Backpacking in Haiti

Best Things

friendly locals once you get to know them
working alongside 30 inspiring Haitian guys to shovel mud out of Gonaives
several fun nights out at Haitian discos
being taught a bit of Creole by local kids
attending a vodou festival with a Haitian friend
delicious chicken dinners at roadside stalls
Barbancourt rum
riding to each job in our work taptap loaded with people and tools
Haitian art

Worst Things

coming face-to-face with desperation and extreme poverty every day
experiencing several 'Haitian standoffs' where opposing drivers get out of their cars to prove a point and nobody goes anywhere
eating rice and beans every day
travelling out of town on buses or taptaps packed tight with people
garbage fire fumes and dust

Where I Went in Haiti

Gonaives

I found myself in Gonaives, the second largest city in Haiti, after joining a disaster response organisation to help out after it was hit by a bunch of storms in late 2008. The storms dumped loads of rain on the whole country but Gonaives was hit especially hard and the entire town (streets, houses, churches, schools - everything) filled with mud. The city wouldn't cut it as a tourist destination but after living there for over four months and getting to know many of the locals, I grew to love the place.

Camping

This was a bit of a ridiculous outing, to say the least. While volunteering in Gonaives, a bunch of friends and I decided we wanted to go camping. It's probably not the safest idea to plop a tent down on the outskirts of any city, let alone one in Haiti, but we were determined to give it a try. We walked out of town for an hour towards the hills to the south of the city looking for the perfect spot but not having much luck as there were people everywhere. Eventually we met a young Haitian named Charles who took us under his wing and led us to a good place at the edge of a village. The villagers were obviously curious and gathered around staring at us before we broke the ice with a game of soccer with the kids. The sun went down, we made a ghetto fire out of coal, drank some wine, sang some songs and the whole escapade went off without incident. It was an awesome experience but not recommended for people who have a bit of common sense!

Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince is the capital of Haiti and if you fly into the country, this will be your entry point. It is a chaotic place but I didn't stick around for long enough to form an opinion.

Labadie

Labadie was our little oasis from the chaos of the rest of Haiti and I ended up visiting twice. Unfortunately, the trip to get from Gonaives to Labadie requires you to take a taptap crammed with up to 25 people over bumpy, winding, cliff-edge roads for four hours to Cap Haitian and then another hour long journey down an even worse road by taptap, taxi or, for the really daring, motorbike. From there Labadie is a short boat ride away. Bargaining a price for the boat will be frustrating but once you arrive in the village, it will all be worth it.

There is one hotel in town called Norm's Place that is a little piece of paradise right on a small but sandy beach on the edge of town. The villagers in Labadie are friendly and always happy to see guests and play chess, show off their little town, or just chat. Three times per week there is a giant Royal Carribean cruise ship parked right in from of the village because it drops up to 3,000 passengers at a time off to the fake, fenced-in, high security 'Labadee' that is off-limits to the real Labadie villages unless they work there. It is surreal to see bouncy castles floating in the water, jet skis, cocktails and a bunch of white people virtually fenced in. I felt sorry for them because the village outside their compound is one of the friendliest, most interesting places I have been.

Visa

A three month visa is granted for free on arrival to citizens of most Western countries. It can be extended wither by crossing the border into the Dominican Republic or by filing paperwork in Port-au-Prince.

Accommodation

Accommodation in Haiti is notoriously expensive and finding a room for cheaper than $40 can be a challenge. Labadee is the exception with rooms at Norm’s Place costing $25 per person. Rates are usually per person rather than per room so travelling as a couple doesn’t make things cheaper in most hotels. I spent most of my time there living in free accommodatoin in an old hotel that was set up to house volunteers

Where I Stayed

Port-au-Prince - St. Joseph's Home for Boys

Labadee - Norm's Place

Transportation

Plane

Haiti doesn't have its own national airline so in order to get around the country by plane you will be looking at small, privately-owned operators. Several international carriers fly to Haiti including American, Air Canada, Air France and Copa. Miami and New York are the cities with the most departures. Several Carribean airlines also fly to Port-au-Prince.

Taptap

A taptap is basically a pickup truck with bench seats in the back and sometimes a covering over top. They wouldn't be a bad way for getting around if the seats weren't so small and hard and if they put a reasonable number of people in them instead of cramming them with as many people as possible. Having people virtually sitting on your lap for a four hour journey is not comfortable, especially with crazy drivers and insanely bumpy roads.

