Where to Begin...?

We are back in the USA after our time in Haiti.

I want to post pictures and my thoughts of our days there.

But, how to begin?

It was terrible but wonderful.

I think I'll group my musings into several days' worth of pictures.

I'll start with the physical devastation because, though it is awful, it simply doesn't represent Haiti at all. I hope you will discover what I mean as you follow the blog for a few posts...

(Remember that you can click on each picture to see it larger and more detail.

Just in case you might want to...)

Although the earthquake was over a year ago, many sights are of the destruction as if it just happened last week. It is very difficult to look at. These empty homes were once filled with families and activity.

The roads are especially awful and quite treacherous to drive on.

Our hosts were phenomenal as they bumped and heaved over rock and into potholes.

Sometimes they dodged electric wires hanging in the center of the narrow roadways.

Hillary commented that some of the houses look like they belong in MGM or

Universal Studios Theme Parks as they sit so crooked and bent over.

The Presidential Palace is the building I recall seeing in the news soon after the

earthquake occurred. It is huge, larger than the Whitehouse and was supposedly so elegant.

The demolition effort is slow because it appears to be done by a few men with sledge hammers.

We watched them up on the roof area. Can you even imagine?

Most houses in Haiti have security walls surrounding them. We saw this in Ecuador, as well.

Where these walls no longer are standing, efforts have been made to place piles of broken rock or other materials in their place. Not as effective, unfortunately.

Hillary and I ventured out on a walk through the neighborhood where we were staying.

Here she is right across the road from the house we lived in which is completely intact.

Do you see the palm tree growing at a tilt behind her?

How to haul off the debris seems to be an overwhelming problem.

Scenes like this are very typical.

The narrow roads are made much more so by the many piles of rubble.

Abandoned cars covered in dust and vegetation sit all around.

With tires like these, Hillary isn't going anywhere soon.

So, today's post is of the post-earthquake landscapes. I figured readers are interested in how things appear today. Please continue to check for more posts as I plan to focus on the beautiful Haitian people and the work we did while there.