The Island

After our long week of creole lessons we got a chance to relax on the beach. It was about an hour and a half drive through the hills of northern Haiti, but our destination was worth the travel. We arrived at a small fishing village on the coast in view of a beautiful island not far from shore. The whole village gathered around our truck before we could open the doors. We paid a local man to take our group of eight to the island on his boat. The tide was out and about 12 guys were needed to push the boat into the water. This process involved a lot of yelling and recruiting of additional help including someone to go get the motor.

The island was small with a great beach and a reef near by for snorkeling. The appearance of the island was very reminiscent of LOST. There were a few other Haitians on the beach but otherwise we had the island to ourselves. When we got to the island we got out the snorkeling gear and cautiously ventured out into the ocean. We are not experienced in this area and were hesitant to get too far from shore. Because of the reef, many colorful fish were easy to find. It was fun to see all the sea life until Laura got too nervous and had to go back to shore.

The locals told us about some ruins of King Christophe from the mid 1700's. We went exploring through some rough terrain. I think they call it bushwhacking but we forgot our machetes and got tangled in more than a few vines. At the peak of the island we found a cannon belonging to King Christophe from 1767. (the date was on the cannon) It was just sitting in a pile of overgrown brush. We also found the remains of a fort and a deep well.

Our first Haitian beach experience was a success and we are looking forward to seeing a few more. It's a lot different then going to a beach at home but we really enjoyed it.

We are back in Milot for week two of improving our Creole. We have a lot of spare time here and love to get e-mails, so keep us updated about what is going on back home.

Kurt and Laura, a.k.a. Sawyer and Kate