Mototaxi

Mototaxi drivers in Haiti are just as seemingly reckless as most other countries but that's what makes them fun! I used mototaxis to zip around Gonaives and having to negotiate piles of mud and falled debris while holding my breath to fight the dust really made each journey interesting. Drivers will usually ask foreigners for a bit more than the ride is worth, but not usually too much. Knocking 5 or ten goude off the price will usually bring it down to something fair for both parties. If they get you there in one piece, consider tipping!

Bus

I have never been happier to see my destination in my life than after travelling for four hours on a Haitian bus. A friend and I made it on the last bus of the day from Port-au-Prince to Gonaives and it was crammed to the rafters. There were three people per seat and the aisles were packed with people standing anywhere they could. We managed to get the last 'seats' and were in the very back row attempting to cling to the edge of a seat already occupied by two people. These buses are old US schoolbuses and the seats aren't exactly huge! Being in th eback row wreaked extra havoc because the drivers travel at breakneck speed and don't bother slowing for bumps (or which there are many) so we were being launched two feet into the air every five minutes for four hours. A fight broke out between two guys in front of us which wasn't too good when there's nowhere to go. A pee stop halfway that everyone had to find their way out of the bus to pee on the side of the road before filing back into our rolling sardine can. If you want an extreme travel experience, take a ride on a Haitian bus but it's not for the timid!

Festivals and Events

Voudou Fete

Football Match

Weather

I was there in September during what I'm told was the end of the monsoon season. The only place I really noticed the rain was in Yangon where it pelted down most of the days I was there, flooding the streets and making walking on the sidewalk an adventure in itself. Elsewhere in the country it rained a bit, but mainly during the night so it didn't really effect me.

People

Locals

Local people can be a bit daunting at first because you will get asked for money a lot. Once you break past this, people in Haiti are hugely helpful and friendly. The local guys I got to know really inspire me with their dedication to education and…

Other Travellers

Almost every foreigner I met in Haiti were either working for some sort of aid organization, the UN or were missionaries. The UN when I was there had troops from Argentina, Chile, Pakistan and Nepal. They’re friendly and have stopped a few times to have some drinks with us.

Money and Costs

Example Costs (April 2008):

Safety and Security

Haiti has a terrible reputation so I arrived with some serious apprehension about safety. I was told that kidnappings are common in this country, mostly of successful Haitians but sometimes with foreigners being the target. Arriving in a country with the thought that you are a kidnapping target is kind of daunting but don’t let it phase you. I feel safer in Haiti that I do at home in Canada. Violent crime doesn’t seem to be common here outside of revolution or riot type activities which may flare up from time to time. Obviously you need to take care of yourself as you would in any country. In Haiti you should always stay aware of your surroundings as unrest can flare up from time to time. Take care not to flaunt your valuables and don’t leave them unattended. It’s not common to be mugged, but if you don’t pay attention to your things, an opportunist might find the situation to tempting. We had a couple of break ins and items were stolen as we slept in Goniaves so be aware of this and make sure your accommodation is secure.

Food and Drink

Food consists mainly of rice and beans and beans and rice. Some other common dishes are a sludgey green spinach-like dish, fried plantains, black rice, spaghetti, and salads with onion, tomato and lettuce. It is possible to find great meals of BBQ chicken and the fixings including spicy sauce at street stalls for around 125 to 150 gourde. If you see any blenders on the side of the road be careful to check the ingredients before ordering. You might think you’re getting a mango and banana shake when, in reality, the only option is potato and carrot and it’s gross. The beer in Haiti is Prestige and can be had for less than a buck. Heinekin and Bud Light can also be found for twice the price. The spirit of choice is Barbancourt rum and it’s cheap. If you want any other spirits you’ll have to search hard and expect to pay 75 gourde for a shot of whiskey or Baileys.

Communication

When I first arrived in Gonaives in November there was no city power but, bizarrely, our house had a reasonably good internet connection. Our place was powers by a generator run on gasoline during the day and then an inverter through the night until the power ran dry so as long as there was electricity, there was internet. Except when it got windy for some reason. When I arrived into Port-au-Prince the situation was the same but the internet connection wasn’t as reliable or as fast. I called my parents through Skype but it is probably possible to make overseas calls through the people who walk the streets with phones. It is also possible to but a mobile phone for about $xxx but rates per minute from Haiti are expensive. The postal system doesn’t really exist, at least not in Gonaives, so don’t attempt to send anything you don’t want to lose.