Fat Tire Bike Tour - NOT named after the beer...

Opera

Today was the only day I had actually made a plan for prior to arriving in Paris. Krista had told me about the Fat Tire Bike Tour that they did while in Paris and suggested doing it early on in my time in Paris because they did it late and unfortunately did not have time left to go and see some of the things more in depth that they had learned about on the bike tour. So I signed up online for both the day and the night tours since I couldn't really choose between them and they both offered different views of the city. Plus I also got in about 14 miles of biking total that day along with it.

Apple Store - Opera

The tour starts by meeting at the Eiffel Tower and I had to be there by 11. After eating my free breakfast of coffee, bread with Nutella spread, and corn flakes, I decided I had enough time to stop by the Apple Store near the Opera that I had heard about from Dan. I wanted to get an additional European outlet anyway - one of the ones I bought prior to my trip doesn't actually fit in the outlet. So I made my way via the metro to the opera. The Opera House itself is an incredible piece of architecture and I didn't take me long to find the nearby Apple Store. This is probably the coolest and most unique Apple Store I have ever been to. It  maintains the building's beautiful architecture and so does not look like regular Apple Stores. It is a two story store with all of the lovely Apple gadgets spread out between the two floors. I found my universal adaptor and realized that I was definitely running short on time to make to the tour by 11. I had to switch metro lines as well and ended up running from the metro stop to the Eiffel Tower - an addition to my workout. I actually made it in plenty of time because although they suggest getting there 5-10 minutes early, we actually stood around for at least 20 minutes waiting for people to come (you don't need to make a reservation for the tour) and getting some information. We then headed as a group to the Fat Tire Bike Tour office to get our bikes and start the tour.

On the walk over to the office, I met another single traveler from Canada. We talked all the way to the office. His wife had been to Paris recently, but he had been unable to go due to work and so was now taking about 10 days to travel some throughout Europe. Paris was the last stop on his trip before heading back to Canada. We ended up in different tour groups for the bike tour. 


One of the first things I learned was that the Bike Tour was named after the type of bike we were using - a California Beach Cruiser that has fat tires...for whatever reason I had assumed it was named for the beer. These bikes are heavy and not the easiest to ride through the city. And we definitely had a range of biking ability within our group from experienced bikers from Holland to people who had maybe been on a bike once or twice in their lifetime. People were from all over the world and the tour was conducted in English which was very helpful for me. 

The tour was great to get a sense of the layout of the city as well as to snap photos of some of the major tourist attractions in Paris with some of its history. It also gave me some ideas for things I would like to spend more time at later on. In addition, it gave me confidence in being able to bike through Paris. It is a very bike friendly city with a bike-share program called Vélib'. There are stations located within every 300 meter radius throughout the city as well as bike lanes throughout the city as well.
1. Eiffel Tower - built for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. Very controversial - Parisians did not like it but the temporary structure is now one of the most famous icons of Paris.
2. Napoléon's Tomb - by his instructions, he is buried below the viewing gallery forcing people to bow to him even in his death
3. Musèe d'Orsay - impressionist art museum of Paris within an old train station - houses a collection including VanGogh, Monet, Manet, Rodin, and many others

Napoléon's Tomb

4. The Louvre - the left eye of a statue in front of the Louvre is the start of a line of symmetry that runs all the way to the Arc de Triomphe
5. Tuileries Garden - UNESCO World Heritage site - stopped at an outdoor café for lunch and ate with a couple from Holland and our tour guide
6. Place de la Concorde and the Obelisk - this is the site where the guillotine was placed during the French Revolution. Obelisk is one of four obelisks in the world created by the Egyptians and is over 3000 years old!
7. Ecole Militaire - military school where Napoléon was educated
8. Rodin Museum - home of some of the famous Rodin sculptures
9. Grand and Petit Palais - built for World's Fair in 1900
10. Les Invalides - hospital for wounded military
11. many beautiful bridges
12. plus everything in Paris in between biking to all these sites!

