I took a short trip to Haiti this weekend to visit friends on the island.  I can’t believe it’s been ten years since I moved to Haiti to teach- ten years since I moved overseas!  So I hopped on an American Airlines jet and went to visit Monica and Andy, my second family.

M&A have turned their lovely home into an 8 room bed and breakfast, which is just beautiful.  I got to sleep in the same room I often slept in, so it really felt like home.  They’ve made some awesome additions to the place, but the vista of the bay of Port au Prince is still as beautiful as ever (PaP always looks better from a distance).  We spent the first day and night up in Pacot and in Petionville, having lunch at Papaye and seeing how Petionville has and has not changed since the earthquake and with more development coming to Haiti.  After a lovely dinner- with plenty of wine, of course-, we were all tired and ready for bed.

On Saturday morning we went to the municipal airport and took a 30 minute flight to Cap Haitian, flying over the Citadel on the way.  We landed, and half an hour later we were at the beach house, changing into our suits.  The property is just beautiful, with sandy beaches, an old French fort dating back to the late 1700’s, and a lovely high deck that shows off a great panorama.

We swam, jet skied, and drank lots of rosé wine.  Too much of all three!  It was fun to ride the jet ski and go by Norm’s Place, where I stayed years ago, and Labadee, the port for Royal Carribbean, and spend a few hours at a tiny island, just playing in the warm ocean.We hunted sea glass and visited with some daughters of their workers who were having their First Communion.

On Monday morning it was time to fly back to the capital.  I was pretty much ready to leave the beach, as I was sunburnt and tired.  We went shopping in town, to pick up some Barbancourt rum and spicy peanut butter, and after a final lunch of my favorite Haitian dish- sauce poids and rice– I headed back to home.  My other home.