Camping on the beach

I have been averaging a weekend away (or at least a day at the beach outside of PAP) since getting back from Ottawa, and it's been a really good way to get away and disengage from work. So, two weeks after Ile a Vache, I went on a camping trip to a beach called Kokoye (coconut beach). Ian didn't make this trip, but I went with 5 of my colleagues. It was Chiara-the-intern-and-only-other-expat-girl's last weekend in Haiti, so I guess you could say it was a special occasion...

Kokoye beach

This whole idea started when we got an email invite to a group trip to Kokoye planned in October that one of my colleagues mistook for the upcoming weekend. From the photos in the email, he was hooked (see photos in this blog), and we realized there was absolutely nothing preventing us from going that weekend anyways. Never ones to plan something until the last minute, we should have realized that our lack or organization could have prevented us from going, but this was not the case. We tossed the idea out there, didn't make any concrete plans, and on Saturday at noon I got a call saying "Yeah, I think we're going to go forward with this Kokoye thing. Are you still interested in going? We're going out to get some food now and we'll probably leave around 2:30." 2:30 became 4pm as some of the beach goers (myself included) went souvenir shopping, but at 4pm one our our big Nissan Pilots picked me up with 5 people + driver and a load of luggage in the back. Since we were only staying overnight I just had a small backpack with my swimsuit, towel and a change of clothes so I wasn't sure why there were two suitcases in the back, but I was told not to worry.

It took us about 45 mins to get out of the city, then we drove to Leogane where we met up with someone who was supposed to show us the way, since the trip actually involved a hour-long hike down to the beach. He wasn't actually much use - we probably waited 20 mind for him to show up and all he did was give our driver directions, but on we went after that. The only problem was that the drop off point was a little farther out of PAP than expected, and the PAP traffic and waiting for the directions guy took longer than expected. So, at 7pm when the driver dropped us off, the sun had already set. We were almost prepared for this - 3 out of 6 of us had headlamp flashlights, and others could use their cellphones. Only Chiara and I had running shoes/hiking boots however, the others had to make it down the hike in flip flops. I also soon understood why there were two suitcases in the car - one was carrying our tent, extra bedding and water, and the other had our food! Not the most effective packing but I guess there were no "travelers" backpacks around. So, off we trudged down the mountain with our headlamps, small backpacks, assorted pots/charcoal/water carried in our arms and Ben carrying this giant suitcase on his head like we often see Haitians do.

I'm not going to lie - it was a rough trek down, but we made it in one piece. Despite my running shoes I fell several times, but I seemed to be the only one (I can't believe that Ben in flip flops with a suitcase on his head didn't fall!). {Janine, I was thinking about that night on our Machu Picchu trek the whole time} Two guys broke their flip flops and had to go barefoot, but fortunately our headlamps worked, we didn't get lost and some nice villagers met us when we were about 20mins away and led the way to the beach. Chiara and I set up the tent while the boys got to cooking, and we were able to take a late-night dip in the ocean, which was (a) really refreshing but (b) really cool - there were phosphorescent plankton that just lit up the area around you! We spent the rest of the night chilling on the beach, and everyone but me fell asleep under the stars...

Beach camping site

I woke up the next day just before sunrise, and was able to see what a beautiful beach we landed on. There were big palm trees swaying over the white sand, absolutely no one around, crystal blue water that went on for like a 800m and two islands close by that were just asking to be explored. I put on my bathing suit and hopped in the water and watched the sun rise from about 500m away from shore as some local fisherman were bringing in some lobster traps. I mean how great is that? Everyone else started to get up and we spent the rest of the day swimming, exploring the little islands, tanning, playing frisbee, and just having an all-around awesome beach day. We were able to take a boat ride back, so fortunately the guys with broken flip flops were spared, and came back to the city feeling totally relaxed. We agreed to go back again for the organized trip - knowing of course we would be a bit better organized the next time!

Fisherman paddling in this boat..