Obelisk at Place de la Concorde

After the tour was done, we headed back to the office where I again met my Canadian friend. It was his first full day in Paris and he did not really have plans for the afternoon. Since we didn't get to see the Arc de Triomphe or Champs-Èlysèes up close, I decided to head up that way. My Canadian friend joined me and we spent a few hours that afternoon visiting the massive and impressive Arc de Triomphe. It was built by the order of Napoléon who wanted a triumphant arch for his army to march through upon their return from one of their many conquests in Europe. When it became apparent that this arch would not be completed in time for the army's return, a smaller arch - the Arc de Triomphe de Carousel in front of the Louvre was constructed for the army to walk through. Eventually the Arc de Triomphe was completed. Underneath it lies a tomb of an unknown soldier that always has a flame burning by it, much like the one in Washington DC. After walking down the Champs-Èlysèes, my new friend and I stopped and had some dinner then headed back to the Fat Tire Bike Tour office to join the night tour.

Arc de Triomphe

We met the group at the office since the metro took much longer than expected. This time we were in the same group and headed out on the night bike ride. There were a couple of girls on this tour who had actually never ridden on a bike before so my friend and I hung out at the back of the tour to make sure they did not get left behind or hurt (as I figured I was likely the one with the most medical knowledge and experience of our group). This meant that we missed out on some of the information provided by the tour guide, but still got to enjoy a beautiful ride through the city at night. We saw a few of the same things as during the day tour but also several new sights.
1. Islands - one of which houses the Notre Dame. Also stopped for Berthillon ice cream. Apparently several famous American actors have multi-million dollar homes on these islands
2. Pont des Arts - the bridge in front of this building contains many locks. People come to the bridge with their names in a lock, lock the lock onto the bridge, throw the keys in the Seine and share a kiss to lock away their love for eternity. One of these lock bridges is also the setting of Big and Carrie's kiss in the final episode of the series Sex and the City. 

Bridge of Love Locks

Notre Dame from the Seine

3. Academie Française - the place where a group of individuals works on preserving the French language. Because there are more words in English and new words are created in English frequently without a French equivalent, this group works on the French language so that it will not be overtaken by English.
4. Boat cruise down the Seine with wine - saw the Eiffel Tower light, crossed under many amazing bridges (including one made with the bricks from the Bastille prison), several museums, the Notre Dame

Louvre - quiet and beautiful at night

After the night tour was finished, we made our way back to the office and I headed to the metro to go back to my hostel for the night. It was an incredible day and I now had some ideas set out for the rest of my time in Paris.

Night on the Town - Parisian Local Style

metro stop near my new hostel

This morning I met my other roommate - she is an American from California who is traveling for 3 months around Europe on her own while her husband is finishing school. She recently had back surgery and since she had to take time off from school for that, she thought "why not travel - it's a great way to get in all the walking that my doctors want me to do." With the advice of her and my Swedish roommate, I got a list of places that I should see during my first time in Paris. I wasn't so sure about this hostel when I checked in - it seemed like a lot of high-school aged people, but after meeting my roommates, I am kind of bummed to be leaving and switching to a new hostel. The reason I switched was because my roommate Krista (from college for those of you who may be confused by me calling her my roommate since I lived alone in St. Paul) had recommended a hostel that she and Ben and Ben's siblings stayed at while traveling in Europe last summer - she said it was one of the best hostels they stayed at. Unfortunately that place did not have any available rooms for my first night in Paris, so I booked at a different hostel. At least the one I moved to had free WiFi - a definite must in this era of technology and constant connection to the world...

