Should I go to cap-Haitien?

[Hillbilly]

I know a couple of Haitians that have acceptable Spanish. If your trip is on one of the long weekends you might be able to get one of them to accompany you.

I will also ask some very wealthy Haitians I know, if they have anyone that might be able to help you out.

One thing that came to mind is the possibility of getting out to La Tortugue, the large island off the North Coast of Haiti that was a pirate haven for so many years. There is a tiny village there now. I do believe that access is from Port du Paix, just West of CH. With a guide this should be doable. This idea comes to mind because after the trip to La Citadelle and Sans Souci there is not a whole lot to do in CH. Perhaps you could go into Labadie (?) the Carnival or Royal Caribbean resort along the coast?

We'll get back to you on some of this. Keep planning.

Cordially,

HB

 

[Salsafan]

Perhaps you could go into Labadie (?) the Carnival or Royal Caribbean resort along the coast?

The Carnival-site of the Labadie ist not interesting. But the original haitien village Labadie ist like a paradise, very different from CH. You take a quagua for some 20 min. from CH over the hills to the port of Labadie (besides Carnival), then a boatride for 10 minutes.

 

[NALs]

Is there anything on the spot where La Navidad was built?

 

[ROLLOUT]

PM me, and I will pass you my info so you can add me as a beneficiary.

 

[bigbird]

The following was posted in a different thread.

I had looked at Caribe Tours website and it appeared that there was no bus from Santiago to Cap Haitien, but only on from Santo Domingo (yes, I know it would have to pass Santiago). This would have made it a long journey as I am starting from Cabarete, which was why I hadn't considered the option. I'll have to make some enquiries.

Thanks for your input, anyway.

Yes, it originates in SD, but they have an employee in Santiago station - the first one if you are coming from the north - who handles the passengers who want to board the bus there. Haven't done this for 2-3 years but imagine the procedure pretty much remains the same. It is a little different from other CT bus trips. There is the driver and an attendant. Passengers receive a packaged lunch and beverages. It doesn't stop until it hit the border in Quanaminthe. Seems to take a while to get processed there. Once underway again you travel on a pretty good asphalt hwy. The only problem there are a lot of speed bumps. Gotta be hard on the buses brakes. Seems like they are 2-3 miles apart. When the bus gets to CH it almost goes thru the width of the city to the west. The final destination is on the west side of the city. The bus is parked in a facility that can be locked at night. It is also the site of the ticket office where you buy your return ticket. Would say that this would be in one of the better areas of CH. The bus leaves fairly early in the am. The station is near several hotels. The one we stayed at was about 2 long blocks from the depot. We climbed up a steep hill and we we there. Reservations are advised. The hotel bartender set us up with a car for the trip to Sans Souci and the Citadel. This tour is awesome. I've been on it 3 times and would probably go again if the opportunity came up. Seeing this in and of itself is worth the trip to Haiti IMO.

http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/154533-Very-short-visit-to-Haiti-practical

 

[mofongoloco]

Thanks folks.

I'm going alone, via Caribe Tours. I'll get into santiago two days early to buy my ticket in person at the bus station.

Will I be able to get Haitian Gourdes at an exchange house in sti? I would rather arrive with gourdes in my pocket. It will be so much easier to transact in Spanish.

Now for the middle part of the trip i'm trying to decide between Sosua and Puerto Plata. I've waited too long to make my bookings and lots of stuff is sold out. I want to do airbnb, which i've already arranged for the last week in Santo Domingo.

Never been to north coast before. I'm not a swimmer and i like the look of the shade trees along the beach in Sosua. I'm slightly concerned that as a middle aged man alone i'll be constantly harassed by "my fren" type people assuming i'm up to no good. Will I be able to sit read and read a book?

I really wanted to go to Las Terrenas to get some french food. The trip from cap-haitien is much farther. I'm doubling the google drive time as my rule of thumb. I'll do caribe Tours for the entire trip. Unless I get fed up and take a taxi.

I'm going to uber in sti and sdq. Is there uber in Puerto Plata? As I understand it the taxis and motos are extortionate.

