So we needed to go to Haiti. It just had to be done. My wife is getting to be quite the expert on Haitians, but has yet not been to their country. She speaks their language, knows the history and has spent 9 months getting to know them and their lives here in the Dominican republic. But the picture is very incomplete without seeing their country.
So we had to go.
And I wanted to write about it, because I really want Haiti to see more tourism, and everyone else to see more from Haiti than bad news and disasters. Plus maybe this can help some people figure some things out, god only knows good info on travel in Haiti is few and far between.
At first we didn’t really want to go, the warnings are plentiful and scary and the only proponents according to “the internets" seem to be mostly christians born again, so I tend to temper their superlatives and exhultations some. I myself, do not believe I am going on a mission from God, so that sense of purpose, joy and satisfaction is not part of my travel kit if you will. I need to say that we also had no desire to be disaster tourists, going there to spectate, but neither are we interested in going to help, maybe if we knew we could, but we are too cynical to believe that we can. Haiti does not seem to know quite what to do with the help it is already getting. For those interested you could read the rolling stones latest article on the topic. We just wanted to go to see Haiti. The good parts. Enjoy the place. Learn as much as we can, help the economy, make friend, widen our horizons and all that stuff. So that became our mission. Have a great time in Haiti and see what the country has to offer.
I want to detail the planning a bit as we started it all the way back in May and it has proved quite a challenge. After almost 13 years of frequent independent travel, I consider myself quite the expert travel planner at this point. In my own humble opinion, this is something I am great at :-D. But Haiti.. that was different. Infrastructure is next to non-existent, and tourism is a very small market. Things are set up for NGOs and international bigwigs. Not for couples going to enjoy the country. That in mind we thought it smart to start with the capitol. Although the world’s largest mess we figured the hotels there would be used to folks like us. And we were fascinated with the Oloffsson, one of the worlds truly iconic hotels as well as the dynamic and very raw art scene in Port au Prince. However, 7 emails to different hotels (including the Oloffsson) rendered 0 answers. And phone calls… nobody picked up, anywhere. Not exactly confidence-building for someone who has had their share of shady happenings for a year. Well, clearly we needed to do more research, why did we want to go to a disaster zone anyway? Would it not be just terribly depressing and terribly terrible? What else were our choices, after ruling out the north due to it’s very mixed reputations, and even worse infrastructure we eventually discovered Jacmel and the Hotel Florita.
On the south coast of Haiti, Jacmel is a city that was also devastated by the quake, but one that has by the sound of it gotten rid of its rubble if not fully rebuilt. It’s also the cultural centre of Haiti, has amazing beaches, is “safer then Geneva" and full of gingerbread architecture. But most importantly for us, it has the Florita, another classic hotel in a building from Haiti’s more affluent past, full of art and just gorgeous. The owner Joe has been amazing since the first email. Answering every question and really putting all the fears which he feels are greatly unjustified to rest. So we decided to go to Jacmel instead.
We still need to stop in Port au Prince on the way there and back, as the journey is long and slow. And with some help we were given the Oloffssons “secret" phone number (the one they answer and is unlisted that is) and we will also be staying there, although my enthusiasm for the place has greatly diminished with them never answering. It’s still a cool place though, and as stylish a place to drink rum punch as any that ever was.
As I am writing this, it is our second to last night before leaving. And I am excited, very very much so. I think this will be a great trip. My initial worries are replaced by incredible excitement. The history of the place, the art, the adventure is almost here and I think it will be an incredible experience.