Sacrè Cœur

So I pack up my stuff, check out and make my way via the metro to my new hostel, St. Christopher's. While walking off the metro stop, I run into a girl who asks me if I speak English and if I am going to St. Christopher's. With a "yes" to both, we walk together the rest of the way to the hostel. She is from Great Britain and has been traveling around Europe for nearly 6 weeks. Paris was her last stop. We arrive at our hostel (after getting turned around at least once) and find that we can't check in until 2 pm (it was about 1030 am at the time). So we drop our bags off in the luggage storage area and decide to head up to see the Sacrè Cœur in Montmarte. It is this beautiful cathedral on the top of a large hill that provides an excellent view of the city's rooftops. My American and Swedish roommates from my previous hostel had both recommended going here. They were right - it was absolutely breathtaking. As I have looked at my picture of the rooftops of Paris, I am liking it more and more. At the time, I was not all that impressed as I thought Paris looked much better on the street level - which it does. You don't get the same feel of the city from up above as you do down on the streets. But it was lovely nonetheless. On our walk up the stairs, we were approached by one of the major scams in Paris - women with clipboards who want your signature for some petition and once you sign, they say you owe a minimum of 10 euros. (Another scam is men with embroidery thread asking for your wrist - they make you a bracelet and say that you then owe them 5-10 euros - basically say "no" to everything you are offered on the street in Paris.) 

rooftops of Paris from the Sacrè Cœur

We decided to wander around the cobblestone streets of Montmarte since we still had some time before check-in and passed by a man hanging from the side of the house. He was so still and so impressive that I took a picture. We stopped for lunch at a pizza parlor and each had a pizza and wine. The pizza was adequate - Punch Pizza is better as is I'm sure the pizza in Italy and the house wine was delicious! After eating and paying (tip is included in the price so what is listed is what you pay), we headed back to the hostel to check in. By the time I got settled into my room, it was time for me to leave again as I had made some plans with a friend of my brother's, Dan, who is going to school and living in Paris. 

Before meeting him, I decided to try and find a bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. This bookstore was featured in the movie Midnight in Paris (I didn't see it yet, but I hear the movie is all about the American authors living in Paris in the 1920s). It is the bookstore where the American writers - Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, among others - hung out and wrote at while living in Paris. Unfortunately, I could not find the bookstore and had to leave to meet Dan at a café not too far away from where I was searching for the bookstore. 

The café was in a very cute neighborhood. We sat outside and drank espresso - things actually cost more if you sit and eat/drink than if you take your food to go our stand at the bar to drink. We had never met before, but we spent over an hour chatting and talking about the most random things. Dan was going to meet up with some friends at a bar in Paris later that evening and asked if I would be interested in joining there group. There are several graduate students at the American University in Paris from the US that hang out together. On our way to meet them in the Bastille neighborhood, we pass by the monument at Bastille - the place where the Bastille Prison was once located and torn down during the French Revolution. We stop at the French version of a fast food restaurant, order some falafel, and take it to a nearby park to eat (again, cheaper to take it to go then to eat in). After eating, we make our way to the Bloody Mary bar (they are known for their great beer happy hour special...not Bloody Mary drinks interestingly enough...). The bar is small and you actually have to make a reservation if you want to sit and drink vs. just standing at the tiny bar to drink. We had a table for 8 and in all, about 15 people were in our group. There was no room in that bar for anyone to move! The bathrooms were outside in a courtyard that is surrounded by residential properties. I met a ton of new people and had a great time hanging out! 

Gare du Nord Metro Station

We all left the bar after several hours and several of us went to the apartment of one of the group. He had a beautiful apartment with a great view of the neighborhood. The renter of the apartment made a late night snack of some delicious pasta and after another few hours of hanging out and talking, we made our way to the metro to go home for the evening. I got back to the hostel just before 2 am and went to bed. It was a really fun night meeting new people and experiencing parts of Paris that I probably wouldn't have as a tourist. Great first full day in Paris!

The Inaugural Paris Experience

one of many parks in Paris

Oh boy - here we go! I did not keep up with the blog while in Paris although I took over 600 photos and kept brochures from every place I visited so that I could blog upon my return to Stockholm. I am now back in Stockholm and have some major catching up to do. So, here's the plan - I'll write a blog entry for every day that I was in Paris starting with this one - my arrival in Paris.

same park as above

I bought my plane ticket to Sweden with nearly two weeks of time before I actually had to be there to start my rotations at the Karolinska. I did this expressly so I could do some traveling in Europe. When looking into where I might like to go, I realized that traveling in Europe is expensive! Plus I needed some time to get things done related to my rotation in Stockholm so I knew I had about a week to travel and since traveling would be expensive, made the executive decision to spend a week in one place. I had narrowed it down to Rome or Paris and flights from Stockholm to Paris were cheaper, so I went to Paris.

