A long haul flight is a long haul flight is a long haul flight. There is no real sense of the destination. However, spending four hours on a coach ride from Puerto Plata to Haiti, really sets the scene. At least three times we thought we had crossed the border: the roads would get worse, the housing would look poorer – but the shop and road signs remained stubbornly Spanish. When we finally crossed the border, there was absolutely no doubt that we had left what we thought was the impoverished Dominican Republic. The armed UN guards at the border may have been there to keep people out, or to keep people in. Then again, they may have been there to greet the Haven Convoy! The ramshackle housing that we passed from the border to our final destination was testimony as to why all of us had signed up for this adventure.
On arrival we were greeted by two groups of children who welcomed us with singing and dancing. It was very touching. It was their way of saying welcome and thank you to the group. It was a wonderful arrival. After locating our housing, and carrying our luggage up the dirt tracks, most of us felt the effects of the humidity (100%) and were in need of sustenance. Thankfully, it was available and so over food and drink we talked about the week that lies ahead. Arrriving in the dark after a journey that for some was almost 20 hours, it’s difficult to imagine what exactly faces us tomorrow. Hopefully the task will not of the magnitude of the spider that was seen in one toilet!
The group is filled with enthusiasm. I like that word. I learned last week in an Orthodox church that it is from the Greek, en Theos – ‘possessed by God’. A pleasant thought on which to end the day and a hope that it will still be with us till the end of the week. Looking around at the group, I suspect it that it will just continue to grow.
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