To be continued..

As part of this current dive trip, I had to take a refresher course which involved some practicing in the pool. Even in 6 feet of water, I started to have the same issues adapting to the regulator. To make a long story short, it got much worse when it came time to dive in the open water. After several unsuccessful dives, I decided it just was not working and unfortunately, I had to cancel the rest of my dives.

It started as a combination of sea sickness due to the rough waves, problems with not having enough weigh to submerge and fighting the waves on the surface but ultimately, it came down to my not being able to convince myself that breathing through a hose connected to an air tank is perfectly fine and nothing to worry about. After all the variables were reduced, it still was not enough for me to successfully make a dive.

It goes without saying, I am very disappointed and I’ve learned an expensive (literally) lesson about my future in SCUBA diving. If I am ever to do it again, I will need a lot of practice and patience before attempting any more open water dives. It is ironic that my most memorable experiences and most disappointing experiences have both involved SCUBA diving. I’ve still managed to enjoy my days in the Keys with the other guys and relax and get in some reading time. It wasn’t exactly what I planned but I’ve made the most of the situation and life goes on.

Day started off early at 3:30 AM so we could make it to the airport for our 6 AM flight. Which would have not been so bad but we did not go to sleep until 11:30 PM. We were all pumped up about the trip itself so none of us really slept that good anyhow. Tried to cat nap on the plane in between reading my book but as always, sleep on a plane is near impossible for me.

Once we landed in Fort Lauderdale, we waited on B. to show up then jumped in the rental car and drove to Key Largo. I have heard about “The Keys” but never really appreciated exactly what they are. For those who don’t know, it is a series of tiny islands off the tip of Florida all connected by a highway over a long bridge. Key Largo is one of the first islands and Key West is the most western island, at the end of the chain. According to the road signs, it was over 100 miles to drive from the beginning of the keys to Key West. One of the bridges actually spans 18 miles across the “sounds” (bodies of water).

After we arrived, and checked in the hotel, we went to the local dive shop and I bought a new mask and snorkel. We have the option to rent all the gear we need for the dives but I wanted my own mask to make sure it fit correctly. I asked the lady for a mask that fits someone with a “big head and a big nose”. She didn’t hesitate and said, “This mask here has a generous nose pocket”. How diplomatic she was :) And to her credit, she was spot on and it fit just great.

That evening, we went to the “Encore” seafood restaurant. I couldn’t decide between shrimp cocktail and Filet Mignon so I just got both :-D Expensive, yes. Worth it? Totally. After we paid good money for the meal, we went to the grocery store and bought cheaper meal options to offset the cost of eating for the next couple of days.

For those keeping track, here is where the hotel is located: http://maps.google.com/maps?z=19&t=h&q=25.09650,-80.43650

Tomorrow is the big day where we recertify and go on our first open water dives. I’ve no idea where and what we will be doing exactly but I’m here along for the ride. Hotel has WIFI so tune in tomorrow night for the next update.

Now where did I put my speedos…

I’m on the first of two flights back home. After a good meal, good night’s sleep and a hot shower, I’m appreciating being back in the US again. My mother asked me last night what do I remember most about Haiti, good or bad? Interesting question. I’ve been pondering that and this is what came to mind.

Before I begin though, I want to answer a common question that I have been asked. We only really traveled in the northern and central part of Haiti so we never saw the devastation caused by the earthquake. From those who have been there, it really is bad and many people who survived are still suffering. I’ve spoken to missionaries that have assisted there and it’s the same stories as we have all seen on the news. With regards to the places we traveled, the people are living their day-to-day lives as they were before the earthquake struck.

As far as third world countries goes, Northern Haiti seems to be coping better than other countries I have visited. Sure, there is still poverty, unemployment, suffering and sub-standard living conditions but it certainly could be worse. The towns and villages often have their own wells with constant water supplies. Many of the locals are dressed well in shoes, slacks, jeans and button up shirts. There are lots of pick-up trucks and motorcycles on the roads. Lots of people have cell phones. I see the women and children carrying water, fruit and other produce on their heads as the walk along the streets. There are proper shops or stores with all the common groceries items you would expect. The gas stations may not always have gas but at least there is some supply of fuel. I did not see any homeless people on the streets or mal-nourished people begging for food.

