Entries about aid

Never before have we travelled with so much luggage! Normally when we travel, we park at an off-airport long-term car park and take advantage of their valet parking deal, where we just drive up to the terminal, jump out of the car with our luggage, and someone else takes the car away to park it. This time we decided to get a hotel the night before as the flight departs so early. We stumbled across a great deal with a 'mystery' hotel and parking for the week for less than we normally pay for just the parking. The 'mystery' hotel turned out to be the Hilton at Terminal 5 (and very nice it was too), but as we are flying from Terminal 3, it means getting the Hotel Hoppa bus from the hotel to T5, then the Heathrow Express train to T3. With four large bags, two rucksacks and a camera bag. At 05:00 in the morning.

The check-in girl at Virgin Atlantic Airways is delightful, and when we tell her all about the donations we have received to take over to Haiti with us for the victims of Hurricane Matthew, she waves the fee for checking in an extra bag each. Well done Virgin!

The flight is not full, so we are able to spread out and have a row of seats each.

Approaching Atlanta

We chat to the crew on board, and tell them about the good deed their colleagues on the ground did this morning by allowing us to carry the disaster relief for free, and amazingly they return with a large bag of goodies for us to take: blankets and toothbrushes/paste. Virgin Atlantic really does rock!

The US is the only place in the world that I know of where you have to collect your luggage and re-check it even if you are on a connecting international flight. The customs officer brusquely asks: “What is all this?” pointing at our four large suitcases. “Clothes” I reply. After ascertaining that we are not carrying any food, he lets us pass and we can get rid of the main bags again.

The full body scan turns into a bit of a palaver, as even my silk scarf and empty money belt show up and I am asked to remove both. When trying to get it off, the money belt gets tangled up in my bra and they reluctantly allow me to just hold it to one side and do the scan again. I then get a full pat down and with all the distraction and fluster, I leave my scarf behind. I don't discover it until we get to the gate, and it's a long way back via the inter-terminal train and in through a NO ENTRY sign. David really is a star for going back to collect it for me!

While waiting at the gate, our name is called and we discover that we have had our seats re-allocated on the next flight – we again have a row to ourselves! Well done Delta!

Pouchon, our driver, waits for us by the luggage carousel at Port au Prince, and whisks us through the dark streets of the capital to our hotel.

Thanks to my Facebook friends' generosity, over a thousand items of clothing (from babies, toddlers, children, teens to adults) came over with us to help out the victims of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.

We also took some shoes and hats, toiletries, feminine products, space blankets and enough water purification tablets to make 20,000 litres of clean water.

Our friend Jacqui in Haiti (who runs the local tour agency Voyages Lumiere) agreed to take in the collection, so we leave the bags in the car for Pouchon to take to her house.

Through one of her contacts who runs a bus service, Jacqui has been able to get free transport for the bags to the severely affected areas in the south.

Another friend of hers is a doctor who spends a couple of days a week treating the poor for free; and he has agreed to be the co-ordinator and distributor in the stricken area, making sure the items go to the most needy.

Many of my friends also gave us money to help out the victims; and I am delighted to say that with the addition of funds we would otherwise have spent on the two extra bags, we collected $750. In Haiti we received a refund from our tour operator for unused services (after an itinerary change) that we added to it, and after topping it up with some extra, we have made it a grand total of $1000!

The aforementioned doctor is also currently administrating a project to fit new roofs to houses damaged by the hurricane, which is where we decided to direct the money we collected.

So thanks to my very generous Facebook friends, at least TEN families will received a roof over their heads; as well as hundreds of people getting new clothes! I am absolutely humbled and extremely grateful to be able to organise this. Well done the power of Facebook!

Our bags are now looking decidedly empty, so I guess I shall have to do some shopping while we are here in Haiti.

We just dump the luggage in the room and head for the bar for a cold, refreshing Prestige Beer and a light dinner.

Meatlover's pizza

Terrace burger

What's a girl gotta do when she asks for a cappuccino after her meal, but they have run out? Order a Piña Colada of course!

Before signing off for today there are a lot of people I have to say a “Thank You” to:

Voyages Lumiere for arranging this trip

Jacqui for agreeing to be our local coordinator for the aid we brought over

Dr Robert for helping to distribute the goods in the south as well as arranging the new roofs

My Facebook friends for their generous donations

Virgin Atlantic for allowing free passage of the suitcases as well as the large goodie bag

The world truly is full of beautiful people.

During our visit to Haiti for the carnival in February this year, we were fascinated by our guide Serge's tales of the Haiti's official religion of Vodou in general and the the Day of the Day celebrations in particular. So much so, in fact, that we decided to make a return visit to Haiti for this particular fiesta, which is held on 1st and 2nd November every year.

Fast forward to the 4th of October, when the powerful, long-lived and deadly category 5 hurricane Matthew hit the south west of Haiti, killing some estimated 1,600 people, injuring hundreds more, leaving close to 200,000 people homeless, and causing $2.25 billion damage to an already impoverished country.

We felt terribly torn at this stage – should we still go? Is our hotel still standing? Are the areas we are visiting badly affected? We spent a lot of time talking it over with Jackie (our contact in Haiti), as we were concerned if it was ethical, practical or desirable for us to still visit so soon after the hurricane.

Jackie assured us that life in Port au Prince and the surrounding areas are still very much 'business as usual' and that we would be welcomed with open arms by the people – they need the tourist dollar more than ever now.

The parts of Haiti we are visiting were largely undamaged by the hurricane, and most things are still running as normal. It was felt that we could do more good by coming, as we will be bringing money to the country in the form of hotel bookings, transport, entrance fees, and guiding, which in turn will help with continued employment. On top of that will be any shopping we do (including food and drink), and tips that we distribute while we are there.

What I did feel would be totally unethical, however, was to arrive empty-handed, so we packed everything that the two of us need into one piece of luggage and launched an appeal to my friends on Facebook for any clothing that we could fit in the spare bag.

To say I was overwhelmed with donations is an understatement, and from the small initial proposal it snowballed into a huge project! Bags of clothes, shoes, toiletries, pharmaceuticals and other useful items arrived in masses; and a number of my friends who were too far away to physically give me stuff to take, donated via PayPal or bank transfer.

We bought a couple of extra cases from a charity store, filled them with donated clothes and other items and set off on the first leg of our journey: to Heathrow to stay overnight at an airport hotel.

Hilton Heathrow Terminal 5

After checking in, we pop down to the bar for a drink.

Mr Todiwala's Kitchen

With traditional British fare or an Indian restaurant on offer, there is no choice for me, and we settle in to order what turns out to be some of the best Indian food we have had outside India.

Mini poppadoms and chutneys - my favourite is the date and tamarind chutney.

Vindhalo de Carne de Porco - a traditional Indian pork vindaloo is not the mind-blowingly hot dish served in curry houses in the UK, but rather a slightly sweet curry soured by vinegar.

Beef Tikka Laal Aur Kaala Mirich Masala - cubes of fillet steak with a coating of chillies, black pepper, mustard, ginger and garam masala. Described as "HOT and not to be taken lightly".

Desserts - rosewater and pistachio kulfi (Indian ice cream)

A great start for the first leg of the journey, although I have a very disturbed night after the spicy food and three pints of cider.