Our Kawasaki Mule has finally arrived at its final destination. On Monday Ben drove the Mule the short distance to the wharf to load it onto a boat and accompany it to Lagonav. It was a perfect day – the sun was hidden behind the clouds and the sea was calm.
The first step was to get down onto the dock in order to load the Mule onto the sailboat. Once down on the wharf up comes the Port Authority employee. “Sorry sir, you can bring that vehicle down on to the wharf without authority.” Great! After some discussion we proceeded to the private dock next door where we often see trucks being loaded onto the boat.
More problems. They wanted 500 gourdes ($12 US) just to get in the gate and down to the water. They would not negotiate, but the captain of the boat we were going to use agreed to lower his price. They were also loading on a small Toyota pickup on another sailboat. They went first – and nearly put the truck into the ocean. Lots of yelling, squealing tires and it was finally loaded and tied down.
Next it was my turn. With the Mule in 4WD and the differential locked it was actually easy to get it onboard. Front wheels, up on the back and she was across the back deck and tied down.
Next problem. The Port Authority guys were back trying to get money for embarking the Mule to Lagonav. They were claiming I owed 750 gourdes ($18 US)for import taxes. Wow, anything to try to get a buck. I argued with them for a while telling them this was a private dock, and since they had blocked me from the public dock in the first place there was no way I was paying. Then I got the Haitians from the sailboat on my side. They chased them off after letting them know this was discrimination against “blans” and people taking things to Lagonav. Imagine treating the island of Lagonav like another country. No money changed hands : )
The Mule was loaded but the sailboat was not ready for the journey. First it had to be loaded with goods and people. In the end I was down on the dock from 8AM until we left just after 3PM. God was good in allowing some good cloud cover to keep the hot sun off. The hours were spent loading fruits, metal beds, empty 5 gallon bottles, lots of plantain. Add to all that about 150 people and we were ready to go.
The actual crossing was uneventful. The water was calm and we arrived in Ansagale just before dark. Since the dock there is higher off the water I had to wait until all the people and goods were offloaded. Once the boat had risen closer to the level of the dock I drove off and to its home at the Wesleyan compound.
More adventure awaited the next morning. It rained all night long (unusual for this time of year) and then the wind picked up. Down on the ferry we waited for clearance from the Maritime Authority to leave. After a few hours of waiting no boats were going to leave. I was stuck on Lagonav for an extra day. Arrival home was this morning after a very wet ride on the flyboat. It is good to be home and just in time for Christmas Eve.
Thanks again to everyone who has prayed these last months for everything surrounding the Mule. It will get lots of use with the team that arrives on December 28th. From California to Florida to Saint Marc to Kaliko to Lagonav. The Mule has arrived and right in God’s time!
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