Arc de Triomphe Carousel

Let me start by saying that I know very little French - not much more than hello, goodbye, please, and thank you. I downloaded a French phrasebook to my iPad and did a mini crash course on French while on my flight. One thing I didn't expect was to get lunch (included on the flight for free!) - it was about a 2.5 hour flight, and we got a full-fledged lunch. It was great! I arrived in Paris and retrieved my checked bag (I was able to check one for free, also very nice) and found my way to the metro to get to Paris. I flew into CDG which is a little ways out of town and had read about how to get to Paris from the airport using public transportation. One thing I have noticed in Europe is that arrows pointing down actually are directing you to go straight, not down one floor. It took me a little bit of wandering around CDG before I figured that out and finally made my way to the SCNF train station, bought my ticket to Paris and boarded the RER Line B. I had picked up a couple of Paris maps provided for free at the airport which included maps of the Paris metro system. It looks like a kaleidoscope! There are so many lines that traverse the city. Good thing I had about 40 minutes of train to figure out where I needed to get off and what line I needed to transfer to in order to get to the hostel I had reserved for my first night. 

I've been to the one in DC

first view of the Louvre

I made it to the metro stop near my hostel without trouble but when I walked up the stairs, I had no idea which direction to turn to go towards my hostel. The street signs are very small and posted on the corner buildings. I looked completely lost, and a nice Parisian man stopped and asked me if I was looking for the hotel in English that was slightly better than my French. I showed it to him on a map and he directed me to my hostel (I had been heading in the wrong direction...). I checked in, dropped off my stuff in my room and decided to hit the city. By this time it was about 6 pm. I ate the granola bar I stashed in my bag and went back to the metro. I rode it to the closest stop to the Louvre that I could find and got off. Paris is a busy city and I was immediately struck by the number of people and the beautiful buildings that surrounded me. The architecture reminded me of both New Orleans and a little of Washington DC but was on a much larger, grander scale. I checked my map and started walking towards the Louvre. On my way there, I passed through this beautiful little park where people were sitting on benches around a fountain or strolling through this row of trees. It was beautiful. I continued to walk and found myself in front of a French restaurant I had eaten at in Washington DC. After I took a picture and continued on my way, I was stopped by a man on the street who initially spoke to me in French and when I didn't answer, asked if I spoke English. He then proceeded to ask me out for a drink. I had no idea really how to respond to this as people in the US do not usually approach you on the sidewalk and ask to take you for a drink. In my Midwest way, I politely declined saying I would prefer to just explore the city on my own, but thanks for offering. He asked a couple of times, and when I kept politely declining and he kept asking, I finally said "No, thanks. I have a boyfriend." He left me alone at that point. 

The Louvre

A few short blocks later I found myself at the Louvre. I peered through one of the archways leading out into the center of the Louvre and caught my first glimpse of the famous pyramid entrance. It was stunning. This was the first of many teary-eyed experiences in Paris. Excited and smiling hugely, I walked towards the pyramid and took in the immensity that is the Louvre. It is one of the largest buildings I have ever seen and one of the most beautiful. The building itself is it's own art masterpiece. After taking several photos, I decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower. I could see it in the distance and again was in awe.

As I walked there, the sun started to set. I stopped on one of the many bridges that spans the Seine River and took a picture. It was amazing to be in this beautiful city and all I could think about was how much I wish my family and friends were there with me to share in the incredible views. 


