Last night turned out to be the warmest night in Jolivert and I found myself needing my little fan most of the night. I think I was tired enough that I slept well all night anyway. I think most of the team did so as well.
When we awoke this morning there were bags being packed and nets coming down….and definitely some regret that our time here had passed so quickly. We soldiered on though and enjoyed a quick breakfast before one last trip down the hill to help Dr. Kaz (the Haitian doctor) with the morning patient load….we only had 90 minutes to help today as we were on a tight schedule to be on the road by noon. We needed to be back in Port au Prince before dark.
We had a great lunch of stew and then finished loading the van…inside and on the roof. Once all strapped down, we said farewells to 3 of our translators, hoping to see them again some day….maybe next year. We then said farewell to our wonderful host, Blaud and wished him the very best as he prepares to marry in August of this year. One last chore before our departure, a group photo in front of the now famous M*A*S*H ambulance, and we said our final farewell to Christophe, the director of Clinic Jolivert and it’s remote clinics. It is difficult to be here any length of time and not plan your return even as you are just pulling out of the driveway.
We left on the 27 mile journey to Gonaives with our last translator and young father, Ancy. He was with us in case we needed someone to communicate for us on our first leg of the trip. I am sure going the opposite direction from home was difficult knowing his wife and 2 month old were awaiting his return.
We were all amazed when we arrived in Gonaives in just 2 hrs. Vanessa was not driving at break neck speed but at times I felt like she was definitely channeling Sorel….minus the Nissan Patrol. We finally had to say farewell to Ancy and wished him safe travels home to his family back north.
It was our good fortune to meet up with Kez once more….not only because we always enjoy spending time with her, but also because all the women needed a potty stop and the only place to get relief was her apartment. It was a cute little 1 bedroom flat and she shares it with her friend and their gorgeous and very friendly Rottweiler named Tortuga…”Tugs” for short.
After one final farewell, we met Patrick, who arrived by bus in Gonaives to take over the driving back to Port au Prince. We were lucky to have him at the wheel for the last leg of the trip. We made a brief stop to visit with the missionaries of Destiny Village. This is an orphanage in Pierre Payan where Vanessa’s cousin Darryl, who has been traveling with us this week, lived for 11 months with his wife recently. It was clearly a great reunion for Darryl, and the children especially, who cried out “Pappy” immediately when they first caught a glimpse of him.
After a quick ice cream and greetings, with a promise to visit them again on our next trip, we were back on the road to Port au Prince…no more stops until we arrive at St Joseph’s we were told, but this is Haiti and you just never know. As luck would have it, we made it all the way into Port and as we watched the storm clouds approach we were stopped at our first National Police checkpoint of the trip. It appeared they were trying to shake down the van full of blancs, but when nobody pulled out cash, they instructed Vanessa to get a new registration sticker for her van and let us proceed.
So we did mange to get to St Joseph’s just as the rain started. We got all of our boxes down and unpacked in time for a wonderful dinner that was held for our late arrival. The gauntlet of vendors had to be run before we were allowed to unwind but unwind we most certainly did. We had chips to go with our beverages but it has turned out to be an early night as we must awaken early tomorrow for our visit to the orphanage in Leogane. Cards games may have to wait for tomorrow night when ALL the work is done!
For now we look forward to seeing 103 children tomorrow at a new location for our team. Who knows what our future holds but we will keep our hearts and minds open for any possibility.
More to tell tomorrow night, our last in this tiny but big hearted country. That is all for now.
Love to All,
Adam