A visit to the waterfall at Bassin Zim

We visited the Whitney Clinic in Hinche, where Champagne is the manager.  Champagne if you read my previous blogs, has been one of our translators for a number of years, and when I was in Cerca a year ago, he was my Kreyol tutor.  This year, St. Monica parish from Atlanta is visiting their twin, the Whitney Clinic during our visit so Champagne wasn't able to be with us.  At any rate, we got to talk with some of the doctors and nurses who were volunteering their services at the Whitney Clinic.  One of them suggested that we visit Bassin Zim, a waterfall perhaps a 15 minute drive from Hinche.  I needed to meet with Richard Joseph, the director of the Catholic Bureau of Education (BDE) to discuss some Haitian Education Fund business, so I decided to have them drop me off at Sacred Heart School in Papaye on their way to Bassin Zim.  I had visited the waterfall before so decided it would be ok for me to miss the opportunity.  I met with Richard, and then he offered to take me to Bassin Zim.  On the way there, we met the jeep with Thimothe and the rest of our group.  They continued on to visit Maison Fortune and we went to visit the waterfall.  The government has made a lot of improvements since my last visit.  They now have a little house to welcome people which has restrooms in it and the steep path up to the top of the falls is now a stairway made from rocks.  I was still a little hesitant to walk to the top of the falls.  I remember slipping and nearly falling on the path the last time.  Two teenage boys encouraged me, took my hands and led me up the path.  When the going was steep or slippery, they offered my their forearms so I would have a better grip.  I had to stop and catch my breath halfway up.  When we got to the top, they took us into a large cave.  They told me that there were hives for honeybees nestled in the rock at the side of the cave.  Now that made me a little nervous, because when I have been stung in the past, whatever appendage was stung got very swollen.  But I continued in the hope that I would not be stung.  It was such a beautiful sight both looking down from the top of the falls into a pool there and also from the bottom of the falls.  Here are some photos taken by Richard Joseph.  I didn't have my camera!