As you drive through the more remote areas, things do change obviously. Maybe not every child is clothed. People bathe in the rivers. The food is all locally grown and sold at markets. But yet you still see lines of children on their way to school complete with their school uniform. The motorcycles are still running as they taxi people from place to place. Generators and solar panels appear so people can charge their cell phones. Families hang their clothes on the cactus fences so they will dry under the sun. The homes have four concrete block walls and a metal roof. Life is basic, simple but at least they have lives and seem content.

Naturally, one of things I won’t easily forget is the condition of the roads. It is amazing vehicles last as long as they do with the number of potholes, ruts, sinkholes, rivers and trenches they have to navigate for miles upon miles. A 10-mile journey to the next town can take an hour and you are constantly bouncing up and down and all over the road. River crossings 100 feet across are considered quite normal. With all the hours we drive, I only remember seeing a handful of road signs and I don’t remember any street signs. Our local Haitian team member would navigate via cell-phone. That is when he calls up his friends in different parts of Haiti to find out which roads are passable. We constantly stopped and asked people for directions just to make sure we didn’t get lost. Every time we asked our local guy “Is this the right way”, he simply replied, “Yeah, I think so”. That really inspires confidence eh? There is no concept of time. If you ask how much longer, you either get “half an hour” or “just over the hill”. Which usually meant you had several hours and many hills to cross.

Another thing that struck me is just how friendly and cooperative people are on the road. The only time a horn is beeped is to warn someone you are coming around a blind corner or you are overtaking them. Never out of anger or frustration. Motorcycles and trucks are jockeying all over the road but people still wait and let the other person pass when the roads are narrow. In general, everyone seemed happy and content. Little children laughed and waved as we drove by. Everyone was friendly when we needed directions. The locals are always willing to help. We woke up one morning and discovered someone had washed our truck during the night. Sure, they wanted money but we were happy to pay.

Given this was a mission’s trip, I’d like to close by saying I have a whole new appreciation for the missionaries in the field and those that support them in the US. There is no way we could have accomplished what we did without their help. The local missionary drove for days/hours to get us from place to place. He helped coordinate the food, hotels and was responsible for our safekeeping. The day after we got back, he is back to work helping the next missions’ team that just arrived. When we decided to leave early because of the hurricane, one email was sent to the US. From there, all our flights were changed, hotel accommodations were made and we had a rental car waiting at the curbside. Our team leader organized the trip and all the equipment so all my friend and I had to do was show up and work when needed.

For anyone that feels inclined to contribute to a foreign cause, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to coordinate with the local resources and those people already in the field. They know what the needs are and they know what it will take to get the job done. It was really gratifying to see all this action and personally contribute to the cause.

As we were coming back from dinner last night, a complete stranger asked us if we had just come back from Haiti (there was another team staying in the same hotel). I replied we had and without even asking what we did, or where we went, he started to thank us for our effort and contributing to the cause. He told of us of his brother that was in Haiti and some of the conditions he was experiencing. I’m not positive but the stranger talking to us may have been Haitian himself. Two complete strangers connected by a common cause. That is what this trip is all about.

I’m not sure if this is my only mission’s trip or the first of many to come. But I do know anytime I contribute to a foreign cause (Haiti or any other country), I will feel much more confident about how my money is being sent. While I was in Haiti, a missionary told me about the “Starfish Kids” program where they have private schools and children can attend school by having sponsors that help pay the expense. The program was named after the story of someone that was throwing starfishes back in the ocean after they were washed up on the shore. Another person asked, “Why bother? There are so many of them, it doesn’t really matter”. The person responded, “It matters to the one I just threw back”. I know this is starting to sound like one of the many commercials you see on TV but one person can make a difference even if they are just helping one person at a time such as the school children. In other words, pick your cause, pick a dollar amount and make the effort. Somewhere in the world, that effort will be greatly appreciated.

Seeing as we had confirmation we were flying out today, we ate breakfast, packed our bags then made a quick stop at the main radio station. It was my first time there so I had a chance to see all the equipment and the facilities. We did not have much time to stay so we really didn’t complete any tasks but more or less just killed time until we had to leave for our flight.

