A Step Toward Home

The journey home began at 5:00 am today. The public ferry was the means of transportation to the mainland. The hour and a half trip across the water put us at the dock on the mainland about 7:30. It was 8:50 by the time we arrived in the greater Port-au-Prince area and 9:30 by the time we arrived at Dan & Joy's house.

After some rest and lunch, we traveled with Dan as he visited some of the sites where construction is underway. In addition to seeing Port-au-Prince from different elevations, we also experienced an extremely wide variety of road surfaces (most of them requiring slow, cautious travel) and traffic congestion.

Tomorrow we plan to work on various maintenance chores around the house.

It's in the Book

Our current work on La Gonave has come to a close. It was a very productive week. All but 4 interior walls are up to 6 courses above the floor. The Haitian masons are well capable of completing that work. Further block work is dependent of sufficient scaffolding. There has been discussion about procuring same, but I'm not sure about the conclusion. I did hear mention of having a local carpenter build it.

As the schedule now stands, we are planning to leave the island for Port-au-Prince early tomorrow.

Welcome Rest

It was nice to be able to slow down and not feel guilty about it. We spent a couple hours at a Haitian morning worship service here in Anse-a-Galets. Although we could not understand very much of what transpired, the people were glad to see us, and Pastor Keno called us up front to introduce ourselves. We also shared a time of worship (in English) with the missionary families here on the mission station.

After lunch several of the folks took the Wesleyana out to the sand bar for some swimming and snorkeling. Some of us (me included) used the time to rest.

So --- it's one more day of work here then on to Port-au-Prince.

Footers to Walls

What we thought was going to be the last work day turned out be another very productive day. The moisture barrier and back-filling was finished by lunch time. The exterior walls are all 6 courses above floor level. The masons continue laying the side walls for the bedrooms. The two Haitian masons are quickly absorbing the counsel of Barry and Alan (the "brickie" from Scotland).

A significant portion of the afternoon was allotted to rest; the temperature on the back porch of the dining hall registered at 130 degrees F.

Since Alan's flight home leaves Monday, this was his last day of work. We've had a great time working and visiting with him. This week we've had 72 years of block laying experience on site (Barry with 30 and Alan with 42).

As it turns out, Barry and I will have another work day here on the island. Dan Irvine is scheduled to come from Port on Monday for a retirement party for 3 of the Wesleyan Mission employees. He has chartered an MAF flight for return on Tuesday. So not only do Barry and I get to work another day; we also get to travel back to Port with Dan.

Sun and Work

Breezes were blowing throughout the morning making the sun in a clear sky a bit more bearable. Block laying continues as does placing the moisture barrier and back-filling. However, there was no break in the temperature for the afternoon. It just doesn't take long for the beating sun to sap all our energy, but we keep going -- just a bit slower each hour. It was a another good day of progress. The exterior walls are up to window height; the interior wall are about half way up to the windows.

Rain and Work

The rain of last night carried over to this morning. For a while it looked like a day in the (hot) shade, but about 8:30 the rain stopped, and the workers began straggling in. It turned out to be a very productive day. In spite of the gooey mixture of rain, mud and dirt we managed to do what we needed to do. A few more courses were laid on the 2 long exterior walls. A moisture barrier was placed around the exterior wall and back-filled to floor level.

Can you believe we only have 2 more days to work on La Gonave. Sunday we'll enjoy a day of relaxation; Monday we travel to Port-a-Prince where we'll have 2 days of work before returning home next Thursday.

The Walls Go Up

Wednesday was a good day of block laying; the two short ends are now at 5 and 6 courses of blocks above floor level. A delivery of block was very timely; we'll need another couple deliveries today if we are to maintain the current pace. It is also a challenge to motivate the local laborers to keep block and mortar supplied to the masons and to have re-bar cut when needed.

We've been holding up well physically, but when 4:00 o'clock comes around, we're ready to stop for the day.