It took a lot longer to walk to the Eiffel Tower than I anticipated and it was dark by the time I reached it. At night, the Eiffel Tower is lit and is an incredible sight. It is an impressive structure to see from afar and to stand beneath it. The lines to go up were long, so I just sat and enjoyed looking at it from the ground. Finally, I made my way back to one of the nearby metro stations and headed back to my hostel.

When I returned to the hostel, one of my roommates was there. She was a woman from Sweden who had married a French man and was studying physical therapy in France. She currently had a rotation in Paris and so was staying at the hostel as she did her rotation. We chatted for a while about traveling, medicine, health care systems in the US, Sweden, and France and finally went to bed between 12 & 1 in the morning. Overall, it was an incredible day and I could not wait to start exploring the city further in the morning.

Hej! (pr. hey)

My backyard view

Today was my first full day in Stockholm. I woke up around 7:30 this morning and decided to sleep a little longer then didn't wake up again until nearly 10:30! I did a lot of running around this afternoon - I had to go to the Karolinska Institutet to pay my rent, get my KI student ID, and get screened for MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus). Because I didn't get going very early and I forgot my confirmation letter (which I had to go back to Jägargatan to retrieve), I was only able to pay my rent and get my KI student ID. The student health center took walk-ins from 1230-230 only and I needed my KI ID in order to get screened which I couldn't get until after I got my confirmation letter. 

from my backyard

On my way back to Jägargatan, I stopped at T-Central which is the main transfer center of the Tunnelbana (Stockholm's metro/subway/light-rail system). The Swedish Tourist Information Center is near this stop and I stopped by to pick up some brochures for ideas for exploration during my time in Sweden. On my way to the Information Center, I passed a really nice running store and wandered around there for a bit. It's definitely all the athletic clothing that I love, and I didn't stay for long...I'll probably end up going back and buying some stuff at some point. Since this seemed to be a pretty happening area, I wandered around some more and stumbled upon a huge department store, Åhléns. In the basement of the department store was a grocery store and I picked up my dinner before heading back to the T-bana which was connected to the store.

My backyard view at sunset

The T-bana is a very efficient, clean way to get around the city of Stockholm. I have never had to wait longer than about 2 minutes for a train even during the slow times of the day. The places you can't get to by train (or ones that would require a long walk), there is an extensive bus network that goes throughout the city and my SL card works for both the T-bana and the buses. I get a chance to learn some Swedish as well since all the signs are in Swedish and all the announcements are in Swedish and all the people around me speak Swedish - well except for the two girls singing an American song playing on an iPod they were both listening to. It's also a great place to do some people-watching. I have noticed that most people use smartphones and most of them are iPhones. Steve Jobs's death made the front page of the news magazines here as well. I have seen no morbidly obese people and only a small minority that I would consider to be overweight. Most of the women wear tight, skinny jeans and almost all wear boots over their skinny jeans. A fair number of people smoke, but probably not more than I see when walking around in the US. 

Park in Söder - used to be the working-class suburb

Other things I've observed: The current movies playing at the Filmstaden (literally, movie town - I pass it on my walk to the T-bana station) are Midnight in Paris, The Help (called Niceville in Swedish), and Bridesmaids. McDonald's, Burger King, and Pizza Hut have all made their way into Stockholm. Tons of people bike commute and their are bike commuter lanes on every road. My walk to the T-bana is along a path for pedestrians and bikers only. Everything is extremely well lit and I feel very safe walking around everywhere that I have been so far. There is a park near my dorm that is also well lit and is a nice green space for walking/biking/running. 

Park near my dorm - very well lit at night

Tomorrow afternoon I leave for my week in Paris. I will try to continue to blog from there and keep you updated on my travels! Hej då! (pr. hey doe-ah)

Sweden: The Land of 100,000 Lakes

SAS version of Diet Coke

I have spent the past week attempting to learn some Swedish and will continue to attempt to learn more in the coming months that I am living in Stockholm. I am not sure how successful I will be - not only does the language have a difficult pronunciation (like English, several different pronunciations for the same letter with rules dictating which pronunciation to use), but part of the language is getting the correct intonation and emphasis with the syllables. That is the part that most foreigners really have difficulty with. I flew out Monday afternoon and had an “overnight flight” to Copenhagen. I lost 7 hours of time and in the course of a 7.5 hour flight, have now reached Tuesday morning. I slept a couple hours, albeit uncomfortably, on the plane to Copenhagen. The flight was not full and I had my row all to myself but unfortunately ended up in the row where the dividers between the seats did not lift up. I am sure I will end up with a good night’s sleep tonight in Stockholm! 