The flight back was much the same as the flight over to Haiti. During the flight, the co-pilot suddenly hops out of his seat and asks us, “You guys need anything? Water? Little Debbie’s snacks?” I said “Sure”. So the pilot rummages through the storage, pulls out an already opened box of little Debbie cookies and shows me what he has. He said, “Guys in the front get first choice”. So that was cabin service, a cookie out of the box. Better than a bag of pretzels and there was no charge.

We stopped over on the Turks and Caicos Islands for fuel. The waiting area had air conditioner and nice bathrooms so not a bad pit stop at all. The rest of the flight was uneventful and I finally finished my book so I was happy. Once we arrived, the pilot hops off, asks a couple of the passengers to grab a luggage trolley, then asks us if we mind helping with the bags. No problem. So I started passing bags down the stairs. That is the first time I have unloaded my own bags after flying. I have to admit, I didn’t mind at all. The laid back, personal experience with the pilots, is a much more enjoyable way of flying as compared to commercial. We cleared customs at the MFI airport so it was no hassle at all. Another nice advantage of flying through MFI.

Once we arrived at the airport, MFI had a car waiting for us at the curbside so very convenient. I offered to drive and off to West Palm Beach we went. While driving along at 70 MPH on a perfectly flat, straight road, it really hit me that we were back in the US. My parents were at the hotel waiting for me so we went out for a late dinner and caught up on the trip and the other news. I never really went without food in Haiti but it was good to have a nice meal in a nice restaurant again. Up early again in the morning to catch our flight back home.

Started the day with a surprise with a knock on our door and it was room service. We bread, water, coffee, cream cheese and canned milk. Not quite the breakfast of champions but it filled us up so no complaints. Given the early breakfast, we were able to get on the road early by 7:30 AM. We were heading home but we needed to make a couple of stops. One was at a mission’s compound / orphanage in Mirebalais to plan for a new radio repeater. That particular stretch of road was newly finished concrete so we managed to shift to 5th gear and reach 55 MPH for the first time since we left the missions compound in Voudreuil. It was a welcome stretch of road indeed. We were not quite sure where the orphanage was so we asked a local “taxi driver” (on a motorcycle). After much deliberation, we learned the driver sort of knew where it was but it was complicated and hard to find. However, for a small fee (about $1 US) he suddenly remembered and was able to take us directly to the site. Amazing how a little cash can suddenly jog one’s memory. While we were at the orphanage, we treated to a nice ice-cold glass of grapefruit juice. I can honestly say, I have never enjoyed a glass of juice as much as I did at that moment. It was the hottest day yet so it was very welcomed. Before we left, we had a local weld the brush guard on the front of the truck. All the potholes broke it lose and it was only connected by one side.

The next stop was a friend of our Haitian team member at Pignon to catch up on some business and discuss the world of radio’s and ham radios. Then we made a quick visit to another radio repeater station in Pignon to pick up some cables and see how things were going. With that being our last stop for the day, we started on our journey back to the OMS Missions Compound. On that particular stretch of our journey, we encountered the worst roads we have been on so far. It wasn’t just potholes, it was rock, boulders and ditches worn in the road. We also had to cross a river that was easily 100 foot across and water up to the bumper or more. We were not sure which path to take so we just followed the guy on the donkey because we could see how far the water was up its legs. We figured if it was good enough to walk, it was good enough to drive.

Lunch for the day consisted of whatever snack food we fancied from a small grocery store along the way. I had fig newton equivalents and another carrot / juice cocktail drink. Plus we finished the last of the food I brought with me from the US. While we were all hungry, we were more eager to make it back to camp so we were happy to eat on the run. I did learn a valuable lesson though. Slim Jim’s taste great but don’t eat too many as they can cause issues. The ironic thing is the only problem I had with food is the food that I brought with me. Another expression was coined, “paying taxes”. That is a result of another joke we made regarding cows, methane, taxing the output, etc, etc. It’s amazing where conversations go with that much time on the road.

At some point on the way home, we needed to take a quick stop and “flush the radiator”. That is another expression we picked up because once we saw someone stopped on the side of the road, with the hood up, pretending to work on the engine. However, he was really “venting” so the people in the back would not know. We joked that he was “flushing the radiator”. Anyhow, our driver kept looking over to the right to find a suitable place to pull over. When he stopped, we all piled out and began to take care of business. What we didn’t know was behind us, to the left, was a small building that looked like it was having a church service / congregation. What a sight, four white guys (blanc’s as they call us) “venting” on the side of the road in plain view.

