A Quest for Haiti: Reflections on a Year in Haiti: Finding Nemo...

October 17th is the anniversary of the death of Dessalines. Jean-Jacques Dessalines was the leader of the Haitian Revolution and was the first ruler of the independent country of Haiti. He helped defeat the French army in 1803 at the Battle of Vertières and after the country was declared to be independent in 1804, he was chosen to be the first governor-general. He is considered to be a "founding father" of the country.

In honor of his death, October 17th is a national holiday. We decided to celebrate the day by going to the beach. I have gone swimming once since I've been here in the river and I had a blast, but this was the real Caribbean beach! I was very excited!!!

There are several beaches that we could have gone to. Some of them are public beaches, but these often do not have bathrooms or other facilities. Other beaches are privately owned and are usually part of a resort-type complex with bathrooms, restaurants and other amenities. We went to one of the resorts that was around three hours away.

I immediately jumped in the water when we arrived around 9:30 and I only got out to eat lunch and read a few pages in my book. The Caribbean Sea begins along the coast of Haiti and I was excited to check it off my list of oceans that I have swam in. The water was incredibly clear and warm - very different from the Atlantic water that I'm used to. We brought snorkeling gear with us and I spent 90% of my time in the water face down, looking at the coral reef that was growing under the surface. I have been snorkeling once or twice before, but it was nothing like this. There was a long line of concrete blocks where the reef was growing. I don't know if they were put there because the reef had died and they were trying to bring it back, or just to attract tourists, but none the less, I had never seen anything like it. I saw many different kinds of fish, huge star fish, tons of sea urchins, interesting coral species and some trash. When I was snorkeling, I couldn't help but think about the movie "Finding Nemo." Apparently at other beaches here you can actually find clown fish, but I didn't spot any this time around. I'm keeping my eye out for Nemo though! I don't have any pictures, but I did some research and below are some photos I found on the internet of the species I saw.

To say it was a great day is an understatement. I was so happy to be back at the ocean and to be at one that looked like it came right off a postcard was icing on an already delicious cake!! Enjoy the photos!!