Royal Palace

Royal Palace

The Copenhagen airport is huge and seems like a giant shopping mall. There are designated smoking areas (this is one area where I think I will definitely prefer the USA) outside of the main terminals. There are hardwood floors throughout the terminal. I have not heard anyone speaking English, although when I ordered my coffee in English from the Copenhagen airport Starbucks, English was readily spoken back to me. Definitely some new determination to improve my Swedish while I am here. I have about an hour and a half before my flight to Stockholm. Should arrive around 10:30 local time and then will make my way to my new home until 20 December - Jägargatan 20, room 1:025. I’ll be sure to finish catching up after I locate my room, drop off my things, pay my rent, get my student ID card...it’s going to be a busy day. 

I don't know, but it looks cool

...So as expected, my grand plans didn't quite work out for my first day in Stockholm. I ended up taking a taxi from Arlanda Airport to my dorm because I had a ton of stuff and could not seem to figure out how to get to the express train into downtown Stockholm. It worked out for the best. I think I was able to get here sooner because of it. I got my key and unpacked then took a much needed shower. By then it was already 2:00 in the afternoon and I was definitely ready to go to sleep. But since I need to adjust to this time zone, I made myself stay awake and started running my errands. I managed to find my way to T-Central station where I was able to get a 30-day unlimited rail/bus pass then headed toward the Karolinska Institutet (where I am an exchange student for these couple of months in Sweden). Unfortunately the office where I pay rent closed at 3:00 and it was 4:30 by the time I got there. So I took my time in returning home and made a stop in Gamla Stan, the old city of Stockholm. This is definitely the tourist and shopping area and is also where the royal palace is located. Despite my tiredness, I was still able to very much appreciate the scene around me. I am looking forward to exploring this area further over the next few months.

Streets of Gamla Stan

Sweden is a lot like Minnesota - lots of lakes, lots of green space, lots of trees and farms, and the Scandinavian population would fit in any small Minnesota town. However, it is strange being in a place where I can't read any of the signs or even try to pronounce the words written on them and everyone around me is speaking in a different language. It is somewhat isolating although I know that most people here can communicate pretty effectively in English. So tonight I am going to bed early so I can finish running my errands tomorrow. Thursday I leave for a week vacation in Paris before starting my first international rotation!

Looking like I slept on a plane...

The End...for now

Sunday:

This is my last blog for this Haiti trip - the prelude to my adventures abroad for the next 9 months. It was hard to believe how quickly Sunday came. When we arrived two weeks ago and for the first couple of days, I was thinking that maybe committing to two weeks wasn't the best idea and started to become nervous about spending 9 months abroad especially considering that I would be spending 3 of those months in Africa which I am guessing may be a similar sort of experience to Haiti. That feeling quickly left as I got into a groove at the hospital and felt comfortable within my role at the hospital as medical student/intern/surgical tech/xray tech/circulator/... As I got ready to leave the hospital for the last time and head to the airport, I was sad to leave. I was ready to get back home and see my family and take a warm shower and not be covered in sweat constantly, but I have definitely become attached to Haiti - the people, the volunteers, the country, the hospital. It's also sad to know that I am not sure when my next trip to Haiti will be. I am certain the group will go again before I return from my 9 months abroad and it will be the first trip since I started going that I won't be on. Although, I think that if the group continues to go after I return to the US, I will be welcome back. After repacking, we brought our stuff down to the main hospital floor to meet Richard, our driver. As we loaded up the SUV, members from the new team were just arriving - two osteopathic students from Colorado who were doing a surgery rotation at the Adventist Hospital with Dr. Dietrich. I updated them on what had been going on at the hospital and gave them a brief rundown of the things that I did while I was there and what sorts of things to expect. We then loaded up the SUV and headed to the airport.