Another interesting thing we observed are the massive bridges that are being built across gorges, rivers and other areas prone to being washed out. In order to build these bridges, the roads before/after are seriously affected with detours, piles of boulders in the road, heavy equipment just parked and blocking one of the lanes. We’ve been told that most of this work is being funded by politicians trying to “buy votes” for the next presidential election. Unfortunately, it is quite possible that once they are in office, the funding will stop. Another tactic is to erect light poles and give the illusion that electric is being brought to that part of the village. Once again, there is no guarantee that will happen so the light poles may simply be a ruse.

Speaking of electric, do you ever wonder how the locals charge their cell phones when they don’t even have electric at home? The more entrepreneurial use solar power or generators to charge a car battery. They sit on the side of the road and wait for people that need their phone charged. Sometimes, people pay money to have someone take your phone, charge it and bring it back to you. Another tactic is to have cell charges at the churches because they usually have a generator. Some people go to church, not for religious reasons, but simply to charge their cell phones. The people running the church realize this and offer this service intentionally in order to draw more people to the services.

I’m not sure how many miles we covered or how many hours we drove but it was a very long day. We finally made it back around 8:30 PM. On smooth roads in the US, that would have been a long day. But when you do it Haiti, on the roads we traveled, it was a very long day. We had some food left out which we warmed up and I was thankful for a nice half liter of Coke in a glass bottle. Yes, the glass bottle makes a difference. I knew they were available and I had been looking forward to that the whole time we were gone.

Originally, we were planning on staying a couple of more days to do some work on the local radio station. However, news of a hurricane heading our way has cut our trip short by two days. As far as we know, we are flying out tomorrow. We have not gotten final confirmation and we are not even sure when the plane leaves but we’ll find out more in the morning.

As much as I type in the entries, there is twice as much, and more, than I can’t just put in words. It has truly been an experience and given our travels, I truly feel like I have seen a good example of what Haiti is all about.

We had a bright and early wake up call when the roosters began to crow around 4 AM. That would not have been so bad but in the middle of the night, one of the locals decided to bless us with his singing ability and went on for quite a while. I swear, at one time, he was right outside my door. I laid there for a while then just got up and packed my bags for the day. We had breakfast on the veranda. Bread and butter and water. It was food so we were content.

Eventually, our ride showed up and took us back to the radio station. We were all very happy to find the solar panels were charging and the new power inverter was doing its job. We were able to run all the required radio equipment using power that was generated by the solar panels. The project was a success.

Next step was to get back to the main island. This required transferring all our gear to the Toyota truck as the Isuzu wouldn’t make it back up the hill. Then we had to wait on some oil for the boat. True to Haiti style, this took a while. On the way down, the driver had an interesting tactic for navigating the steepest decent of the ride. He simply turned the engine off and let the clutch in and out to slow the vehicle down. The reason for this was simply to save gas because it costs so much.

Once we hit the shoreline, we waited on the boat to arrive. When the boat pulls in near the coastline, all the locals appear to start carrying the gear from the truck to the boat. They do this in the hope of earning some cash for assisting. Because the boat didn’t actually reach the shoreline, they would carry us out to the boat so we wouldn’t get wet. When it was my turn, a local comes over to me and gestures that he is going to pick me up. I’m not exaggerating when I say I easily weighed twice what he did. Nonetheless, he managed to carry me over to the boat bare foot and all. I was impressed.

The boat road back to the shoreline was another truly memorable experience. I don’t know if the captain of the boat was in a hurry or if he was trying to impress us but he did not take it slow at all. All things considered, the waves were rolling pretty nicely so there were multiple times I flew off my seat and landed with a huge jolt to the spine. This happened over and over again. I finally found two handholds and was able to keep myself planted. However, the speed we were traveling resulted in lots of water spray. My whole back and rear end was soaked in seawater. Everyone told me, “Don’t worry, it will dry”. I’m here to tell you, I don’t think my underwear dried until about 9 PM that night. Five hours on the road, with wet underwear, is not something I recommend.

