Goodbye Thomas!

Me at Sodo Falls,
Bernice and me
Karen, Fiona and me...

We spent the better part of this past week planning for hurricane Thomas to strike Haiti. Throughout the week we kept close tabs with frequent checks, preparing staff and making sure we had what was needed should we get hit. Fortunately, Thomas basically was a tropical storm that included a lot of rain here in Port au Prince- most of the day Friday and on through the night. No wind which is fortunate for those living in tents. I'm sure the western part of Haiti had a much much tougher time. Most of Port au Prince was closed down from about noon Wednesday for people to prepare for storm. Our clinic was closed Thursday and Friday. All team members worked at Wings of Hope with one eye on the weather at all times.

By Saturday, it appeared the worst possibilities were past and we chose to make an outing by driving to Sodo to see the waterfalls just over 2 hours drive away. I heard about and read about these falls and water for several years not and have not gone. Every July 14-16, Haitians make a pilgrimage to these waters, performing or participating in the voudou ceremonies and ritual cleansing. They pray for many things from financial assistance to health issues to protection.

There are 2 actual falls and and a lot of water is coming through there. While it was cold, it was very tolerable to sit in the waters rushing and swirling and spraying as it hit the rocks. We had plenty of help from the local guides and boys to help us climb up- and down the rocks between the two falls. I'm amazed at how sore my thighs are today!

History per wikipedia: Saut-d'Eau (Creole: Sodo) is a municipality in the Mirebalais Arrondissement, in the Centre Department of Haiti. It has 34,885 inhabitants.

Its name is French for 'waterfall', named after a large waterfall called 'Le Saut'. The area holds cultural significance in Haiti, to bothCatholic and Vodou practitioners. In the 19th century, it is believed that the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (or the closely associated VodouLwa, Erzulie Dantor) appeared on a palm tree there. A French priest, afraid of the superstition this would inspire, cut the tree down, but it nonetheless became an important religious destination for Haitians, akin to the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico.

Annually, the falls are the site of a large, important religious pilgrimage, during the festival of Our Lady of Carmel, from July 14–16. A Eucharistic rite is held during the festival, as well as various vodou rituals, but the penultimate devotional activity is bathing in the waters of the falls, and asking favors of the Virgin or Erzulie. The water is also sacred to the lwa Damballah and Ayida Wedo, the book The Serpent and the Rainbow is named for their appearance at this site.

After supper last night we went to the Montana Hotel- Much of this hotel crumbled in the earthquake killing many Canadians and others and memories of many visits there over the years came flooding in. A few tears were shed at the site and it was bit overwhelming at first - everyone on teams past have their experiences here. There isn't much left- the main patio area over-looking the city and the conference room center and a few hotel rooms. After a couple of drinks, some of the team members returned to guest house while the rest of us went to Karamel to dance the night away.

Today was a quiet day, resting and relaxing. A bit of rain but mostly very cool and cloudy. I made a couple of airport runs- 1 for pick up and 1 for departure. Some of the team members went out to dinner late this afternoon. Since I didn't sleep much, I stayed at home enjoying the effects of the climbing up and down the waterfall, wishing the healing powers were a bit stronger.