Cow Island

I'm going to try and get this post out before Ian and I have our long overdue housewarming BBQ, with hopefully another post tomorrow. The first trip I'm going to tell you about happened about three weeks ago, when we decided to explore the southern coast. We originally thought to go to Jacmel, a cute little artsy town on the beach, but it was the weekend after Tropical Storm Isaac passed and a whole bunch of garbage has washed down the mountain and into the water, so we squashed that plan. Instead we went further west along the southern coast, to an island called Ile a Vache.

Our hotel on Ile a Vache

Ile a Vache is a beautiful little island with a small population and a couple hotels that cater to expats looking for a weekend away or even travelers looking to take a week or so. The place where we stayed had a bit of the "resort hotel" feel, you payed an all inclusive price for the boat ride to and from the island, accommodation and food but are still required to buy your drinks. The trip there took about 4 hours, and we were only staying one night, so we tried to make the most of our time there.

Lover's Island

The first thing we did came recommended by guests we met getting off the boat - it was a getaway to "lover's island". Lovers island is this amazing sandbar in the middle of the ocean, far enough away from ile a vache and the mainland that you have complete privacy but still amazing views. The sandbar is maybe the size of a tennis court, and they drop you off with an umbrella and a cooler of drinks and come back whenever you want to be picked up. Ian and I brought our snorkel gear so we took and underwater tour around the island, and just enjoyed staying out in the sun.

The rest of our time was spent eating great food, looking at great views and snorkeling around the hotel. There were some interesting coral and fish to see around the hotel, and apparently there are even spots to go diving, which I'd like to check out when we get back. One night definitely isn't enough, so we'll need to make the most of a long weekend our next trip there.

The other interesting part about the weekend was the drive to and from. I had never been this far along the south of the horseshoe, and it had some beautiful scenery - rolling hills, lots of palm trees and jungle-y forest stuff, and the southern coast that faces the Caribbean sea is just beautiful. I might almost have enjoyed the drive as much as the trip! Fortunately there are a few more towns to check out along that coast, so I'll get to pass through again....

Cap Haitien

>>> this post was written at the beginning of August but I think I forgot to publish it. Sorry!

I hope all you Canadians are enjoying your long weekend. We actually Monday AND Tuesday off last weekend, so Ian and I decided to take advantage and do some in-country travel to Cap Haitien, a major town on Haiti's northern shoreline. We started off in PAP on Saturday morning, and drove on the "northern route", following the coastline to about the mid-way point in the big bay that makes Haiti look like a horseshoe. That was a beautiful drive along the shimmering blue ocean. We then darted inland to get to the northern coast, going through valleys then mountains then jungle, quite a different landscape than what I've seen around PAP. During the evening after we had gotten there, we went for a stroll along the major plazas, saw some lovely gingerbread houses and had dinner at a seaside restaurant.

Palais Sans Souci

The next day we went to Palais Sans Souci and the Citadelle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Sans Souci palace was built in the early 1800s, meant to the be "Versailles of Haiti". In the 200 years since it's been sacked and looted, but you can still see a lot of the old structure and it's quite nice. There is a catedral at the bottom of the hill, and a grand staircase leading up the palace, with a large garden area off to the side. UNESCO World Heritage sites in Haiti are not like those in Europe, there are no barriers that prevent you from going upstairs (or ones that prevent you from falling over, for that matter), so we had a good time walking through and exploring.

We drove up the hill, parked the car, and walked up to the Citadelle, a fort built on top of a very high hill which overlooks the valley clear through to the water. The Citadelle was built with 4m thick walls and has a very steep slope to access it. It also has about 1,500 cannons and something like 15,000 cannonballs. For all of this protection, no one ever tried to attack the fort and the cannons were never fired at a hostile enemy. The Citadelle itself is very well preserved compared to the Palace, and it was really cool to wander around. The whole thing is open and you can wander wherever, from the rooms with the cannons to the medieval-esque courtyard inside, to the top of the structure to give you stunning views into the valley below. Again, there are no barriers to keep you from falling over and tumbling down the valley, but fortunately the 4m thick walls make it easy to walk across the top without fear of falling over...

