Haiti

My journey to Haiti began in May of 2017, when I received an email about a mistake fare from Seattle to Haiti. That fare was $375 for a first class round trip ticket, and it was available during a time I had some PTO to spare. The normal fare for something like that would be closer to $2000 for round trip. Without planning anything I jumped on the fare.

Now, mistake fares carry with them some risk. Airlines are under no obligation to honor them, and normally they will simply cancel your ticket and refund you once they see their mistake. However, you’re usually safe if they haven’t cancelled it after a month or two. So I sat on the ticket and waited. A few months pass and they haven’t cancelled it, so I started looking into places to stay.

Now, I’ve done many trips to Mexico, and usually I prefer to latch onto an all-inclusive place to make things easy. Food, booze, and lodging all in one package. It’s nice. I looked for that at first, but quickly found that Haiti is a very poor country and these types of things are pretty rare. I did find one that was highly recommended by many mission and aid workers though, so after doing some research I booked my stay. For the week I’m in Haiti I’d be staying at the Kaliko Beach Club, just north of Arcahaie. Little did I know what I was in for during that week.

Getting there

The experience started with a redeye from Seattle to Miami the night of the 13th. I don’t sleep on planes, so this was an especially grueling flight. But hey, first class. Keep the whiskey flowing and all that. After a semi-short layover in Miami I hopped on the plane to Port-au-Prince. This flight went relatively smoothly. There were a large number of Haitians onboard, some of which didn’t seem to speak English though.

Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport is a single runway airport with no taxiways. This means that when you land, you have to turn around at the end of the runway and taxi on the runway back to the terminal. Similarly, when departing you taxi on the runway, turn around, and take off.

When we landed and started taxiing a number of passengers in the back started trying to get up and get their luggage. The flight attendants called multiple times in both English and French (Note that Haitians speak French and Haitian Creole) for people to sit down and wait for the Fasten Seatbelt sign to go off. At one point they had to walk back to the group standing around and physically sit them back in their seats. This happened enough times for me to start feeling sorry for the FAs, but I don’t know what they could have done otherwise. The PAP airport didn’t exactly have TSA folks that would have cared.

I didn’t check a bag on this flight, and I’m glad I didn’t. A JetBlue flight had landed just before us, and the carousel areas were packed with people. This airport is tiny, so any delay getting out of it could have meant missing my ride to the resort. Getting through customs was easy enough though. You’d go to a small counter and pay a $10 fee for a tourist visa and then hit up immigration. I was honestly in an out of immigration in less than 5 minutes. Customs took another 10, but I didn’t have any issues with the agents.

Heading off to the resort

Leaving the airport was an interesting experience. I mentioned before that I’d been to Mexico a few times. I’ve been through the gauntlet before, so I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong. Coming out of customs you’re dumped into a long hallway with the normal things like currency exchange and ATMs. Also in this hall are about 300 people vying for your attention. They all want to help you with your luggage, or get you a ride, or give you a ride. They’ll jump on any opportunity to make money (and trust me, they all want your money).

I bypassed most of them. One lady who asked me if I needed a ride was able to point me to where my driver was standing though, so that was nice. At the recommendation of tripadvisor and a few other travel sites, I worked with the resort to arrange a driver to go to and from the airport. It was far from cheap, but it was worth it for the peace of mind I think. Also, it was the first time I’d actually had someone holding a sign with my name on it when I arrived at an airport. A few minutes later I was on my way to the resort.

The first thing I noticed coming out of the airport was the walls. Walls everywhere, most with barbed wire on top. I later learned that this is how Haitians protect their land claims. In Haiti, if you own land, the very first thing you do is put a wall around it. The parcel might sit completely barren aside from a wall, but the wall means it’s yours, not someone else’s. Some walls were obviously unfinished, with rebar sticking out of the top of the concrete posts. I’ll get to the reasoning for that later.

The second thing I noticed was the trash. Trash was everywhere. The gutters were full of it. There were piles of trash all along the sides of the road. Creeks and rivers (that weren’t dried up from the dry season) were full of trash. Sometimes you’d see many piles of trash together, with some on fire. This is apparently how Haitians get rid of their trash. Burn it and discard it.

Next came the roads. Haitians drive on the right side of the road, and for the most part they stick to that. However, nobody has any patience on the roads in Haiti. If you’re not driving fast enough, you’ll be passed – on both sides. Horns were used liberally, mostly to let people know you’re either passing or you’d like to pass. In the cities you wouldn’t go more than 30 seconds without hearing a horn. Passing was also an interesting concept. Lines on the road, when there were lines, meant nothing. About the only thing that stopped people from trying to pass were the large dump trucks or tractor trailers that would barrel down the roads. Otherwise it was just a game of chicken. I saw a few times where two dump trucks were lined up next to each other heading for oncoming traffic.

Another interesting thing I saw were the Super Banks. These were not banks at all, but lotto huts. You’d see them literally everywhere, and sometimes right next to each other. Playing the lotto was a pretty big deal in Haiti.

