I love to travel, and I love to write about my travels.
Ten years ago, I visited Cuba with my roommates when we were all teaching in Haiti. We had a weekly direct flight, and took advantage of that flight and visited during our Spring Break.
Recently, Chris was able to visit Cuba via Mexico City, along with our friend Hunter. It turns out, not much in Cuba has changed in the last ten years. Here’s our pics:
What a fun two weeks! And yet exhausting! We flew down to Colombia, landed in Barranquilla, and stayed at the Puerta del Sol hotel for one night- very nice! Then a bus ride to Santa Marta, where we prepared for our hike to the Ciudad Perdida. Previously in territory that was dangerously close to the FARC rebel group, this hike takes hikers to the remnants of a hidden city deep in the jungle. The hike itself was 46 kilometers over four days, and involved hiking up – and then back down- three large mountains and crossing six rivers- or the same river six different times, I’m not sure. Between the rain each day, the intestinal discomfort that eventually reached every single one of our group, and the heatstroke that took out one of our group, it was very challenging and at times absolutely exhausting, but I made it and getting to see the ruins of a 7th century city was amazing. And I learned that sleeping in hammocks isn’t so bad.
After the hike and a day of recovery in the quaint town of Santa Marta, we went to Cartagena de Indies to enjoy the beach and the old walled city. I liked the cobbled streets from the old section and seeing how it’s been revitalized and still retained its quaintness. Home to writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a visitor so taken by the charm of the city once remarked to the famous author “You’re just a notary without imagination”.
Ready for some ocean action, we signed on to take a sailboat to Panama. We loaded up with supplies, met our captain and the other couple sailing with us, and set sail. The first two days were ocean crossing, and a bit rough, but we made it through and the last two days were blissful sailing and swimming around the beautiful San Blas islands. Snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, sailing, and lobster to eat- what more can be asked of a vacation? Plus a bottle of Medellin rum, shared four ways.
Finally we left our sailboat and made our way in to Panama City, where we went to see the engineering marvel that is the Panama Canal. We enjoyed staying at the Central Park Hotel and Casino and especially their shower and their bed that did not go up and down with the swells. We toured the museum at the Canal, and watched several really large cargo container ships pass through. They are building a second set of locks that will accommodate boats up to three times bigger! That is incredible. All too soon it was time to head home, although to be honest, this time I think was ready to get back to normal life for a while.
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.
Well, although it seemed like it would never happen, school finally ended. Lisa and I went to the airport, making sure we got there in PLENTY OF TIME (didn’t want any repeats of Spring Break experience). We got on the plane and before we knew it, we were in Port-au-Pitre, Guadelupe, at the airport, with no idea where we were staying! Yeah, neither Lisa nor I did a lot of planning on this one.
The lady at the tourist office at the airport recommended a cheap hotel for us, and we got a cab. We spent the next three days exploring Guadelupe. We walked around some beaches, and visited a little artisan craft village. Unfortunately it was off-season, so a lot of stuff was closed. On our second day there we rented a car and drove all around. There are a lot of surf camps on the northeast side of the island. I think it would be really cool to go to one of those for a month or so, learn how to surf.
Anyway, we rented a car and drove all around, visiting a rain forest, a waterfall, and some hot-water springs. We went to coffee plantation- mmmmm. Our last night there we went to a big reggae concert, where Shaggy was the headliner. Unfortunately, the crowd got totally out of hand and the concert was shut down. But, surprisingly, we saw Shaggy and his whole crew the next day- they were on our airplane to.
We did get to talk to the guys in the band on the flight- it was one of those tiny, 25 seaters- but they were staying in Antigua and we were going on to Dominica. I think it was my favorite of the three islands. Our first day, we bussed over to Portsmouth and stayed there for a night. We found a cheap little guest house and walked up to Fort Shirley and visited there. I really liked looking at the fort, it was like something out of an old movie. You could just imagine the French or the British or the Spanish there. We met a local, Kevin, and he recommended a great place for dinner. He and his friend met us there and gave us a lot of interesting history of the place.
The next day, Kevin’s friend, Randolph, took us on a boat ride up the Indian River. He pointed out some places where Pirates of the Caribbean 2 were filmed. Very interesting flora and fauna there. Our “guide” was really knowledgeable. He pointed out all kinds of different birds and fish and trees.
That afternoon we bussed over to 3 Rivers Ecolodge. This is a really cool place. Anyone interested in going to Dominica should really check out this place- www.3riversdominica.com. They have cabins, huts, and even tree houses you can stay in! Lisa and I had a great time there. Beautiful scenery, wonderful people, and plenty to do around there. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better swim than in the bathing pool where two of the three rivers meet.
