We were all up early this morning… and ironically ready to go by 7am despite that being 5am back home. This may of course be due to the fact that everyone except Jasmine headed to bed at 9pm(7pm Stoon time)… and that Phillip not only made handmade grated hashbrowns, but also individual omelettes for everyone. Apparently the coffee was also some of the best ever tasted…

Our taptap driver Pierre Richard arrived promptly at 8am… and whisked us (as much as is possible given all the potholes) away to first the money changer… and then on a tour of the city, and finally to our 11am appointment with Dr.Michel Chancy (Minister of Agriculture). Unfortunately Dr. Chancy was held up by another government meeting, and so to our great luck we spent some time chatting with one of the technical advisors in his cabinet.

Based on these discussions, we ended up with some very good questions for Dr. Chancy regarding our role, and how best to assist the efforts being made in rural areas of Haiti in a sustainable manner. All in all, in was a very productive meeting, and gave us food for thought for setting up our next visits to Haiti.

After this, we went to see Dr. Giselle Poteau, one of the professors of Agronomy, and the apiculture specialist (beekeeping) with the government. Rick got to share some of his ideas, and get some feedback and where he would best fit as a mentor or sponsor for local groups wanting to start a cooperative beekeeping system.

At this point we were all hungry, and thought that since we were a long way from home, we should stop for a bite to eat… however, we had one more stop to make… the veterinary pharmacy. There Phillip, Jasmine and Rayna perused the available drugs, collecting the few things that Jasmine had neglected to get in Canada.

By this point, we were all in agreement, we were hot, hungry, and really wanted to avoid getting caught in the afternoon jam… so we headed for home. There we started to unwind, while poor Phillip slaved over the stove yet again to make some of the most delicious smelling chicken ever cooked… and he says he’s not a chef!

Anyway… it’s been a long but exciting day… time to relax up on the roof for awhile, catch the breeze, enjoy the company and plan for the rest of the week.

Take care of yourselves!

love

JMRR