 

[mofongoloco]

Also, I'm planning on crossing into haiti via dajabon on a sunday. I'm assuming it will be a no market, less trafficked day. Is crossing on a Sunday a good or bad idea?

 

[NALs]

Mofongoloco,

Your trip to Haiti was suppose to take place at some time during the last two weeks of January. February 2018 is about to say good bye and you haven't said how your trip went, if northern Haiti match your expectations, if you chicken out... spill the beans!!!

 

[mofongoloco]

Update from cap-Haitian.  

The caribe tours bus leaves from the Santiago Las Colinas terminal.  Not los jaridines terminal.  They collect all the passports and give them back to you to exit at Dajabon.  Then you cross the river and enter at Ounaminthe, Haiti.  Factoid:  Ounaminthe is a transliteration of Juana Mendez, the name of the town before it was Haitian.  The bus was freezing cold and I was wearing a jacket.  I don’t know how the Haitians in bare sleeve could tolerate it.  

The historic area is noisy, dirty and crowded.  Many, possibly most, of the buildings seem either unoccupied or only in partial use.  There really isn’t any infrastructure for tourists. There is no cafe society here.  Trip advisor lists only 13 restaurants in the whole city.  I’ve been to five of them so far.  The best I can say is Meh!  I’m walk past hovels and smell the most delicious food wafting from the windows. Then I go to a place that is trying to cater to an international aesthetic.  Misses the mark every time. You can get a coconut, but I have seen any fruit sellers.  You know, where you get a selection of cut fruit.

The electricity keeps going out. The generator kicks in and keeps the hotel running. Walking around a city in the dark was interesting. Haitian personal space is close.  It,almost seems like people are creeping up on you. My experience with Haitians in

 

[mofongoloco]

Mofongoloco,

Your trip to Haiti was suppose to take place at some time during the last two weeks of January. February 2018 is about to say good bye and you haven't said how your trip went, if northern Haiti match your expectations, if you chicken out... spill the beans!!!

SOmanfunny thing just happened. I was responding to this post an one I started before all of a sudden popped up.  

To continue. 

I brought a flash light and glad of it.  I brought the wrong shoes because the streets are very dirty and muddy. 

I got a taxi driver to San souci..he knew a guide so I hired him.  The guide and I took two motorcycles up to two horses.  Each horse had two men.  The guide and I on horseback and a man at the lead and a man behind with a switch. Not even a whip.  Some people lived in the park and we passed there houses on the way up the mountain. 

Much cooler up there.  The views are spectacular and the fort is a marvel.  Considering the effort to build it.  The collection of cannons were beautiful. 

 

[mofongoloco]

each way. The motorcycles were thirty each and the horses thirty each. That included the tips. 

Many people walked up.  Almost all missionaries. I was the first one up and had the place to myself for a couple of hours. I stayed at the fort about 3-4 hours. Could have stayed longer if I brought my hammock. The air was so refreshingly cool. 

I most especially enjoyed musing about the 5,000 Haitian soldiers stuck up here.   ?????? ?????? hmmm. Better I drop that.  

Getting from Santiago to las terrenas was a bit of a pain.  The direct route is fr M Santiago.  So I took a taxi. Well, an uber I used off book.  The car was clean.  When I saw the taxis I figured better go with the car.  The driver was a woman in her thirties.  As it is a long ride I offered to her to bring along a companion as she would be returning at night. She brought her early twenties mechanic son who was a brick wall of a man.  

On the way we stopped for pictures.  The kid was thrilled I knew all the latest dembow y otra música urbana.  We stopped at a seafood restaurant where I treated. A place they go to routinely.  The taxi ride was 150dollars. To las terrenas from Santiago. 

I ate at the places LTSteve recommended via PM and I wasn’t disappointed. Excellent food available in LT.  slightly more sophisticated crowd.  Lots of pretty lady shops selling lovely dresses sandals etc.  Good shopping for men too.  I picked up a few fetching outfits.  

