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      On Friday we closed clinic just a little bit early then we all piled into the land cruiser- Jay's family, Roseline, Chancela, Amberly, Lacey and her almost 2 year old little girl- Nyanna, and I and we headed down to Port-au-Prince. Luggage tied down on top. I thought our rig fit in very nicely with the other assorted loads we passed on the road. All except for the land cruiser with multiple goats on the top... we were no competition for that! Chancela and Roseline were going to be with their families for the weekend. Lacey was flying home for a few weeks to see her family. Jay's, Amberly and I went to Tin Street Friday afternoon then Jay had booked several nights at a Bed and Breakfast there in Port. We were planning to go to the beach on Saturday,  then I flew home on Sunday and Brianna had an appointment on Monday to get her second COVID vaccine. The bed and breakfast was a very nice place- air conditioned bedrooms, swimming pool, etc... Jay ordered some pizza to be delivered and we all got in the pool. 

     Saturday morning we went to a public beach that is close to the Wahoo Bay resort. From there we got on a small boat and headed out to an island. We have hired this same guy to take us there in the past and the boat ride normally takes an hour. Not today... we didn't realize how windy it was until we headed to the island. Amberly and I and the older girls all were sitting in the front of the boat, this lasted about the first 10 minutes. Then the driver, Fransisco,  wanted us to come inside under the shelter. The waves were good size and splashing into the boat on a regular basis. The plan was to go back a ways keeping close to shore then go out towards the islands and let the current help us get there. I'm going to guess we had been on the water about 15 minutes and there was definitely water in the bottom of the boat. It was hard to tell how deep it was because we weren't holding still. Probably somewhere between 1-3 inches, depending where you were in the boat. Fransisco guided the boat closer to shore, into some "shallow water" so he could turn on the pump to get the water out. I guess it worked the first time, at least partly, but it wouldn't empty completely. So we started off again. After a while the water was re-accumulating so Fransisco rummaged around down by the pump and found a container. It probably was supposed to hold a gallon, but the top had been cut off. He hands it to Jay and asks him to "bail water" out of the boat. So Jay fills it with water then hands it to Fransisco to dump over the side. They had a routine going- my guess is getting 1-2 quarts of water out each time. This went on until we nearly got tangled in a lobster net. While trying to avoid that Fransisco lost hold of the container they were using to bail. We turned around and tried to get it but it was too deep already, we couldn't reach it. We headed back toward the island again, but now Fransisco hands Jay a quart size container- the bottom has been cut out AND it is missing the lid, and wants Jay to continue to bail... I am guessing that now each time he is dumping 1-2 cups of water because it is a small container, plus he has to hold it just right so his hand can cover the place where the lid is supposed to be. By this time I wasn't sure the island and another attempt at snorkeling was worth it. Actually, I had already wondered if this trip was worth it several times. It was definitely the most eventful boat ride I have ever taken. I also was wondering exactly how much gas this guy had, I have been on a boat ride in Haiti before where we ran out of gas. But we kept on.  Slowly but surely the island was getting closer and the shoreline was fading from view. The place where we go snorkeling was on the side of the island that shouldn't have high waves with the direction the wind was blowing so we were still hopeful about that. When we arrived, the water was beautiful. No big waves at all. Amberly and I went snorkeling first while Jay's took the girls to the other side of the island where there was a sandy, shallow place for the girls to play in the water. It took me a long time to be able to breathe with the snorkel but I did it! I wore a life jacket and didn't go out as far as the rest did but I saw some pretty fish, coral, and a couple other creatures I couldn't identify. Also some H.U.G.E. sea urchins! My guess is their spikes were 6-8 inches long. After a while Amberly and I went  and played in the water with the younger girls while Jay, Brianna, and Lydia went snorkeling. Lydia caught on to the whole breathing through the snorkel technique and really enjoyed it this time! The boat ride back to the public beach was totally peaceful, no big waves at all. It is amazing how much difference a little bit of wind makes! The beach wasn't crowded at all so we stayed there a while longer. A man who was there on the beach beside us went out in the water just a little ways and was bringing in starfish. He had 18-20 live starfish in a very short amount of time. They were beautiful! He put them on the rocks there on the beach and we watched them a while. After a while they started slowly moving back towards the water. They are almost creepy looking when they move, using all of their many, many suction cups to inch their way back into the ocean. When we left the guy said he was going to sell them. We ordered Chinese food for supper on the way back to the bed and breakfast.

     Sunday morning we went to church in Blanchard then went to Vol for a quick lunch before I needed to be at the airport. I was looking forward to Haitian rice and beans one more time before I came home but was sadly disappointed.  They had rice and beans, but it was the rice that is fermented. So far I am unable to enjoy rice cooked that way. I got my COVID test done there at the airport and left at 4 pm. I had a layover in Miami then got in to RDU at 10:35 pm. Some of my friends picked me up and I got to my house a little after 12:30. 

     Now the question is... should I go back to help out at the clinic for a few more weeks? Currently there is no one there to take my place. There is a girl who can hopefully go in January but until then- the clinic will have to limit the number of patients they see some days. Jay will probably be able to fill in some days but he won't be able to be there every day. I need to work a few shifts, talk to my boss, etc... to see if I can get something worked out- unless there is another volunteer...