rebo coffee & a cheese sandwich

This is my 8th trip on the route between the hospital and the airport and it has become a very familiar route. The garbage situation has improved much since I was first here in November 2010. The tent cities are still in existence and don't seem to have gotten any smaller over the past 10 months. There is an open-air market that is always crowded no matter what time of day we pass it and has a distinct smell of human waste that is hard to remove from my senses. We pass by a sculpture of hands holding up the globe with flags from different countries around the world surrounding it. Finally we arrive at Touissant Louverture International Airport and unload our things. Men in rad caps surround us to try and carry our bags for a tip (the tips are what they live off of). Local art sellers also surround us, shoving paintings and cheap jewelry in our faces trying to make a sale. We move aggressively through this throng and into the airport. We check our bags and go through at least 3 different security screenings before arriving at the terminal. We are still over an hour early for our flight and head upstairs to the alcove of a few restaurants and the Rebo coffee shop that I have been daydreaming about since our last trip in May. We get a table, order our Rebo frappacinos (made with coffee ice cubes!) and cheese sandwiches and sit quietly. I think we are all thinking about our time here and our mixed emotions about leaving. It has been an amazing trip and it's hard to think about coming home. This is especially true as we are waiting to board the plane and witness an American man blow up at the local airline workers because he lost his wallet - he left it on the security belt and somehow forgot to pick it up after it went through. I can understand his frustration, but what I do not understand is why he had to yell and make a huge scene as he blamed the local airline workers for his mistake. Witnessing this, I am even less excited to return.

Our flight to Miami was uneventful except for when an overhead announcement came on asking for a doctor on the plane to see a patient that wasn't feeling well. There was no shortage of medical personnel on the flight from Haiti. We arrived in Miami and went through the nightmare that is customs. With 3+ hours to kill, we exchanged photos and had our first meal that was not rice&beans or pizza. The flight back to Minneapolis was also uneventful and when we arrived at MSP, I think we were all glad to be home. I took my first breath of the fresh Minnesota air and realized how much I had missed being able to deeply breathe clean air. I felt my lungs open up and appreciated being home where there are laws that protect the air and the environment so that we all can breathe a little more deeply and have open space with green trees to enjoy. I wasn't sweating, and I wasn't crowded by people. It was good to be home.

Bassin Bleu

Saturday

Our last full day in Haiti! Until Friday night it was up in the air whether we would be spending Saturday doing cases or going out and seeing some of the Haitian countryside. Earlier in the week, we had been told about a patient at a hospital in a town about 3 hours away who needed surgery. The hospital this patient was at did not have an orthopaedic surgeon, so they asked if we would be interested in coming to do this case at their hospital. For whatever reason, the patient was not going to be transferred to the Adventist Hospital. On Friday evening after a long day of operating, we were relieved to discover that the patient had his mind set on having the orthopaedic surgeons from MSF do his surgery instead of us. Who knows why this was the case, but for us, it meant that we would have the opportunity to spend Saturday relaxing and reflecting back on the past week. Since it was the first trip for both Kris and Ruth, they really wanted to go the orphanage and had brought stuff to donate to the kids. So that morning after we said farewell to Pat Ebling, we set off with our tour guide, Jimmy, to the orphanage.

Jimmy has an interesting story. He was born Haitian but moved to the United States at the age of 2. He lived there for 20+ years and had a son there. After 9/11, the immigration laws in the US changed and Jimmy's green card expired leading to his deportation back to Haiti 4 years ago. Because the US limits the number of visas for Haitians wanting to come to the US, Jimmy has been unable to return to Brooklyn where he grew up and where his son lives since his deportation 4 years ago. He was a translator at the hospital for a while and has since started a tourist business for the volunteers at the hospital. He was our tour guide last Saturday and was again this Saturday.

