May 30th- The long road back to Port au Prince!

I was up bright and early at 4:15am to get ready and get packed for the LONG trip back to PAP. We left the compound at 5:00 and went to pick up Pastor's cousin and son. As it turned out there were going to be quite a few others joining us as well! It was actually quite comical getting all the luggage and an additional 5 or 6 people for a total of about 10 or 11 in the truck with luggage... all the way to PAP! Quite honestly, I was concerned about the safety issues of having all these people in the back of the truck on such a long, bumpy ride, but to them it was "no problem". I have seen (and experienced) some intense overcrowding before, but never for such a long trip! To the Haitians, it was just a normal means of transportation to get from one place to another and they were thankful not to have to take a Tap Tap the distance! I did ask Pastor to drive more slowly though as I did not want anyone flying out of the truck! And so began the 4 wheeling adventure back to PAP.

It is quite beautiful overlooking the ocean and following the coastline. We passed through small villages literally located on the beach areas with people living in thatch huts.

At one point, there was a group of "fishermen" who were returning from a morning of fishing. Pastor stopped to talk to them. I think there were about 6 of them and the youngest was holding a box. Inside were 4 little fish that looked in pretty rough shape at that point. The days catch I gathered. In their village, they fish for the community. All the proceeds from selling the fish go into a common pot and it is distributed evenly throughout the community. The other businesses do the same, this ensures that the more vulnerable members of the group are taken care of adequately. Pastor invited these young men to ride in the truck to their destination about 5 or so miles up the road...so...6 more hopped into the back of the truck to make it now about 17 bumping along the potholed, eroded, dusty, road.

As I have already described challenges with the drive in previous blogs...lets just say, it was the same going back! We did have one minor problem which thankfully the Lord intervened for us. Part of the front bumper had become detached (I'm surprised more pieces did not fall off!) and someone in the back noticed it. We happened to be going through a village and stopped right in front of a "repair shop"! A quick negotiation, alittle welding and noone would ever know the difference! We were on our way again in about 1/2 hour!

We drove by the areas where rice was being dried in the sun on cement slabs or sometimes just sheets. The salt mines are quite interesting as they allow the ocean water to come in and then drain it. As it dries they gather the salt. Once we were closer to PAP, we stopped along the road by the ocean and broke open a watermelon that had been brought along. It was SO GOOD!!! and I was able to rinse my hands in the ocean, what a treat! Eventually we made it to the locations were all the other passengers were going. I asked Pastor how these folks were going to get back to Bombarde and he said they would find a way. I realized that this is kind of the Haitian way...take the opportunities now while they are available and figure out the rest later!

Eventually, it was down to just Pastor Steve and I and we headed to the hotel where we would be staying that night. When we got there, it was beautiful! (Alright, I was perhaps a bit partial since I was looking forward to a shower, but really it is very nice!) The hotel is being built by a Haitian chiropractor who Pastor Steve knows from Fort Lauderdale. We checked in, cleaned up and I reorganized my luggage for the plane trip tomorrow. We had dinner in a very nice room and the food was excellent! While we were eating, the staff came in to tell us that the owner had heard we were staying and wanted us to have the suites! So...we moved to the upper level to rooms that had a huge bedroom, TV, furniture, and a separate kitchen area with a microwave, and dishes and a very nice modern bathroom! It was a great respite after a busy couple of days!
Tomorrow would be another busy day..so I got to bed fairly early and did not wake up till morning. I was very thankful that the Lord had protected us and kept our vehicle working well.