Weekend adventure

This weekend Wilson and I went with four other teachers to visit the Citadel in Cap Haitien, in Haiti's north.  It was a loooonnng drive to get there, maybe 9 hours in total?  We drove for 3 hours on Friday afternoon and slept overnight on the porch of a medical clinic.  Then we were on the road again at 6am and arrived at the Citadel some time on Saturday afternoon.

Jill lovingly prepared snack bags for the road trip.  These contained chocolate, trail mix, popcorn, history of the citadel, riddles and a game of BINGO.  I wanted to share what was on the BINGO card because it's so unlike anything you'd look out for on a typical Aussie road trip.  We had to look out for:

1. a person cutting sugarcane
2. person with a gun
3. burning trash
4. person urinating on the street
5. rice fields
6. cow tied to a tree
7. pig eating trash
8. a Haitian eating a mango
9. four people on a moto-taxi (motorbike)
10. street market
11. banana tree
12. chickens
13. goat family

But what we weren't expecting to see was the drive shaft to our Toyota Land Cruiser.  

Josiah holding the drive shaft.

As we were passing through a small community we heard a sound... Nathaniel stopped to check under the car.  Out in the middle of nowhere we had lost the 4 bolts that connected our drive shaft to the car.  God provided a local mechanic and 30 minutes later + 1000 gourdes ($25 USD) we were on our way again. 

 Jill and Amber waiting for the car to be fixed!

The drive continued to be bumpy.  Nathaniel had to dodge many holes in the road... and I'm not talking about minor pot holes.  The drive was also  very windy as we curved around numerous mountains.  I enjoyed the change of scenery from the bustling city of Port-au-prince.
Attached is a small video clip to help you get the "feel" of it... though the ride looks quite smooth in the video!

I am not a fan of long drives; sitting with my knees pushed against the back of the seats in front of me, cramped in one spot for hours. But what was most annoying was not having a restroom for hours!! Princess Kellyanne could not cope with using the "bush" as a restroom... not enough privacy... too many people on a walkabout.  So  I waited til we got to the Citadel!

The Citadel from a distance.  It took another 45 minutes to drive around the mountain and reach the Citadel entrance.

Apart from having a proper toilet... I'm sure you will agree that the Citadel was worth visiting.

Click here here for more pics of the Citadel, compliments of Amber!