Samana was BORING.  Which is exactly as I wanted. I took the public ferry to sabana Del Mar, where you have to transfer to a smaller launch to,reach the dock.  That was lots of fun.  The young men just picked up the old and informed and popped them from one vessel to another.  Babies.  Saw many young teenage mothers. Like 15 years old.  The captain I had seen previously on YouTube. He was cool.  Crusty and salty. 

I saw dolphins, gorgeous birds and rainbows. It really was astounding.  There were a total of three tourists.  Me and a polish couple.  They spoke hardly Any Spanish. 

Sabana Del Mar was really depressing. Flat. Not ugly, just nothing there’s.  No industry, no jobs, hardly any stores. 

Then i taxied to Santo Domingo for another week.  

Got violently sick on the last day of my Airbnb.  So I had to rebook my flight and I moved over to a hotel.  They were kind of nice.  It took a while but eventually they figured out how to cook me plain boiled rice and boiled eggs. I paid a significant gringo tax on that, but at least they did it for me.  

All in all, it was a great trip.

I would like to have a kreyol traveling companion next time.  But it is totally doable.

Added bonus, the lady at caribe tours who takes your passport and ushers you through the process is breathtakingly beautiful. She has the kind of face you could stare at all day.  And her hair was styled natural.  So guys, all aboard. 

 

[mofongoloco]

I arrived in Santiago a few days early so I could get my ticket in person.  It can not be done on the internet, at least not when I tried and they confirmed. I traded dollars for gourdes while I was in Santiago. Glad I did that.  I could have done it at the border but I was just passing by a guy I had seen in the same spot for few days in a row.  He said wait here. I did. I did not give him anything. He went for a walk and when he came back we exchanged money.  This was outside the post office. I saw other people doing the same thing. 

 

[mofongoloco]

So, apparently one guys owns all the horses. The men work for him and take care of the horses.

The moto drivers rented the bikes on a daily basis and gave a percentage of their earnings.  

Everybody wanted my Facebook. Nobody got it. Everybody wanted me to help open an orphanage. 

Many people were employed by a huge international organization affiliated with my employer. They were extremely proud.  Not sure what people’s jobs were.  We had many medical type acquaintances in common. 

At the hotel almost everybody was an ngo type. Chomping down on a lunch per diem equalmto a weeks wage. 

There were a few French families who seemed like they were on vacation, but maybe dad or mom is ngo.  They were the only ones who seemed like tourists like me.  

Everybody else I met were either missionaries or other secular groups.  Coming down to paint a school, dig a well.  Etc.  You know, the things Haitians are perfectly capable of doing for themselves. 

You,can see people facebooking and instagramming. 

I’m not trying to put myself above that group. I just don’t think me going there helps a wit. It bought groceries for 8 men who no doubt used that money that night to,feed their families. Through hard work and enterprise. 

Haiti is all about opportunity, not ability. 

 

[mofongoloco]

I had full internet service in Haiti and dr. I paid $10 per day to my home service and it worked seamlessly. I was able to use google,translate for kreyol.  And you can download it for 30 days at a time for off line use.  

It worked. 

 

[Caonabo]

Interesting tidbit about the NGO types. Who knew?

 

[Dolores1]

Went to Cap Haitien more than 30 years ago...

I went with a group of friends. Flew in and out by private plane from Santiago, spending one night at the Mont Joli. Cap Haitien was quite a garden city back then.

Visited some art galleries and the Citadelle/ Sans Souci. Went by horse/mule up but walked down, despite having paid for the horse. I would recommend going up on foot, at your pace, and back on foot, too. But you need to be in good shape as it is a demanding hike.

Food was good then at the Mont Joli. I remember it as a pleasant oasis.

If you are going these days, it should be chilly and raining. Be sure to take a raincoat.

For me it was a memorable trip... impressive thinking about the hardship of those who built the place.

I think it is worthy of a visit. Go for it and tell us about your trip.

---

Ah... I see you did it! Good for you!

 

[bigbird]

thanks mofongoloco, have any pics to share?

 

[mofongoloco]

I tried earlier to post a vid but it didn't work. I don't have tinypic or photobucket.