Taptaps

Transportation in Haiti is interesting. The vast majority of Haitians don’t have their own vehicles. They get around mostly by walking or by taking taptaps. Taptaps are a form of public transportation that’s wholly unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Taptaps come in three different forms, but they all operate the same. You flag down a driver, tell him where you’re going, and when you’re ready to get off you tap your money on the side of the vehicle. This signals the driver to stop and get paid.

The simplest taptaps were motorcycles. Motorcycles were everywhere. You could get two to three people on the back of them, but you rarely saw them with more than one. You’d also occasionally see motorcycles carrying cargo.

After motorcycles you moved up to small trucks. Think early 1990s Ford Ranger style trucks. These would have the bed decked out with benches and a canopy. You’d regularly see anywhere from 8-15 people in these things, some hanging off the bumper or riding on top of the truck. These were also everywhere, but you’d see just as many broke down on the side of the road as you’d see driving around.

After the trucks you’d move up to vans and buses. Both of these were fairly rare, but you’d see a good number of old school buses driving around. They all had the same concept though. Get on, tap to get off.

The trucks, vans, and buses all would have interesting paint jobs too. It almost seemed like the crazier the paint job the busier the taptap was. This might not be a coincidence.

I, unfortunately, did not have a reason while I was there to take a taptap, but I did speak to a nice Austrian girl that had tried it. Apparently it’s just like you’d imagine, with folks almost flying off the back each time the driver gets going.

Kaliko Beach Club

When we got to the resort I was ready for a shower and a drink. Unfortunately, I arrived an hour before check-in. My room wasn’t ready for me, but they would go ahead and check me in and give me my all-inclusive armband since I was there. I left my luggage with the reception lady and wandered off to find a beer.

I was surprised to find out that Haiti has its own beer, and it’s brewed in Port-au-Prince! So, I grabbed myself the local brew, a Prestige, and started wandering the resort. The resort itself was very nice. They bill themselves as a boutique all-inclusive resort, and it shows. On the north side of the resort there are a bunch of bungalows. Most of them have beautiful beach views. Behind those are a couple of buildings with other rooms. I believe there are around 80 rooms total at the resort.

The resort has its own private beach, with small ‘cabanas’ and a ton of beach chairs. There’s also an outdoor grilling station (vendors would walk around selling fish and lobster that they’d cook here) and a beach bar. The beach bar was never open, but it was an easy enough walk up to the pool bar for drinks and snacks. There was also a small volleyball area that went unused the entire time I was there.

They did have a nice pool that went about 4ft deep at its deepest. Unfortunately it was green for about half of my stay, but overall it was nice and folks were in it almost every day. The pool was next to the aforementioned pool bar and the dining area.

The food was really good here as well. I have no idea what I ate, because the labels were all in french, but it all tasted delicious. The resort would have a buffet breakfast from about 7am-10am, then an a la carte lunch where you’d order chicken, beef, or fish and get whatever came with it, and then a buffet dinner from about 7pm-10pm. Generally speaking, it wasn’t hard to find something new to eat.

This resort was also the first time I’ve really walked around a mostly-empty beach resort. I mentioned earlier that it was highly recommended by aid and mission workers. Aside from a few retired couples that were there and myself, the rest of the resort was this large group from CHI Haiti. They would be off to a nearby town or village by 7am, and wouldn’t return until around 5-6pm each day. Between those hours I effectively had the place to myself.

Having a resort to yourself is an interesting experience. It’s also incredibly relaxing. I spent a good three days just hanging out on the beach reading or listening to music with no distractions at all. The other nice thing about having the resort to myself was the wifi worked while those folks were away. My cell provider gives me 2G or 3G service when abroad for free, but in a place like Haiti that doesn’t do a whole lot. The wifi allowed me to check in on things back home, or listen to hockey games, but only when folks were away. During the evening you’d be lucky to get a 100kbps audio stream through.

Gonaives

The second day I was there, as I was wandering around watching the sunset, I met a man by the name of Silentor (pronounced Silento) Esthil, the founder of Mission Starfish in Gonaives. He and the person he was with, a youth minister from Wisconsin, were finishing up a scouting trip to see if said youth minister’s church could help his mission. The three of us had a great discussion about the needs of Haiti, the people of Haiti, and what could be done to help out.

I had dinner with these guys that night, and the conversation was just as engaging the entire time. I had mentioned that, after the drive in, I was apprehensive about wandering around on my own. Silentor offered to show me around a couple of days later, when he had some free time. I gladly accepted his offer, and a few days later I was off to see things.

I was picked up around 9am and we headed up to Gonaives. Along the way I got a good history lesson about some of the challenges of living in Haiti. I also got a history lesson about Silentor’s past. Silentor had been adopted by an American couple living in Iowa (or Ohio, my memory is fuzzy here) and was educated in America. He had gone back to Haiti to open his school and help out the kids in the area. I can say without question he was the most gracious guide I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

Our first stop was the school – Mission Starfish Haiti. The school has 450 students, ranging from k1 to 8th grade. Silentor brought me to each classroom, introducing me in Creole and having the kids tell me bonjour. The kindergarten kids were incredibly cute. As soon as they saw me they’d chant ‘blanc, blanc, blanc’ (white, white, white). I had one class come up and all give me hugs. They were all pretty great.

