This boat is being filled with locals preparing for a shopping trip to the mainland. By the time they set out it was filled to capacity. This would be a special event, planned well in advance with other members of the community. Imagine having to be this organized to go shopping in Canada.

We only saw one lonely solar panel during our visit used to provide the needs of this home. We have two solar panels on our boat, a generator and a bank of batteries that provide the conveniences and comforts back home. Compare this to the humbleness of the home in Haiti which is operating on a single solar panel charging a battery to run a light and perhaps a radio.

We need to stop and be thankful for our privileged lives.

Laundry drying wherever there is a spot. We take so much for granted back home that the idea of doing laundry in a bucket with a scrub board and hanging it to dry over the shrubbery is beyond our comprehension but normal for people living here.

With no roads or cars on this island, the homes are scattered throughout the lush vegetation with little trails leading to them.

These are the two young local boys who accompanied us on our hike. Aren't they handsome! They showed us which trails to use and which trails to avoid. They were so quiet and respectful and we really enjoyed their company. We stopped at the restaurant for a cold drink and treated them to a Coca Cola. We expect that is a rare treat for these boys. The day we left the boy on the left paddled to our boat and expressed deep sadness that we were leaving. We shared his sadness as we felt a special connection to this beautiful little island and its people.

As we sailed away we actually wondered about taking a year off the sailboat to spend on this island. I still think about it.

There is a hotel with a restaurant nearby that we hiked to with our friends and two young local boys who accompanied us. Apparently tourists come to this beautiful oasis to escape the rat race. We didn't see any tourists around while we were there.

Lisa, from Bagheera, had a nice visit with our interpreter and gave him a gift for his efforts.

This young man who graciously did the excellent interpreting for us at the school wanted to show us his wares for sale which he took great pains to display. He was a little disappointed when nobody purchased anything but Bill explained to him that as sailors we have very limited space in which to accumulate and store souvenirs.

No roads and no cars on Ile-A-Vache.

We had the privilege of donating 200 notebooks to this school which was a gift from a fellow cruiser. We have added this school to the Schools Beyond Borders program.

The school of 260 children, ages 3 to 18, was founded in 1995 by doctors from Spain. They send funds each month to pay the nine teachers' salaries, which equate to approximately $125-$166 U.S. per year. The greatest challenge this school has is attracting and keeping qualified teachers.

The school was well organized and orderly and the children were well groomed and happy and sharp looking in their neat and tidy uniforms. We are looking for a French Immersion school abroad to adopt this school under the Schools Beyond Borders Foundation program.

The children attend school in shifts as the school is not large enough to accommodate them all together.

Another Canadian boat had arrived just before us called Bagherra. That name rang a bell and within 1 hour the couple from Bagherra invited us over for social hour. Sure enough, they are Andy and Lisa Copeland and she is a well known author from Vancouver. One of her books that inspired me is called "Cruising for Cowards". It is a terrific read. They circumnavigated with 3 sons aboard and she is an excellent writer.

We distributed our Bible story coloring books and crayons to the children with Spanish and English translations. The children are learning English in school but Creole French is the main language spoken.

They were so delighted with their treasurers and kept coming back to visit.

Children in home-made dugout canoes came in droves to our boat selling fish, eggs, vegetables or fruit or looking for work doing laundry or boat cleaning. We seized the opportunity to evangelize by giving the children Christian coloring books and crayons to help them learn English and learn about Jesus. Bill had endless patience with these children arriving at the boat. We tried to take a nap when we first arrived (42 hours is a long haul) and we kept hearing knock, knock, knock on our hull. Bill jumped up and visited with the children and kept digging around for something else he thought they might like including balls, fishing line and hooks. We unloaded all our goodies there as we knew we'd be hard pressed to find a more needy people. One little boy was so thrilled with the little ball we gave him, he left kissing it. One fisherman left the battery for his fishing boat on board our boat so we could give him a boost from our generator. Two young men received diving masks so they could harvest from the sea.

We sailed from Port Antonio, Jamaica and 42 hours later arrived in Ile-a-Vache, a small French Haitian island on the SW corner of Hispaniola. We encountered a beautiful island with friendly, respectful people and a true delight. Most cruising guides (and cruisers) advise you to steer clear of Haiti because it is unsafe due to the extremely high murder rate against whites. However, Ile-a-Vache is singled out as an exception. We were welcomed by friendly, warm people and there was a true sense of joy and peace. Haiti is recognized as one of the most impoverished countries in the western hemisphere and overrun by voodooism. We were soon to learn why this little island was set apart from the rest of Haiti.

There were no frills in this school on the island Ile-a-Vache, Haiti. There is a dire shortage of textbooks and resource materials of any kind. There is no playground equipment, art supplies, minimal library books and no music. We would love to see this changed by acquiring donations from abroad to provide to this school.

This island, that has a reputation of being safe and a refuge for boaters, and the school, are doing an excellent of job of instilling sound morals and values in these children. With a little help they could become the country's leaders in the future.