Knowing that it was at least a four hour ride back to Port au Prince, we left in the mid-afternoon hoping to get back before it got too dark.  Between the heat and the endless bumpy roads we were all a bit worn out so napping while on the semi-paved stretches was the way we all managed to get through the bulk of the ride back.  As we approached the outskirts of Port au Prince we noticed the hillsides were on fire. Not just a small bonfire here and there, but literally a snaking trail of fires wove through the foothills near us for what seemed a couple of miles.  At first we thought these must be brush fires – then we smelled it.  These were burning hills of garbage.  There is no infrastructure in Haiti for collecting and processing refuse…not human waste, not manufacturing waste, not old equipment, nothing.  And so there are landfills everywhere…and piles of garbage everywhere as well.  The only way to get rid of much of it is to burn it.  My stomach turns just thinking about it.  There were places we passed during our travels that were ravines full of garbage with lean-to shacks that backed directly up to the ravine.  And so the hills burn.

As we drove into the downtown area of Port au Prince it was completely dark outside – and without electrical grids and power – the busy rush hour scene was truly harrowing.  Imagine no street lights, and minimal lights in businesses along the main roads.  Sidewalks filled with the same merchants we saw at dawn, still sitting and selling to seemingly no one in particular. People pouring out of houses and shops into the darkness only lit up by some small gas lamps and car headlights in gridlock –  playing chicken to make their way along.  Children running out into the street to try to make a few cents cleaning a windshield or by begging.  Tap Taps filled to the brim, massive UN trucks lumbering along, carrying “peacekeepers” on patrol, scooters and bicyclists weaving in and out.  I was sitting in the very back of the SUV at this point with Mahnaz and it occurred to me that we were in a particularly vulnerable spot – no seatbelt and  sitting ducks for being rear-ended.  I have to say that it was at this moment that I made peace with the risks that go along with wanting to connect with parts of the world that offer little protection to their masses…they simply make do with what they have, go about the business of life as best they can, and hope for the best.