Things got a little iffy near the end of the boat ride. The engine started to splutter then eventually died on us. Mostly likely from cheap gas where they water it down to make it last longer. None of us were concerned. We figured they were used to this and they had a plan in mind. Sure enough, the captain of the boat threw the anchor out ahead of him then slowly pulled us towards shore. Once we reached the anchor, he pulled it then repeated the maneuver. After doing this three or four times, we made it close enough to shore we could climb up onto the dock next to the hotel.

On the way out of town, we stopped off to see a local missions school, K through 12, where each student sponsored by someone to pay for the education. We got a nice tour of the facility including the generator in the yard. The school produces its own power and sells off what it does not use to anyone that is willing to run their own electrical wire to the distribution panel. They have to maintain their own wire. If it breaks or gets cut, they have to fix it themselves. Words cannot describe the mess of wires wrapped around the branches of a tree trunk branching out in various directions. It literally looked like a plate of spaghetti.

The rest of the day was spent traveling to Gonaives. It took us 5 hours to travel approximately 70 miles. The roads were a little better today so there were times we managed to hit thirty miles an hour. It was usually short lived but we enjoyed it while we could. We arrived too late for dinner so this was a “back-pack” night with some added digestive biscuits and crackers purchased locally. We all ate a big lunch before we left the hotel so we’ll survive.

Hotel did not have quite enough rooms so I have a mattress on the floor but given past night’s experiences, I’ll have no trouble going to sleep. Word is there is no hot water so another cold shower it is. It’s pretty much been the schedule where we go to bed between 9 PM and 10 PM then wake up around 4 AM to 5 AM. We have another day of travel tomorrow looking at a possible site for a new radio station. If nothing else, I am getting a scenic tour of Haiti.

Woke up in the hotel, looked out of our door and lo and behold, there was the island across the water. I didn’t realize it when I went to sleep but we were literally right next to the water’s edge. After the previous drive, the water and the island sure were a sight for sore eyes (and sore bones). The island itself is 5 miles long and 3.5 miles wide. We later found out there are over 41,000 people living on the island. I had no idea before we left. Truly unbelievable.

We had gone to bed so early, because of nothing to do, so by 5:30 AM we were wide-awake taking in the sights. We posed for some “we made it” photos then showered and got ready for breakfast. It was a cold shower but at least we felt clean. Breakfast consisted of spaghetti, chopped up hot-dogs and sliced mango. Not your typical breakfast but good enough for me. I don’t mind admitting, I ate my fair share of mango. That is probably one of my most favorite fruits so I was very happy.

After breakfast, we loaded up the boat and headed to the island. We had the luxury of a boat with a powerful engine so it was quite quick and didn’t take any time at all. Any other boat ride, I might have commented on the rough waves but after the previous day, it was a luxurious trip.

Once we arrived on the island, the true adventure began. Our ride showed up in a small size two-seater 4×4 Toyota. Driver and one guy up front, four guys, all our bags, tools and equipment in the bed of the truck. At that point, we proceeded to do some of most severe off-roading I have ever done but it was not “off-road” – it was the road itself. The road was hand-dug up the side of the mountain. Truck was in 4 LOW just to make it up the hill. I’ve been on logging roads that were in better shape than this. There were several times I thought to myself, there is no way we are going to make it up that hill but make we did. On the way up, we passed mules, got over taken by 2 on a motorcycle, passed little children walking along the side of the road. The only thing more exhilarating is if I could have driven the truck myself!

We eventually arrived at the job site – radio 4VET. After 3 days of travel, we were ready to work. The equipment we brought was designed to use solar power to charge batteries than is then converted to 110 power for the radio transmitter. All sounds good except I had no idea what I should be doing. We split up into two teams. One team worked on the roof to install the 4 solar panels. The team leader and me worked inside the building mounting the breaker boxes, inverter and controller. It wasn’t long before I had the hammer drill and drilled holes in the concrete wall to mount everything. I even used a big construction drill to bore a large hole through the wall to run the battery cables. Nice.

No matter how much planning you do, you can never anticipate everything you need. Invariably, there are one or two common items that you don’t have and really need but have in abundance at home. Towards the end of the day, we established we needed a single bolt to connect fuse in to the main battery cable. The bolts we brought with us were too small. So we just needed one longer bolt but could not find one. We pressed on and decided we’d cross that bridge when we came to it. At some point in the afternoon, we realized we had an extra mounting bracket left over from the solar panel hardware. Amazingly enough, that single bolt was long enough. We used a nut from the previous battery hardware and we were set. We probably could have run the charging system without that fuse but we really didn’t want to do that so we were glad we found the bolt we needed.

