Waiting to Depart

Weekend trips to Lagonav usually mean a trip over on the ferry.  Saturday is something of an off day and no one seems in a rush to depart Carries.  It seems that no matter what time I arrive I end up waiting a couple hours before the ferry is leaving the wharf.  Not only do we wait for the people to get onboard, but there is lots of cargo to put on the boat.  And that means a lot of negotiating to transport sodas, fuel, cabbages, boxed chicken and a myriad of other items that people need on the island.

The wharf is full of people.  Some are traveling on the boats to Lagonav.  Others are selling - bananas, mangoes, sunglasses, drinks or a myriad of other items.  You can tell the veteran salespeople who are successful at what they do.  They come right onto the boat trying to convince you that you need this bar of soap.  Other are not selling anything.  The the older gentleman in the picture at left is a street preacher.  He slowly makes his way beside the ferry with his cane as support.  Then he begins to call people to believe on Christ.  I appreciate the reminders they give people though I am happy he is not using a megaphone like some!

When traveling in Haiti there is always lots of time.  The ferry is not leaving until all the cargo has been loaded on and it is full.  These ladies are using the downtime to shell peas.  They talk as they take the peas out of the pod and put them into a large bowl.  They will sell them in the market in Anse-a-Galets or maybe in the small village they are traveling home to in the mountains.  They are surrounded by all the other goods for commerce.  The ferry is loaded down with bags of chips, chairs, sacks of produce.

It generally isn't before 2PM that we come into the protected waters inside the reef off Lagonav.  The guys working on the boat have some downtime during the trip but now it will get busy.  Everyone wants off as quickly as possible.  The passengers push their way through.  Boxes are loaded right off the side of the boat.  The motorcycle taxi guys block the way off the boat.  The slow pace of the crossing gives way to the rush to get home.  And I am at my home, at least for the next couple days.

If Saturday is a travel day, Sunday is more restful.  More traveling by ATV gets me to the churches I am visiting.  Thankfully most of the worship services start early so they can finish before the heat of the day.  It is always a privilege to worship with the brothers and sisters on Lagonav.  While the songs are often sung pretty slowly, they are sometimes livened up a little with tambourine and drums.  This is one of my favorite photos I have taken in a while - can you believe the little boys are sleeping through the singing!