Don't forget the sunscreen!

The fence that surrounds Labadee Beach.
(Beth took this photo)

The last attraction that the area around Cap-Haitian boasts is the beach, specifically Labadee beach.  Large cruise ships anchor here and a private beach has been built up into a tourist paradise.  There has been a lot of controversy over this.  Royal Caribbean Cruise line rents the beach from the government and has blocked it off from the public.  Only people who are employed by the cruise line or who are vacationers are allowed on the land.  Folks are not allowed to leave to experience the Haiti  that lies beyond the fence surrounding the beach.  Royal Caribbean has a deal with the government until 2050.  The cruise line agreed to pay the government of Haiti $10 US for every tourist who steps foot on the beach and they have invested millions of dollars into the development of the beach.  Although they employ many people as well as sell their art from the village of Labadie (name was changed to make it easier for tourists to spell), the village still struggles with electricity and the condition of the roads to Labadee are poor.  Royal Caribbean has provided some assistance for local education and after the earthquake, the cruise line gave $1 million of aid and helped transport supplies to Haiti.

Our first view.  (Beth's photos)

We stayed at a smaller beach near Labadie village called Belly Beach.  Our beach was open to the public.  The hotel itself was pretty empty, but tons of people, both Haitians as well as crew members from the ship with their days off were there to enjoy the beach, eat and relax.  We spent most of the day swimming, snorkeling and doing various other beach activities.  In the evenings, we went into the village for food and to walk around.  There was such a strong juxtaposition between sitting by the water in the town with kids asking for money and food and then seeing the huge, shiny cruise ship with tons of passengers shuffling too and fro.

It was great to be on the beach for a few days, but it always felt a little strange to see so much tourism.  It was like seeing a world within a world.  On the inside were jet-skis, water adventures, the longest zipline above water, beach cabanas and frozen beverages.  Outside was poverty, hunger and need.  It was odd to think about how closed off Haiti was from Labadee and how the vacationers were closed off from the people and the surrounding culture.  Even though our beach was "open" to the public, it was still really only open to the select - the wealthiest Haitians and us.  Although I still haven't really been able to put my finger on the feeling I was having throughout the trip, I think the best word is disconnect.  As soon as we got on the first tap-tap to take us back to Gros Morne, it was like stepping back into reality.

Among the group, we have tons of pictures.  It was hard to choose so here's a bunch.  I actually didn't take that many pictures (classic Katie).  This first half are from Beth and the rest are mine.

Labadee beach.

Attempt 1.  Fail. 

Our last supper!  Fish (it was fantastic), rice, banans and pikliz.

Fish always tastes better when you're on the water!!

Our failed jumping attempt.  We tried a few times and never got it.

I have a picture like this from every ocean I've been to.  Although it's still the Atlantic, it felt and looked so different than the Atlantic I'm used to, I took a picture anyway.

One of my favorites!

It's kind of hard to see, but directly under the sun is the village of Labadie.  Behind the farther rock point was our beach.  We had to take the water version of a tap-tap to and from the village to our hotel and then to get back to where we would get a tap-tap back to Cap-Haitian.

Belly Beach

Some of the water taxis.

We saw tons of these!

One of the meals we found.  This was a restaurant that was still under construction.  They initially gave us a price that was way too much for us and then said they had no food and then finally gave us leftovers (who knows where they came from).  They actually weren't that bad as long as you didn't question their origin.

It's hard to tell, but that's actually American TV – Jimmy Fallon (special guest Daniel Radcliff) in English!

Elisa took this.

Holdin' Down the Fort

Trying to pick up one of the thousands of cannon
balls still sitting on the site.  It was real heavy.
(Beth's photo)

We continued our tour of Haitian history a few kilometers up a mountain at La Citadelle.  Haitians call this fort the 8th wonder of the world.  La Citadelle was commissioned by Henri Christophe in 1805 and was part of a larger decision by Jean-Jacques Dessalines to construct several forts in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitian to protect Haiti from French invasion.  Construction commenced in 1805.  It took 20,000 people 15 years to build the humongous fort.  It stands at 900 m at the top of mountain overlooking the northern coast.  Its wall are 4m thick and some reach heights of 40m.  It not only offers spectacular views but was an ideal location for a fort - which you will be able to see from the pictures below.

Although the fort was never actually used in battle, it was home to 160 cannons (captured from France, England and the US) as well as 50,000 cannonballs of various sizes.  In addition to seeing typical fort attractions (the powder magazine, officer's quarters, the hospital, kitchens), visitors can also see the tomb of Prince Noel, Christophe's son.  Henri suffered from a stroke in 1820 and committed suicide not long after.  His body is supposedly buried in the fort, although no one is sure of the precise location.  We continued the search, but no luck...

The hike up...approaching the fort.

I was hoping to hike up the mountain, but it was going to be about 8km just to get from Sans-Souci at the base of the mountain to the top.  Not everyone in the group was feeling the trek, so we ended up taking motos to the parking lot 6 km up and then we walked the remaining 2 km to the top.  The moto ride was a little scary (it was even worse on the way down because Beth and I were sliding forward into the driver), but it got us to the top in good time.  The views were incredible!  It was clear that Christophe picked an extremely strategic location for his fort.  You could see the water and potential oncoming armies marching across the plains and then behind the fort were more mountains that would have made invasion very difficult.  We spent a long time walking around the fort, exploring all the nooks and crannies and enjoying the view.

Although (I recently found out) there is a Haitian history museum in Port-au-Prince, there seems to be very little physical remnants of Haiti's history.  While certain practices, words, and stories endure, it was nice to see an actual artifact.  It was also nice to see that efforts are being made to preserve it.  It is such a beautiful piece of history, it would be a shame to see it fall into disrepair and forgotten about.

Frankie and I checking for enemies coming from the south.  Apparently, some were coming from the sky!  (Beth's photo)

(Beth's photo)

You can see the optimal location better in this picture - with the plains leading to the ocean and the mountains that protect it from the other sides.

The gang again.  (Photo courtesy of Beth)

(Beth's photo)

(Beth again.)

The inside of the fort.  The red-roofed building was the officer's quarters.  The governor's palace is the building with the flag on top.

You can get a better sense of the height of the walls.  The red dot in the grass is a person.

(Beth's photo)

Found the kitchen!

There were so many cannons throughout the fort.  I liked this one because you could see the line in the ground where it would have been on some kind of wheel contraption (I'm sure there's a name for it) that would allow you to aim it out the window.

Found this rig hanging off one of the sides.  Got me thinking about what it would be like to climb or repel off the 40m walls and what it was there for.

The hike back down.

Some flowers for all of you covered in 3ft. of snow!

Krèm mayi (Creme corn) which is the equivalent of ice cream.  Beth told me about these when we were still back in the States, and this was the first time we had seen them.  It tasted a little different than regular ice cream, but it is an excellent substitute.