5.12.2010 Black Hawk Down

So this week a great opportunity literally fell into my lap. I was talking to a good friend who works with USAID and we were joined by a military doctor. He told me that he was planning on going to Les Cayes, a coastal city south east of Port-au-Prince the following day. We chatted some more, and it turned out that he that he needed some documentation of the med share clinic that was going on down there. After much finagling and multiple photo calls into the evening, I was scheduled to meet the black hawk helicopter the next morning at 8 a.m. sharp. I was so excited, thrilled, and a jumble of nerves! But really how cool is it when opportunity knocks?

I had no idea what to expect, but I was there at 8:00 a.m. sharp. That big black bird came down and I couldn't believe the size of it. But there was no time to think and we hopped on, I was successful in getting myself strapped in before we took off. And let me tell you, it was a wind beating next 20 minutes. I had the presence of mind to take photos of the adventure, which ended up being a good thing as it was impossible on the way back.

In a matter of hours I visited the Med-Share, an orphanage, and the local hospital. The best photos of the day were from the Med-Share as I had about an hour to shoot there (to be posted later). I think we were at the orphanage for about 20 minutes but we only got to see the small clinic on site, the hospital had the best photo ops but we were there for maybe 10 minutes before we had to haul back to catch our flight back to Port-au-Prince.

On the flight back I was less successful at strapping myself in. I had camera straps, my embassy id badge, and seat belt straps going everywhere! I had no one on the right side of me and I was literally blowing into the big military man beside me. Meanwhile, they were all unfazed and even took a nap on the flight back. I learned a vital lesson about helicopters when my small notebook with all of my notes from the day flew out the side of the helicopter. I'm sure the military personnel had a great laugh at my expense, but what an adventure!!

Here are some photos:
 

The Big Black Bird Lands!

Port-au-Prince from the Air!

 The beautiful mountains in Haiti!

We are getting close to Les Cayes!

My military counterparts napping while I struggle to stay upright!

 

I look exceptionally tiny between these two guys! Little did I know my embassy ID badge would be beating me to death in few moments.

© Crystaline Randazzo Photography - All images are copyright of Crystaline Randazzo and in no way are to be used by Google, Google Advertisers or any third party. These are not your pictures. Steal them and I will sue you.