The other things we needed were a calculator to determine the elevation needed for the panels; a level to make sure the brackets were straight and a compass so we could point the panels due south to collect the most sun. Just so happens I brought my Droid cell phone with me and I actually had “an app for that”. I had apps loaded on my phone for a calculator, compass and bubble level. The Droid was quite handy indeed.

One other issue came up. The trees around the radio station needed to be trimmed because they were blocking the sun. A local villager proceeds to climb up the tree, bare foot, and using a machete, trimmed off branches we would normally use a chain saw. There certainly is a technique in cutting large branches with a machete and he sure had it down.

Somewhere around lunchtime, some ladies from the village show up with lunch. It was a meat-loaf looking dish made with chicken (still on the bone) and cornflakes. I was hungry, it tasted good so another good meal. We were fortunate enough to have a cold bottle of “mango and carrot juice”. I was thirsty, it was cold, and so I drank it. Made a nice change from the 5 bottles of water I consumed that day.

By the end of the day (just after dark) we have just about everything completed. We anticipated the job would take two days so we were very pleased to have that much done in the first day. Some of the guys were still discussing logistics so two of us sat outside with the locals. After a while of ignoring them, some of the younger children got brave and got closer and closer to us. We would then turn around, make a funny face, they would giggle and run away. My friend then made a mask using his fingers and called himself “bird-man”. When he turned around showed the kids, they all burst out in the laughter. He showed them how to make the mask and once they figured it out, there was much more laughter amongst the kids. We then started taking their pictures and showing them on the camera. Before long, we had 20-30 kids around us all laughing and taking turns having their picture taken and try trying to crowd around and see the images. Moments like that are why I wanted to come on this trip. We had a good days work, made the locals laugh. Doesn’t get any better than that.

Another interesting item about the locals is they love to watch. The whole time we were working, there was always a crowd watching us. Some of them watched us all day long for hours and hours. They just sit there, talking to each other, watching every move we make. It makes it tough to “vent” when everywhere you go, someone is watching you. A couple of the more brave ones just started helping. We never asked, they never said a word. We would do something once, as soon as we put the tools down, they would pick them up and do the next task. They just mimicked what we did without saying a word. Sometimes they would start before we were ready but most of the time, they took over from us and we moved onto something else. They were actually a great help. When they were not doing anything, they would just stand there and watch. Half of the time, they were in the way and we could not move but it was hard to say anything so we just moved around them and let them watch.

We eventually called it quits for the day, packed up our tools and jumped in another truck. We were amazed to find there is a hotel on the island and that is our accommodation for the night. On the way, we encountered a political rally and crowds of people blocked the road. At one point, someone laid on the hood of the truck and looked like he actually passed out. Our local team member hopped out of the truck and helped carry the guy over to the side of the road. He simply acted like they were best friends, laughing with him and helped him along. Ten seconds later, we were at a large house converted to a hotel.

The room is where I am writing now. It has a bed, a shower and mosquito netting over the windows so it will be just fine. I’m not sure what the five-gallon bucket is for in the shower and I don’t know if I have hot water but that’s minor.

Word is there are no dinner plans. Looks like I’ll be “back-packing” it tonight. That means I have a choice of chewy granola bars, raisins, trail mix, slim jims and cheesy crackers. Thank you Wegmans. All washed down with luke warm water. The hotel has electricity as well so I may even read some of my book. We have to be back on the job site by 7 AM so we can wrap up before they start church next door. Looks like another early night.

One last update for the evening. Turns out we did have some food brought in after all. It was crackers and liquid rice. Yes, I did say “liquid rice”. It arrived in a thermos and we poured it into teacups. Then we just drank it and ate the crackers. Surprisingly enough, it was actually quite good. I even had seconds. Between that and all the other snacks I ate from my backpack today, I am not hungry at all.

And I am happy to say, I now know what the five gallon bucket is for. You fill it with water from the shower so if you wake up in the morning and there is no water, you can at least flush the toilet. Good to know.

P.S. – The shower was cold. But I figured if it is good enough for the gecko that was hiding in the shower, it was good enough for me.