A Haitian Vacation

I didn't even realize I was calling the clinic "home" until Julie pointed it out to me one day. After a month of being here, the clinic really feels like home. We are relieved to come "home" from a day of work in the hot sun. We help Dr. Merisier prepare "home" for visitors like the 17 person medical team that came last week. We went on a mini-vacation to Jacmel this weekend and as we approached familiar streets I was excited to be "home" again.


So about this Haitian vacation...it was incredible! At times I forgot I was in Haiti...Jacmel is a beautiful oasis hidden in the mountains of Haiti. We let ourselved indulge a little...okay maybe more than a little...for 2 days. On Saturday we checked into the Cyvadier Hotel in Jacmel and were greeted with delicious fruit punches. From the hotel we had a beautiful view of the ocean!That afternoon we went to the public beach where we had fresh fish and plantains, which were both very delicious! Swimming at the beach was amazing cuz the water was soo warm...I wish California beaches had such warm water. When we came back to the hotel we had hot showers, AC, and a buffet...it literally felt like the most luxurious place ever just because of these three things.


The next day was quite an adventure. We went to Bassin Bleu, which is basically a series of gorgeous waterfalls pouring into basins. Getting there was the adventure - it involved riding motorcycles up mountainous terrain, crossing a river on foot, and using a rope to climb down rocks. So the motorcycles picked us up near the hotel and took us through moutainous terrain until we reached a flowing river. We got off the motorcyles, held hands, and waddled our way through the river keeping our legs wide apart so as to not be thrown off our feet by the current. The motorcycle took us up the moutain some more and at points we were too heavy for the motorcycle so we had to get off and hike up. As we got higher we saw beautiful views of the ocean and mountains!


Missy and Kathy along with some of our Haitian friends crossing the river!


Finally we got to a point where motos could go no further so from there we hiked. Thats when we reached the rocks that needed a rope to climb down. We crossed several streams, passed several waterfalls, and with the help of the Haitians we were with reached the topmost waterfall. It was so nice. We jumped into the water from near the waterfall and it truly felt like a paradise. Our lunch consisted of fresh avocados and coconuts...yuuum :) The whole trip showed how much potential Haiti has to be a tourist destination and the hidden beauty that the beaches and mountains of Haiti possess. Jacmel used to be a popular tourist area before the hurricanes and earthquake. I really hope one day it can flourish again...its such a cute, picturesque little town surrounded by beautiful beaches and mountains.

The girls by the waterfall. Top row from left to right: Genevieve, Hannah, and Missy. Bottom row from left to right: Kathy, Julie, Julia, and Shilpa