After leaving the airport in Chris' mini-van, I immediately noticed the vast amount of Haitians moving through the streets of the city. Men, women, and children of all ages. There were women on foot walking with huge baskets or buckets on their heads; some were on bicycles, while still others were riding with their families on the back of what we would consider a "moped," but the Haitians call them "taxis." It was incredible to witness as many as FIVE people all riding on one taxi! They were packed together like sardines with usually the youngest one sitting on the handlebars! They looked so uncomfortable, but everytime I scrutinized thei
r faces when we passed by, they were all smiling! ...And the way the drivers drove; I promise you ~ if I wasn't already a woman of prayer before this trip, driving on these roads would convince me to become one! Gary tells me, "there's no rules of the road, except when they honk their horn to pass you, get out of the way!" They honk their honks ALOT!! And they take great risks at passing! Another interesting thing to witness was what the Haitians call 
"Taps Taps." These "taps taps" are the Haitians equivalent to our American taxis with just one difference; you don't get inside a nice vehicle ~ you jump on the back of an opened pick-up truck and usually stand (with about 25 other people) as you hang on for dear life!...And if there's no more room in the back of the pick-up, you just stand on the back bumper! I am told that they call these vehicles "taps taps" because there is one guy near the back of the pick-up who stan
ds close to the driver and the cab; when someone wants to stop and get off the truck, he will let this person know and this guy "taps" on the roof of the cab to signal to the driver to stop! Fees to ride on a "tap tap" are very inexpensive and you can catch one anywhere on the road ~ just raise your hand and flag one down.
"Taps Taps." These "taps taps" are the Haitians equivalent to our American taxis with just one difference; you don't get inside a nice vehicle ~ you jump on the back of an opened pick-up truck and usually stand (with about 25 other people) as you hang on for dear life!...And if there's no more room in the back of the pick-up, you just stand on the back bumper! I am told that they call these vehicles "taps taps" because there is one guy near the back of the pick-up who stan
ds close to the driver and the cab; when someone wants to stop and get off the truck, he will let this person know and this guy "taps" on the roof of the cab to signal to the driver to stop! Fees to ride on a "tap tap" are very inexpensive and you can catch one anywhere on the road ~ just raise your hand and flag one down.Y
ou will notice that in many of my pictures, you can see a layer of "white dust" which makes the pic look cloudy. The entire land was covered with this "white dust" ~ it was as if you took a bag of dry cement and opened it up and its contents filled the air! Everything was covered with this layer of dust from the palm trees to the cars, houses and even the people. Driving for long periods of time, it was sometimes hard to breath and I noticed upon sitting in the cab section of our truck a few times, that Gary had to put the wipers on with washer fluid just to clear the dirt from the windows!!
ou will notice that in many of my pictures, you can see a layer of "white dust" which makes the pic look cloudy. The entire land was covered with this "white dust" ~ it was as if you took a bag of dry cement and opened it up and its contents filled the air! Everything was covered with this layer of dust from the palm trees to the cars, houses and even the people. Driving for long periods of time, it was sometimes hard to breath and I noticed upon sitting in the cab section of our truck a few times, that Gary had to put the wipers on with washer fluid just to clear the dirt from the windows!! Lastly, I will never forget the images of school children w
alking in matching uniforms along the road as we left early in the morning to begin our eye clinics. They were especially interesting to watch as the older sibling usually walked hand-in-hand with their younger sibling. Sometimes you would witness them walking single file, as the roads were usually very narrow and it was safer to stay to the si
de of the road. Believe me when I tell you the roads were narrow! They also were very rugged, unpaved and had potholes the size of a small car. If you are one that enjoys the thrills of a wild amusement park ride, you would fit in perfectly riding on the roads in Haiti! And if you have dreams of becoming a race car driver, then Haiti is the place for you to practice as everyone drives very fast despite the horrible roads!
alking in matching uniforms along the road as we left early in the morning to begin our eye clinics. They were especially interesting to watch as the older sibling usually walked hand-in-hand with their younger sibling. Sometimes you would witness them walking single file, as the roads were usually very narrow and it was safer to stay to the si
de of the road. Believe me when I tell you the roads were narrow! They also were very rugged, unpaved and had potholes the size of a small car. If you are one that enjoys the thrills of a wild amusement park ride, you would fit in perfectly riding on the roads in Haiti! And if you have dreams of becoming a race car driver, then Haiti is the place for you to practice as everyone drives very fast despite the horrible roads!