Block by Block

In spite of the heat the progress continues. The rains in the evening provide lower temperatures overnight, and the conditions for sleeping are much more bearable. We were able to mark the location of many interior doors, and Barry was able to begin laying corners. Another block mason arrived Tuesday so we should be able to make substantial progress as long as the supply of block is maintained. For now the block is coming from Port; that entails a 2-hour drive up the coast than a 2-hour boat trip across the channel. At the present time the Breezy Sea is out of commission with a malfunctioning starter so all channel crossings are in the Wesleyana. It is hoped that soon a block maker here in Anse-a-Galet will be able to begin making blocks for us.

Marching Onward

Why is it that by the time I get around to writing for this blog my energy has hit bottom even though it is only 8:00 pm. The heat has a way of sapping ones strength. By the time dinner is over we're ready to crash.

'Twas another good (hot) day of progress. As Barry and others continued laying blocks, I worked with some others to line the side of the wall blocks with plastic prior to back-filling the dirt up to floor level. It's really neat to see two North Americans working side by side with a dozen Haitians. Somehow we manage to communicate in spite of the linguistic limitations.

Another Hot One

Saturday was another brutally hot day in the sun. None the less we are making good progress in getting the interior load bearing walls up to floor level (two courses of blocks above the footer). The 2 long segments are 90% done; the 6 shorter segments are about 60% done.

One of the Haitian masons has decided I need to learn to count and tell time in Creole. At the end of the work day yesterday I was sitting on some blocks in the shade just cooling down and looking over our work. After the tools had been washed off and before he left for home, he walked over to me to say good bye and began prompting me to count. After a few minutes of this exercise, we parted ways; I'm quite sure we'll have another session on Monday.

Today seems to be a bit milder; late yesterday evening there was a heavy rain for half an hour or so. I'm thankful for this day to move slowly and relax. A medical team arrived yesterday; they'll be here for a week. Some of the folks have joined Lowell for a "ride" around the town and up the mountain.

A Good Day of Work

The overnight rain contributed to slightly lower temperatures (at least for the morning). Although the day again left us very tired, we are feeling much better than we were yesterday at this time. It was a very productive day of laying block.

The new guest house is 75' x 103' and will provide accommodations for 44 persons. Prior to our arrival, footers had been poured, and blocks for some of the load bearing walls had been layed. There are 2 interior load bearing walls running the length of the building and 6 interior load bearing walls running the width of the building. The initial goal for our 2 weeks here is to lay the blocks for all of the load bearing walls up to the floor level. At that point, backfilling of dirt can be done, and the concrete floor can be poured. Ideally we will also be able to continue laying several more courses of block.

We've begun to build relationships with some of the Haitian workers, and although our linguistic skills are poor, communication at an elementary level still is happening.

One Hot Day

The first work day is over, and we have survived. The site of the new guest house is in the direct sunlight; at noon today the temperature was 126 degrees F. Needless to say we are both exhausted. However, it was a good day of work. Several Haitians worked with us -- some laying block, some mixing mortar, some carrying blocks, mortar and water. We look forward to more of the same tomorrow.

On Time Travel

The journey was uneventful and on-time --- actually a little early. We arrived at the mission station about 1:30 and were greeted with the 90/90 climate as usual (90 degrees, 90% RH). After lunch Barry and I joined Greg (the station manager) for a tour of the work site. Much of the exterior foundation wall has been laid up to floor height. Most of the interior foundation walls are yet to be laid. A few hours were spent digesting the drawings and getting familiar with the dimensions for placement of doorways. Tomorrow we get to work.

To the South - Again

During our last trip to Haiti we saw footers being dug for a new guest house at the mission station on La Gonave. Since then footers have been poured and folks have been busy laying the block foundation walls. While we were there last March, the station manager had expressed a strong desire to have some block masons from North America come to work alongside the Haitians. Tomorrow morning a friend who has over 30 years masonry experience is joining me for a 2-week trip to work on the new guest house. Hopefully, I'll be able to post daily updates.