We went from 1st grade up to 8th grade eventually. The 7th and 8th graders knew some basic English, so we had a nice question and answer session with each class in English so they could practice and I could learn a bit more about them.

The upper level of the school had some great views of the surrounding areas, so I took the opportunity to ask Silentor some more questions. I could see many houses with rebar sticking out of the top of concrete (and everything is built out of concrete here). Silentor explained that Haitian people will build sections as they get the money for them, and just leave the building blocks for the next section so they can continue when they have funds. So what might look like an abandoned house might just be something that’s mid-construction (and could stay that way for months or years).

Our next stop was a small market jointly owned by an American lady and a Haitian family. I was able to meet both the family and the American and speak to them for a bit. Here I learned some more interesting tidbits about Haitian life. From the street you’d never even guess there was a market there. It was hidden behind another concrete wall with a steel gate in front. You drive or walk up to the gate, someone looks out to see who you are, and if you’re there for legitimate business they let you in. Otherwise the armed guard will remove you. This was apparently a common theme throughout Haiti.

I also spoke with a local Haitian photographer there who gave me some surprising insight. Even as a native Haitian he had a hard time getting Haitians to let him take their picture. There’s a very large stigma in the country about people profiting from pictures of everyday Haitians just trying to get on with their life. He was telling us that anytime he’d talk to someone they’d always come back with ‘Why do you have to take my picture? What are you going to do with it? Are you going to make money from it?” Silentor had also warned me that if I take pictures I should be as inconspicuous as possible, as it doubly angers them seeing a Caucasian take their photo.

Our last stop of the day was Silentor’s guest house. Silentor had built a house a few miles from the school that he now uses to host mission trip workers that come to help with his projects and his school. The house itself was a very nice two story ordeal with a rooftop patio (that had an amazing hammock).

It started getting late, and Silentor wasn’t feeling too great, so we said our goodbyes and I headed back to the resort. I’d just like to say that if Silentor ever reads this I really can’t thank you enough for showing me around that day. It was truly the highlight of my trip.

Kaliko and back to Port-au-Prince

The next couple of days were mostly just relaxing. I’d rubbed some gnarly blisters into my feet from a previous day breaking in new sandals, so I just wanted to keep things low key. I did get to talk to the CHI Haiti group a bit more, and found out that, even with 4 mile hikes to and from the villages they were going to they were still treating up to 350 patients per day. These guys are all volunteers, so I have a ton of respect and admiration for what they’re doing up there.

Heading back to the airport was a fun experience as well. After some language barrier issues at the front desk I was able to get a ride to the airport. After arriving at the airport though I learned another lesson. Don’t ever let go of your luggage. I had some official looking guys come over to me saying something about getting my bag inside. Thinking they worked for the airport I released my bag and followed. About 10 seconds later they started demanding money though, so I quickly found that to be a poor decision. Luckily they were doing it right in front of a real airport security guy. So I grabbed my bag, told them to go away, and wandered into the terminal.

I’d read that security is lax at PAP airport. I’d argue it’s not. I took off my belt and shoes no less than 3 times before I got to where I’d be able to board the plane. There’s an exit immigration checkpoint, a TSA-like checkpoint, and then another TSA-like checkpoint (which looked more official) at the American Airlines gate area. Two hours later, I was seated in 4A and ready to head back to Miami.

Flight Back

The flight to Miami was fairly uneventful. I had a nice chat with a lady who’d been helping with a different doctor and surgeon group south of Port-au-Prince near the epicenter of that devastating earthquake that destroyed most of the country.

I found out something fun about Miami airport though. Apparently you can get mohitos to go from the Bacardi bar and take them on the plane. This is info I’ll keep in mind next time I pass through MIA.

The flight to Seattle was also mostly uneventful. Mostly. The lady in the row behind me had a toddler in one seat and an infant in her lap. About halfway through the flight the infant kicked her red wine all over hers and my row. Don’t bring young kids into first class folks. That’s just asinine.

Epilogue

This trip was an eye-opening experience for me. Haiti is a very poor country, with very poor infrastructure. The people there are some of the most genuine I’ve ever seen though. My apprehension for walking around on my own was completely unreasonable. After talking with some of the locals and seeing the cities, I found that as long as you’re respectful and show some common courtesy you’ll be accepted as a friend almost immediately. I did have some people yell at me, but it was never in a threatening tone. It was almost entirely mocking comments made by our President.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to Haiti, but I will put it on the list of places that I’ll keep an eye on for future trips. I took a bunch of pictures while I was there that you can find here: [photo_gallery_wp id=”2″]

Richard

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