Friday before we leave

Our packing party went fairly smooth but we have too much to bring along. I have shipped another 131 pound of medications and supplies via UPS and Lynx air. They should arrive during our second week of the clinic. The cost was $ 353.32.

It was exciting to meet the team members again. We have several new team members and that will be fun. There is a news flash: We will NOT be flying from Port-Au-Prince (PAP) to Jacmel when we arrive. Due to the schedule change at American Airlines, we arrive too late into PAP to make the connection on the small planes to Jacmel. There are no landing lights at Jacmel airport and flying over the mountains at night is not a good idea when we fly so low over them in the daylight. So, instead of spending the first night at Wall’s Guest House, the plan is to bus us over the route. he picture at the top is an example of a typical bus in Haiti. They are quite colorful. To look on the map the distance is 75 miles. However, due to road conditions and winding mountain roads the distance is somewhat longer and slower. This will give the people who have never seen the countryside, a good look at living conditions in PAP and the villages along the way. It will also be scenic and a little scary as we round the mountain roads.That will be just another part of the Haitian experience. I hope all remember to make a potty stop at the PAP airport as there are no stops along the way. We took this trip in 2004 and had a flat tire along the way. We lost a lot of time with that. The girls ducked into the bushes and surprise: the bushes were filled with people passing by. Now you know why we carry our own toilet paper. This is just some of the amazing facts I have to share to share with you.

Emails are flying hot and heavy between the team and Papa Dick in Haiti with questions galore. Dick wrote today about treating a 14 month old for diarrhea: ”What do we have here for that?”

I’ll try to have more to post on Monday. Our forcast is for temperatures no higher than 10 degrees Fahrenheit which, I think, is -13 degrees Celsius. BRRR! It will be cold loading the bus for O’Hare at midnight on Monday!