Before I get too far into Brazil, I thought I should update you on the rest of our trip to Haiti. On Feb 11th (Saturday), Mom, Naomi, Marguerite and I headed out at 5:45 am for our day trip to Jacmel, along the southern coast of the island. It had been recommended to me by a teacher at school, although she warned me that the drive was a bit nerve wracking (winding mountain roads). We had been feeling a little bit of cabin fever from staying near the guest house (and I would have been very up set if I had come to Haiti and had only seen one small section of it (which is the richer part). We had to sign a waiver with GLA, releasing them from liability, and then we hired Oz, who is Haitian born and raised stateside. He returned to Haiti about 5 years ago, and runs Haiti Tours and Translations. He gave us a fair price, and organized the driver and activities for us.
It took 3 hours exactly to drive from the Main house to Jacmel board walk. We stopped once along the way for a sketchy looking bathroom (it looked fine, but was down a long flight of steps… and not lit). None of us used it, so we had a very short stop. Driving was an experience. I was happy just to see how Port-au-Prince is so different from Petionville. It is very hot and crowded, and there is garbage everywhere. The canals are full. We also saw a lot of pigs rummaging through the piles. Some were real porkers. It is definitely more chaotic down here. We drove past a large park area that I believe is for Jean Jacques Dessalines, and it is where Carnival will be held over 3 days in Port-au-Prince. Oz called it a different name (starts with an S), but I can’t seem to remember what is was called. We also apparently drove past a woman who was dead on the street, but none of us in the back of the bus saw that. I guess we were busy laughing at something, which upset Jean, our driver. There are people everywhere along the road, selling things, walking, catching Tap-taps (Haitian buses/pick up trucks). They really pack people in there. We dropped off a few ladies from the Malnutrition centre along the way. One is the cook, and then the other is a woman who had come to drop off a child at the centre. We also drove through Leogane, which was the at the epicentre of the earthquake in 2010. There are some buildings that are falling down, but on the whole, it does not look like a terrible earthquake rocked the area, just the same state of unbuilt houses that are everywhere. We learned that education is not mandatory, and most schools are privatized, which means that many people cannot afford to go to school. They suffered a long period of dictatorship under Papa Doc (Francois Duvalier) who then installed his 18 year old son as president after him. Nevertheless, Haitians are a very happy people. We often saw them smiling, singing and happy with the community around them (I don’t know if this is the same in Port-au-Prince, given that it is a large city…).
Anyways, back to Jacmel. We walked through some of the old colonial streets, and wandered into a few stores. I found a papier-mâché mask that I really liked, and later went back for. I even saw the owner making other items at the time. (They are French from Algeria, and have moved to Haiti a while ago). Jacmel is known for their papier-mâché masks, a large part of carnival. It is also known for its art scene, recognized by UNESCO. As we arrived before 9am, it was a bit quiet, people ere only just starting to open their shops. We stopped by another (school of art) and saw them preparing what appears to be large heads for a ‘lion dance’.
- Getting ready for Carnival
Any purchase of artwork there goes to support the school itself, but the artwork was very modern and quite dark (antiestablishment). Not my style. At least it was VERY different and original (unlike the other paintings that you can get on the street). The boardwalk is also made with different mosaic tiles throughout it. We had flowers on one side, and the ocean on the other, which was stunning. Many of the buildings here were built in 1888, when Jacmel was the most important port in Haiti (for distribution primarily of sugarcane).
Next stop was the beach, where we enjoyed the waves. It was stunningly blue/aqua water, and gentle waves with little undertow. I was a little confused when we ordered our lunch at 10am, but we were on Haitian time, meaning our lunch didn’t actually arrive until after noon (we were told it would be there in about 45 minutes…). That didn’t really matter much though, as we played in the ocean the entire time. I learned that Jean (driver) had spent some time in Barranquilla (on a commercial ship), that he was 34 and had 2 kids, one girl and one boy. He (along with many others) was surprised that I didn’t have children (they have kids very young).
Sadly, after my grilled fish lunch (served with fries, insanely spiced picliz and plantains (groan), we had to leave this little oasis and head out to Basin Bleu. The road up was very steep, and took a lot longer than we anticipated. We finally made it there, and hiked the 30 minutes into the 3rd basin. If you come to Haiti, you must do this. It was stunning. The first pool was about 15m deep, and is known as the Horse pool. You do not swim here. As we went by, we came across our local guides wife and children. I believe his name was Jean-Marc and he was originally born in Santo Domingo, DR. He was happy to speak in Spanish to me, and explained each of the pools, their depths, and then spoke about his family. He has 2 girls and one boy, just like in our family. His oldest daughter is around 12, and her name is Linda. This suits her, as she is very beautiful. They were watching their clothes as we went by. I forget the name of the second pool, but after crossing the stream, we had to climb down a rock face using a rope. There are general footholds carved into the rock, and there are enough Haitian men to help you. As mom put it: “This is why I go to the gym.” We came around the corner and found Basin Bleu, where there is a beautiful waterfall and pool to swim in. The water is fresh and was absolutely lovely. I jumped off the 1st and 2nd levels, and Naomi jumped from all of them. Mom even jumped from the first one! Sadly though, my watch was sacrificed to the waterfall, unclasping as I landed in the water. I was ok with jumping here, knowing that it is 75 m deep. I think it would be interesting to scuba down there to see how many things people have lost! The other thing that surprised me was how rough the rocks were. I was expecting it to be very slippery, but we had excellent traction. We got to swim in the pools for almost an hour before it was time to say Goodbye. Mom was treated like a queen and was guided by hand the whole way up the rocks and steps. The boy (probably 18 yrs. old) even washed her feet off and put her sandals on for her!
We stopped by Jean-Marc’s house to change (and drop him off) before we drove the 3 hours(or more) back to Petionville. In a very standard style, the house consists of 1 room, where everyone sleeps. They also had a palm leaf building, which I expect is where they eat.
There is nothing much to say about the trip back, other than I am very grateful that I was not driving, and it is a much more harrowing trip at night. I just stopped looking at the road so I couldn’t see the cars passing on both sides of a truck/bus. Overall, it was an excellent trip and I am very glad we chose to go.
As for our final days at GLA, I made it to Haitian church on Sunday, and found that as long as I say Creole out loud, I can figure out what is being said (at least from a Hymn point of view). A few of the boys who work at GLA helped us out by telling us which songs they were singing. Then we went for English church at the Main house, followed by lunch.
Monday went by quickly, but I had a chance to work with Derlain and Daelle again. It is hard leaving, because you can see the improvements that are being made, and you have to hope that the next volunteers will continue the children’s growth. We also did photo day, which was very cute (we got to dress all the kids up so that Chelsea and Molly could take their pictures).
Overall, I am glad that I went. It was not so hard working with the little kids (although I still have no desire to work with the babes). Mom also really enjoyed it, and discovered that she also preferred to work with the older kids, instead of the newborns like she anticipated. Mom found it more chaotic overall than I did, and from a medical standpoint, she had to adjust to the more relaxed feel on the island. I loved the sunshine, and it wasn’t too hot. We thought of the Ken Foster family a lot while we were down there, as they each have skills that would be useful to the Ministery.
If you are interested in getting involved, GLA has both a website and a Facebook page that you can follow (God’s littlest angels Haitian Baby Ministery) or ask Mom or I.
Curious Julie's Colourful Adventures 