In Haiti!

Well, after a long day of traveling, I'm finally in Port au Prince!

I woke up at 5:00 AM this morning and drove to the Fort Pierce Airport to catch my flight with Missionary Flights International. After checking in my baggage, I boarded the WW2 era DC-3 and the adrenaline finally hit me - IM GOING TO HAITI! I had spend so much time thinking about packing, US Customs, and the long drive that i didn't have time to get excited. We had a 2 hour flight into the Bahamas where we stopped for fuel and best of all - a Bahamian Breakfast! From there we flew 1 hour into Cap Haitien International Airport in Northern Haiti. As we descended through the tower cumulus clouds I was immediately struck with the sight of the immense poverty below! It felt like i was descending into completely different world, but I was stunned by the contrast of the beautiful Caribbean beaches surrounding such a poverty stricken nation! I stepped out of the cool aircraft and onto the hot humid tarmac. Sweat began running down my body and i felt as though i was in a sauna. I walked into the terminal and up to the immigration desk fearing the worst, but they simply took my passport and stamped it without so much as a glance at me! From there I re boarded the DC-3 and flew to Port au Prince. Again i was shocked by the poverty, deforestation, but also the natural beauty I stared at below. After we landed in Port au Prince, I was escorted by a Haitian security guard hired by MAF, and bypassed all line ups, and simply waved through customs. All 60 of our Rubbermaid containers, boxes and other personal items came all at once through the baggage claim area, so we worked like crazy to load it all on baggage carts. After showing Haitian customs my inventory list, and having a Haitian friend talk to the officer, we were waved through customs again with paying a penny! We loaded everything onto a large flatbed truck, and i experienced Haitian driving first hand - NO RULES! We weaved in and out of traffic, but were stopped by the police. The police officer argued with my Haitian driver and others in Creole, so i have no idea what they were saying, but I knew that the officer was just looking for a bribe! After a 10 minute argument, we simply drove off. We off loaded everything at my new place, and settled down for the evening. Its been a long journey - but Im finally here thanks to your support!!