November 1st is a holiday here in Haiti. All schools, government offices and most businesses are closed for the next couple of days. Today is All Saints Day. We took some of the younger children here at Coram Deo out for a drive to the Dominican border. Manu wanted to see the "door to the country". The Grise River is no longer in flood stage by the Tabarre bridge.
Water is still flowing but a whole lot less than a week ago.
We expected to have a leisurely drive out in the countryside. It was not to be :) Notice the journalist filming something in front....
These 2 children are watching the situation up ahead.
We encountered a very wet road near Bonnette. We just followed the vehicles in front of us.
Water and mud were along the side of the road. The man with the stick is plodding his way through.
People standing under the shade of a tree were watching what was taking place ahead.
A very flooded road is what was ahead :)
Pedestrians were wading through the water covering the road.
We got a good splash from this dump truck as it passed us... sort of like a wave hit the door :)
We were wondering how far we had to drive down the road/river.
People were wading carrying their shoes with them as they walked the flooded road.
Down this side street/river people were wading almost up to the waist in water!
I felt sorry for this man standing at the side of the road holding a stick in water up to his knees.
Homes in the area had yards filled with water and mud.
Farmers fields were flooded with water and were draining to the road.
Agriculture took a big hit during Sandy's passage.
Even after one week (a week with no rains) things were still very wet and muddy in this area.
The Haitian people know that they have to manage with whatever disaster they are faced with.
We came to an area and a man yelled out stop! There is a hole in the road. We heeded his advice and followed his directions around the hole. This Dominican truck though ended up in the hole. Maybe the truck driver didn't understand :)
A good samaritan truck driver backed into the truck and nudged it out of the hole :) The Dominican driver continued on his way to the Dominican border at Malpasse/Jimani.
Barefooted pedestrians plodded through the muddy waters.
Another muddy/flooded yard.
This motorcyle rider drove through the waters and kicked up a wake as he went :) I wonder if the passenger got a discount price for the drive. Most of these motorcycles are taxis.
This was one of the deeper sections of road. I joked with the children and told them to be careful. If the door opens they will fall into the river/road :) I heard a click as they immediately locked their doors :) They sure took that seriously!
It looks like it will be a few more days before the flooding recedes in this area.
It was like a maze with pedestrians, motorcycles and vehicles picking a path down the flooded highway.
This bicycle rider managed well riding through the waters.
As we went along the flooding was not as bad.
And soon we were on dry roads again for the rest of our travel to the Dominican border.
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