Day 7, back to Port-au-Prince
We woke to a wonderful surprise. NO WATER. That meant no hand washing, no showers, no toilets. There was drinking water but the tank wouldn't be filled for another day. Everyone was supposed to be taking "military" showers; this was a very hard natural consequence. Then we found out our van was broken. We were so fortunate to find another one to take us over the mountain because we wanted to spend time at Respire Haiti. Riding over the mountain was like riding the Wild Mouse at Lagoon for 3 hours. I didn't even dare look out the window or I would've been so sick I wouldn't never recovered. One time, someone in the back yelled "there's someone on the van". We looked in the back window and a young boy about 12 had jumped on the van and was hoping to get a ride into the city. This is not uncommon. All the Tap Taps have people on the roofs, hanging off the back or sides. If you can get on-you can get a ride. We, however, did not want to be responsible in case something happened and he got hurt so he had to jump off. Thanks goodness we had a few Haitians with us to get us out of these messes.
Respire Haiti:
A book entitled "Miracle on Voo Doo Mountain" is the true story of Respire Haiti. It was a powerful book that I would recommend to anyone. I loved hearing it as an audiobook because the narrator sounded just like the author (I looked her up on Youtube and listened to her story). Very briefly, a 24 year old girl felt she had received a call to go to Haiti. She didn't know why and only knew one person there. So, by herself she traveled there and this is her autobiography of how she exposed child slavery in Haiti and what she is doing to help the children there. It is an amazing story and we were able to tour her school and see what she has done. This only happened about 6 years ago. Pretty incredible how recent it was.
Traveling through Port-au-Prince was an adventure itself. It took almost an hour to go 20 to 30 feet. I kept thinking "this can't be happening". I was so hot and sticky and nauseated and tired . . . . and whine, and whine, and whine. There are more vehicles than I've ever seen. Most people ride the Tap Taps or the Moto. Motos are motorcycles that are like taxis. Tap Taps are beautifully painted vans, buses, or trucks with bed covers for people to ride in. Most are old, very damaged and look very uncomfortable. People "tap" the outside of the Tap Tap to let the driver know they need to get off.
Respire Haiti:
A book entitled "Miracle on Voo Doo Mountain" is the true story of Respire Haiti. It was a powerful book that I would recommend to anyone. I loved hearing it as an audiobook because the narrator sounded just like the author (I looked her up on Youtube and listened to her story). Very briefly, a 24 year old girl felt she had received a call to go to Haiti. She didn't know why and only knew one person there. So, by herself she traveled there and this is her autobiography of how she exposed child slavery in Haiti and what she is doing to help the children there. It is an amazing story and we were able to tour her school and see what she has done. This only happened about 6 years ago. Pretty incredible how recent it was.
Traveling through Port-au-Prince was an adventure itself. It took almost an hour to go 20 to 30 feet. I kept thinking "this can't be happening". I was so hot and sticky and nauseated and tired . . . . and whine, and whine, and whine. There are more vehicles than I've ever seen. Most people ride the Tap Taps or the Moto. Motos are motorcycles that are like taxis. Tap Taps are beautifully painted vans, buses, or trucks with bed covers for people to ride in. Most are old, very damaged and look very uncomfortable. People "tap" the outside of the Tap Tap to let the driver know they need to get off.
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