Deslandes, 2012- The 12 hour journey

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

So here I am, waking up in Deslandes, after a journey that lasted pretty much the entire day. It’s a strange and beautiful place- I had forgotten about the cacophony of the ‘screaming’ roosters that start quite early in the morning…whereby roosters seemingly from miles away call out, and then you hear one that is closer respond, and one that is closer, until there is one that sounds like it’s under your pillow.. They are incredibly loud, and persistent, but oddly, I can doze off to sleep again.

So, I’m up at 6am, and I heard festive music playing, so asked a young boy (because he’s up already, helping in the kitchen), and apparently the delivery guys had to stay overnight (they got here really late last night to drop off lumber & supplies), so now they’re up and making playing loud music in the field.

My favourite girls- who I share the compound with when I'm there

I’ve already seen some of the kids from last year, and have had a warm welcome- the best was from little Mimi, who must be just over 2 years old now- (I suppose she could be 3). She saw me and came running up to me for a hug with shining eyes- Mimi, who was afraid of me last year, who I had to work up to a point of comfort before she would let me hold her. Of course, my favourite Mimi memory was when I sang to her in Gaelic one night when she was being fussy, and she fell asleep in my chest.

Adorable Mimi!

So, I was to be picked up yesterday at 5am for this venture to the countryside, but of course, 5 was more like 6. So, my ride came at 6, and then I was dropped off at the place where Ospri & Mike were staying.

We had coffee, half a boiled egg, and a banana...and waited until Jim (the earth block specialist) was picked up, and then went off to quite a fancy hotel (the Plaza) for a breakfast buffet where we ate on the outdoor terrace.

From there, we went to the hardware store to ensure that Jim's order was correct (which was a good plan, since there were errors & omissions)- that took over an hour, I'm guessing. Finally, we headed out of the city, but traffic was brutal for quite awhile. The smog, car pollution, and constant smell of burning plastic...ahhh, now that's the Haiti I remember. Horns constantly beeping, and crazy traffic patterns....as in, anyone can do anything at any time! Motorcycles especially weave in and out of traffic, but there is also all kinds of crazy passing, criss-crossing, and turning around in the middle of the road kind of traffic going on. But the colours, the life, the excitement that I remember oh so well- this is the Haiti I love. Being stuck in the concrete compound at Grassroots is such a different experience. 

The colourful buses...usually with some sort of religious saying on them

Now THAT's how to load a pickup truck!

We had a few more stops to make, too...like getting gas and exchanging money, which turned into a bit of a longer venture than one might imagine...followed by yet another stop at a side vendor to buy fruit (which also took way longer than I would have thought! Second last stop was at a supermarket kind of store to get some supplies for kitchen. 

A flavour of the street traffic

We took a far more scenic route this time, following the seashore, which meant that we had to go on the long, lonnnnnngggg looooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggg dirt road that I have only gone on by motorcycle before- it's a rough ride on a bike, but way rougher in an SUV type rig (or were we in a jeep?) Going this longer route allowed us to drive directly into Deslandes, vs. having to leave the vehicle on the other side of the river, cross, and then walk a couple of km. We had too much gear to do this option, but it sure was a tough ride in a vehicle without any shocks (or at least, there's not much life in them), so it was an excruciatingly slow, rough ride. It was like riding on some mountain path, with gigantic ruts all over the road. 

When we were ALMOST here (no, not true, we were probably still 15 or so minutes away), we stopped because Ospri wanted to show Mike a tamarind tree= and of course, a local boy climbed way up into the tree to pick some fruit for us! In the meantime, there was a very young woman standing in a gate with three very young children- one babe in her arms. I asked if they were hers (in my developing creole!) and she said yes. Her nudy-butt baby reached out for me, so I took her in my arms, and she just smiled as she played with my hair and stroked my face. It was some fun! I adored that moment, and felt at home...home away from home.

The beautiful tamarind tree

Benitta made us a big spread for dinner, and after dinner, people ended up going to bed pretty early. It feels great to be back here, and I look forward to meeting up with my group later tonight. Given my late arrival here, I have arranged for someone from Haiti Communitère to go pick them up.