Hope in Haiti

Our friend, Winddcheley, met us at the airport in PAP and rode the bus with us to Les Cayes.

Bus station, Les Cayes Haiti

Unloading our luggage at the bus station

Our friend Philippe, and my chauffeur from Les Cayes to Wozye.

A vendor in the market.

Lunch at a restaurant in Coteau.

Today was our travel day.  We got up early in Miami and made our way to the airport.  The planes going to Haiti are always filled to the brim- overstuffed bags, group arguments over whether or not a bag is too big to fit in the overhead bin, women wearing often multiple hats still wrapped in the plastic on their heads.  Once in Port au Prince, we quickly bought a Haitian cellphone and made our way outside to the chaos of the day.  There are people everywhere wanting to carry your bags, give you a taxi ride, sell you water or crackers, help in anyway they can.  Our good friend Winddcheley was standing outside waiting for us.  He led us to a Volvo that appeared to be strung together with duct tape and rope and we made our way to the bus station.  There we paid our 400 goudes and were on our way- 4 hours in an air conditioned (!) bus to Les Cayes.  The ride was clamer than any I’ve been on in Haiti.  Perhaps sitting in the back of the bus and unable to see the traffic and people and animals and oncoming cars that we were going to hit, helped.  Instead, I got to look out the window and see the cracked and crashed homes from the earthquake, the endless market, the schoolchildren running home from school, the animals grazing, the motorcycles filled with families and bags and chickens.  As I watched all of this life stream past my window, the music played on the inside of the bus and the people sang right along with it.  Children walking by the bus waved and smiled at the “white”, the “foreigner”- and of course I waved right back.  The hope in Haiti is palpable.  Despite the hunger, the poverty, the repeat destruction- there is undoubtedly hope.