View from the Citadelle

The day after we explored the Citadelle we had our beach day. We first went to Labadee, the beach that Royal Caribbean has "leased" from the Haitian Government for something like 50 years, and has cruises stop at twice a week. Since there were no cruises that day, the place wasn't open and they didn't let us in, but you can drive around the perimeter and see into it from the other side of the beach. This place has everything from a zip line to a waterslide to a roller coaster! I couldn't get over it, a roller coaster in Haiti. This must be how the cruises make their money... there is also a beautiful stretch of sandy beach, clear water and a water trampoline! Fun. We asked and you can't even get into the area when there is a cruise, probably because Royal Caribbean is scared you'll tell people they're actually in Haiti - apparently Royal Caribbean calls it "Hispaniola", which is the name of the island that has Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

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After our visual tour of Labadee we headed to Cormier Plage, the beach where we were staying at that night. It was just as gorgeous and way less crowded than Labadee would have been, and we spent the day reading, snorkeling, swimming and tanning. It was a really relaxing way to end an already chilled vacation, we actually wound up staying till 3pm the next day before heading back to PAP. This time we drove back through the central plateau, which had a very different landscape form the northern beach route. We went through the jungle, through plains with lots of agriculture, rolling hills that looked like English countryside and then past a series of connecting lakes that reminded me of Quebec. I really can't get over what a diverse countryside Haiti has, and how different the cities outside of Port-au-Prince can be. I'm really glad we could take the chance to see Haiti outside of Port-au-Prince... 

Calm before the storm

So this post (like almost all my posts) is way overdue. This was going to be my "I survived hurricane Isaac" post, but of course you all know that because it happened two weeks ago. What I want to start telling you about was actually three weeks ago, when I finally discovered where the yoga happens in Haiti.

Yoga in Port-au-Prince

There were twice-weekly yoga classes in Kabul that I attended pretty regularly - it is super relaxing and was a really good excuse to get out of the house. I know that there are yogis among any expat community, so I was searching and searching for a similar yoga class in PAP. I finally learned about one three weeks ago, the instructor gives a free class on Wednesdays on the roof of her apartment. It felt really really good to get back into yoga - it had been almost 8 months since my last class - and it could not have been in a more picturesque location. The classes are on the instructor's apartment rooftop with a great view over PAP and the bay. They start at 7pm so we're doing our sun salutations watching the sunset, it's absolutely amazing. I'm really excited about finding this class and have been attending weekly every since.  I also realized that yoga is another way you get 'spoiled' as an expat - I haven't paid to attend a class in two years and the concept just seems foreign to me now!

So that was Wednesday. By Thursday, everyone was buzzing about Isaac, the tropical storm that was slowly making its way to Haiti. We actually had Friday off work in case it hit, which turned out to be THE most anti-climatic day. It was a bit cloudy and kind of windy, and then everything quieted down (the proverbial calm before the storm, I suppose). By dinner time we were going stir crazy in our apartment and headed over to our friends house down the road for dinner and drinks. The winds picked up around 7 or 8, and the rain around 9 or 10, but the storm wasn't even in PAP by the time we went to bed. It hit us around 2am, and I awoke to some howling wind, but was able to get back to sleep so we really slept through the entire thing.

Isaac was tropical storm strength (one strength less than a hurricane), and caused less visible damage than a freak 20-min hurricane we had had a month earlier. There wasn't too much rain, so the amount of damage caused by flooding was minimal, things were quite normal in PAP. The storm came through the south and they were hit worse off then us. Overall it was a very anti-climatic experience, firstly because the storm hit late and we slept through it and secondly because it didn't leave much of a trail. I'm not complaining, and we still have three more months of "hurricane season" so there may still be a storm or two coming, but at the moment I'm back to enjoying my sunny days on my tropical island!