Leaving our first site of the day, we headed back to the main dock of Tortuga Island. We were on a two week long trip in Haiti, completing seismic assessments of child development centers. The water we traveled over in the Canal de la Tortue seemed just as clear as the cloudless sky. Our motor had puttered on and off before, so nothing seemed to be out of the norm. Somewhere between the multiple attempts to restart it and one of the crew jumping off the boat with a gas can, us non-Haitin Crole speaking travelers realized we had ran out of gas.
So there we were, stuck on a boat, in an incredibly picturesque area of the world. I suppose we could have started to get upset about the situation, but it seemed better to enjoy it. It was around 90 degrees outside, so I was obviously considering the cultural implications of taking a swim in my undies. Thankfully, the guitalele, little Fredrick had made the trip, so we all took turns passing him around.
From L to R: David (holding lil Fredrick), Denis, Luke, the two deck hands, myself… also Mitchel’s knee in the front.
The man returned to the boat with the canister full of fuel, which had become a commodity in the current political climate. The engine turned over and we were off to the next site. Arriving back at the main dock on the island, a number of locals speed up on their motos, hoping to make some money, giving the white people ride. Denis, Luke and myself hopped onto the back of the bikes and headed to the top of the island. Mitchel and David made a visit to a closer site.
We completed our site visit and headed back down the mountain to David and Mitchel’s site. Fresh coconut water straight from the coconut was waiting for us when we arrived. There was still the 5 mile Canal de la Torte crossing through 5 foot waves left before we could finish our day. Thankfully, we did not run out of gas!
for my friends who are moms 