If the first 24 hours of the adventure are any indication of the coming months, there will be no boredom in Bayonnais. After a 3:30am wake up call courtesy of the Fort Lauderdale Ramada, our group shuttled to the airport where we boarded an 18-passenger propeller plane bound for Cape Haitian in northern Haiti. Sleep was out of the question due to the din of the propellers and the turbulence which was at times terrifying, but the opportunity to watch the sunrise over the Caribbean through the clouds countered any discomfort we may have had. The "airport" if you will call it that consisted of a single landing strip and a shack with a tin metal roof. Airport security was not, surprisingly, run by the same TSA that made up throw out oversized tubes of toothpaste in Charlotte.
The ground itinerary to Bayonnais began with a drive through the city of Cape Hatian, which I found to be unsurprisingly poor and unkept; it was an eye-opening experie
nce nonetheless. The ensuing journey through the smaller towns, pastures, and mountains was more aesthetically pleasing although our entourage had us stop frequently when it appeared that some of the traveling merchants may have some desireable produce. Hot and exhausted, the crew tried anyway possible to catch a minutes rest on a bumpy ride aboard an old American school bus. Finally, just before dinner time, we arrived in the OFCB compound where we were greeted by what seemed like hundreds of excited children. We soon overcame our fatigue. Dinner exceeded expectations and we slept early, resting for the full week to come.
The ground itinerary to Bayonnais began with a drive through the city of Cape Hatian, which I found to be unsurprisingly poor and unkept; it was an eye-opening experie
nce nonetheless. The ensuing journey through the smaller towns, pastures, and mountains was more aesthetically pleasing although our entourage had us stop frequently when it appeared that some of the traveling merchants may have some desireable produce. Hot and exhausted, the crew tried anyway possible to catch a minutes rest on a bumpy ride aboard an old American school bus. Finally, just before dinner time, we arrived in the OFCB compound where we were greeted by what seemed like hundreds of excited children. We soon overcame our fatigue. Dinner exceeded expectations and we slept early, resting for the full week to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment