Our first week in Port Au Prince

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It sounded like a fun idea to get out of Port au Prince and see a former resort area near the sea. Terry worked hard on making an antenna and re-wiring a radio for the College Universitaire de Christianville.

Little did we suspect that we would crawl along for three hours to go "17.8 miles as the crow flies."

Traffic in Haiti is intense, a river of vehicles flowing turbulently along until the inevitable "gros blocs". Miguel was our guide and took us on shortcuts and old roads where we were driving up to the floorboards in mud and sewage. The College wanted Terry to see about putting in an antenna for VHF . We were all disappointed to arrive and find mountains blocking the line of sight .

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The view from the school reminded me a lot of the highlands area of Papua New Guinea, but you have to experience the humidity!

 

On the drive home I snapped a few shots from the moving car, trying not to be too obvious. (Only one turned out, and if you look closely in the mirror, you'll see me in it.) There are crowds of people everywhere, spilling off the sidewalks into the streets, making driving difficult and noisy as Haitians are fond of their horns, warning pedestrians of their approach.

I'm glad that I went and experienced the commuting ordeal that many Haitians have on a daily basis. They rise early and catch a "tap-tap", which is a shared vehicle that goes until you tap on the roof to indicate that you want to stop. Traffic is bad all the time, and people are jammed aboard for hours even to go short distances. More next week...

click here for a link to Haiti's History

click here for a link to the beautiful Isle of La Gonave

click here for a link to our trip to Kabonal