The kids at the orphanage were all dressed up for church. They go to a Seventh Day Adventist Church which has its Sabbath on Saturdays. We arrived with our donations for them and stayed for about 1.5 hours listening to them sing, watching them dance, and playing games with them. We had a great time and all were in a happy mood when we left to head for Bassin Bleu.

Bassin Bleu is the closest thing Haiti has to a national park. It is in the mountains near Jacmel and is a series of 3 waterfalls that empty into natural mountain pools. I had read about this place before my first trip to Haiti in November and had been advocating for this to be our destination. On our last trip in May we attempted to go, but due to heavy rains and the road being flooded over, we were unable to go. The drive to Jacmel is just under two hours. We drove through the city and got to the end of the paved road. We then turned onto a dirt path (I don't even think it could be called a road). After we drove a short ways down this road, it appeared that the road ended at a shallow river where people were bathing and washing their clothes. Immediately I thought that the road was flooded over and we were not going to be able to go for the second time. At that moment, our driver started to drive the tap-tap into the river. Turns out, we actually have to ford the river in our vehicle in order to get to the "road" on the other side. The people bathing helped to guide us along the most shallow path across the river to the other side where we exited onto a similar dirt path that we had just come from and made our way up into the mountains. 

After another 15-20 minutes of driving, we reached the parking area for Bassin Bleu. Jimmy negotiated a price for us and some of the local "tour guides" joined us to lead us on a 10-15 minute hike through the woods to the first waterfall. This was the cleanest area I have seen thus far in Haiti. There was still a fair amount of litter along the path, but far less than any other area we had been to in Haiti. We crossed the first waterfall where more local people were bathing and swimming and made our way up to the second waterfall. To get over the second waterfall, we climbed a set of stairs, took off our shoes, and lowered ourselves down the other side of a small cliff by rope. We left our bags on a nearby rock, changed into our swimming stuff, jumped into the pool and swam to the third falls. The whole area was one of the most incredibly beautiful sights I have ever seen. The water was a clear blue and vertical rock walls lined the pools. The water was cool and clean. We spent the next several hours swimming and jumping off the rocks into the pool. We watched as some other visitors climbed up the waterfall to a cliff ledge near the top and jumped off into the pool. Although I am afraid of falling and somewhat afraid of heights, Pat and I decided to give it a try. One of our local tour guides showed us how to climb up the waterfall using this small toe holds within the rocks adjacent to the waterfall. Once we made it to the top, the jump seemed much higher and the rocks that we had to clear appeared much larger than they had from below. No one else had seemed to have a problem clearing it, but it was nerve-wracking once we got to the top. Our guide jumped first. Then Pat hesitated for a short while before his jump. Then it came to me. I walked near the edge and noticed that the rocks were a lot more slippery up at the cliff ledge than they had been below. I froze. The whole thing was caught on video - all 8 minutes that I stood there and thought about jumping. Once I finally felt mentally ready to jump, it took another few minutes for my body to catch up. Finally, after much cheering from Pat, Paige, Ruth, Kris, Jimmy, and all the local tour guides, I jumped. I had no problems clearing the rocks and hit the water cleanly. It was such a thrill! After one jump, I did not feel the need to try to climb back up to do it again. I was proud of myself for facing my fear and getting the full experience of Bassin Bleu.

After a few hours, we headed back. Once we forded the river for a second time and got into Jacmel, our driver stopped due to a flat tire. We all piled out of the tap-tap on the side of the road near the "tire repair shop" - basically a pile of tires with a couple of guys that will fix your flat using a crowbar, a kerosene fire, and an air pump. About 15 minutes later, we were back on the road heading through the mountains to Carrefour. 

When we got back around 6 pm that night, most places to eat were closed except for the Auberge. Fitting that we spent our last night eating dinner and having some rhum punches there. We walked back to the hospital a little before 10 and it wasn't long before we all fell asleep.