We spent three days at 3 Rivers. We hiked, swam, saw baby turtles in the sand, ate mangoes and bananas and pineapple and coconut. The food there was wonderful, and all made right there. The cook made tablette, a coconut-type of fudge, for all of us. It was really fun, finding fresh-water streams and following them until they empty into the ocean, and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking.
But at last it was time to leave Dominica, and we headed off one more time to Martinique. Martinique was different from the other islands- very French. We stayed in the capital, Fort-de-France, at the cheapest little hotel imaginable. Lisa and I really outdid ourselves on this one. We had a good time walking around the little capital, kind of like walking around the French Quarter- small paved streets and lots of bars and cafes and shops. So nice to be able to have an espresso and pain au chocolate for breakfast. The water was beautiful, and we took a ferry over to Anse-de-Bout, where all the resorts are. Amazing beaches over there, and we got some laying around in the sun time.
One day we rented a car and drove all around the island. We visited St. Pierre, where the volcano Mt. Pelee erupted in 1902 and killed everyone there (except one guy who was in jail, survived, was pardoned, and later went and toured with Barnum & Bailey circus). Seeing the old town was really neat. We drove up almost to the top of Mt. Pelee. We also visited a rum distillery- very cool. We saw Green Diamond rock, a stunning rock out in the ocean, just off the coast. Wow, such amazing vegetation and water, what a great combination. We even got to visit Trois Ilets, the little town where Josephine was born, who would one day become Empress of France.
It seemed to come too soon, but sure enough, it eventually came time to go home. After a small fiasco at the airport- we, ahem, missed our flight back to Haiti, and had to take a hasty flight to Puerto Rico. From there, Lisa went back to Haiti to see Vlad and pack some stuff for us, and I got a ticket from Puerto Rico to DFW. All in all, I’d say it was a fantastic vacation, and I’d recommend those islands to anyone who wants to tour the Caribbean. One word of advice- check the ferry schedule first, and don’t plan on flying with Lisa- she’s very bad luck at airports!
March was a difficult month at work. The teachers at the other house were having roommate problems, and things escalated to the point where one of them was fired. As she taught US and World History, my favorite two classes, I volunteered to take her two classes and get rid of my sixth grade English classes, who are little monsters. I did manage to get away for a beach weekend with Chris at Kaliko, and that helped, as it was quite nice.
Lisa’s parents, and then Pia’s mom and sister, came down to visit us and had a wonderful time. I was starting to feel pretty lonely so I managed to talk Hunter into coming down for the last weekend in March. He agreed, and we had a whirlwind long weekend tour of Haiti! He arrived, and Chris picked him up from the airport. They met us at the Montana Hotel for drinks, then went to Monica and Andy’s house for drinks and dinner. Later that night we all went out in Petionville to Boucane, MacDoo’s, and Barak.
On Saturday we got up pretty early to drive out to Jean Marc’s beach house. That evening we drove up to Monica’s mountain house to spend the night and have a relaxing Sunday. Along the way we had lots of rum punches, more than one wahoo, bought a live chicken (that was pretty damn funny), and generally had a good time. But I was exhausted by the time he left on Monday!
My homeroom had to sponsor school-wide Easter activities, and that added to the extra class I was teaching, was really starting to take its toll on me. Still recovering from Hunter’s visit, and only four days back at work before I had to leave to go home for Amber’s wedding. Stupid American Airlines cancelled our last flight out of the day, so I had to leave Friday morning, and I got home too late for the rehearsal. I did, however, make it to the dinner, and Amber was so happy to see me. Saturday was her wedding, and by the time that was all over, I was exhausted to the point of not being able to do anything else. I spent all Sunday in bed, and was supposed to fly back to Haiti on Monday. But I just couldn’t do it. Exhaustion, a sinus infection, thoughts of Easter activities…. Combined together, I couldn’t face it. I changed my flight to Wednesday and stayed home an extra two days, in bed, trying to get well again.
In April, Lisa and I were supposed to leave for our Spring Break adventure, a trip to Guadalupe, Martinique, and Dominica. Her boyfriend Vlad picked us up for the airport- an hour late. About half way there, his car broke down. We grabbed a tap-tap and headed the rest of the way to the airport, but our flight was just about to leave and it was too late for us. We changed our tickets to June and we’ll go on our adventure then. For this week, we decided to just plan small fun things for this area. We went to the beach with Tom and Sue and their new baby Jordan, and yesterday we went up to The Lodge and had a long lunch. My friend Yves, who works for a USAID program, asked if I could be UN election observer for the Senatorial elections on Friday. It all turned out pretty interesting.
Before we knew it, the school year was winding down. Tom and Sue are heading to Kuwait for their next teaching job, and I’m going to Nicaragua. Lisa is staying in Haiti another year, and Chris is going to Africa. It was sad saying farewell at the last hashes of the year, but we’re all excited to see what the next adventures bring us. Stay tuned to see what life is like in Nicaragua!
PalmTreeMusings 