesting adventure – one that we would not want to have missed. In Haiti it is always good to have plan A, B, C, and D!!!