A Weekend in Barahona, Domican Republic

 

Welcome to Casa Bonita, Barahona, DR

 

What a wonderful weekend away from Haiti. A group of seven of us in two vehicles drove to the Domican Republic for a long weekend. Leaving Port-au-Prince after work on a Thursday afternoon, this part of the drive was the most difficult. Traffic is apparently always hideous so it took us nearly 2 1/2 hours to drive the 30 or so miles to the border. A really harrowing and treacherous drive on mostly unpaved roads. The “highway” between the two countries was the most aweful being unpaved, narrow, along a lake (with some parts of the road falling into said lake), with cars and trucks going every which way. The border closed at 6pm and we arrived around 5:45 with masses of others trying to make the deadline. It was quite an experience and likely typical of 3rd-world crossings with truckloads of people and goods piled picariously high on rickety tap-taps and various vehicles which did not appear particularly road-worthy.

Once inside the DR, things changed quickly. First and foremost, the roads were paved. They did have random speed bumps which threw our poor car a couple of times. The bumps were not marked or warned and were especially difficult to see once it got dark.

Our Room - 112

All in all, it took us around 4 hours and 40 minutes and just about 100 miles to reach our destination. Finally we drove up a hill to Casa Bonita just outside Barahona. Even though it was dark when we arrived, we loved it instantly. The reception area as well as the bar and restaurant were outside, lanai style, beside a beautiful pool. Our rooms were gorgeous, especially Room 114, which another couple chose. That one was exceptionally huge and had its own private infinity pool. But all of our rooms were quite nice: lovely decor, quiet, comfortable. And when the sun came up, we saw that all the rooms had beautiful views of the sea.

The Outdoor Spa

 

 

 

Some in our group went horseback riding, zip lining, biking, and running, though Baboo and I stuck mostly to the pool and restaurant area. We did enjoy wonderful massages outdoors beside a babbling brook. Honestly it was, I think, the best massage I have ever had. 

 

 

  

Relaxing in the Lounge

 

 

 

Poolside Dining

Organic Gardens

 

Each night we dined al fresco by the pool. The food was wonderful and the staff very attentive and friendly. The hotel maintains its own organic gardens for the kitchen.

 

 

We loved it and look forward to returning. Even the horrible drive was worth it. The ride home was not quite so harrowing, maybe because we knew what to expect, maybe because it was Sunday midday. That took us about 4 hours.  (I tried unsuccessfully to upload the video I took of the border crossing.)

A Day by the Sea

August 2, 2014

Finally someplace that doesn't look like Haiti. We took a day trip, sponsored by the embassy, to a beach club on the northwest side of Haiti. Moulin Sur Mer was a nice private beach where we spent the day simply relaxing in the shade of the tropical trees. There was a nice breeze all day long, and the water was equally pleasant. A bit warm, but not hot; still refreshing. And it seemed clean if quite salty. The “beach” was not sandy but instead a pebble beach. We ordered up some tropical drinks which were excellent and reasonably priced, and made with fresh fruit. We ordered lunch instead of taking the buffet and it was satisfactory – nothing to write home about. There were some vendors around who would sell you a fresh coconut or mango, which they hacked open with a machete. We didn't get any but stuck to our tropical drinks instead.

We took a bus to this beach. A small but comfortable bus, and a long ride. Once out of the city, the road was paved almost the whole way. We went through a couple little towns, and they all looked the same as anyplace here in Port-au-Prince: ruined and decrepit. The ride out took less than 2 hours, but coming back took an hour longer since by then it was late afternoon and the PAP traffic was hideous. Not sure we would drive way out there on our own; maybe in some sort of caravan.

It did feel very good to get out and to a beach and it felt especially good to swim in the sea. For a few hours we could pretend we were not in Haiti.

Having Visitors - or not

July 13, 2014

Baboo and I talked at length this week about potential visitors since a few have actually expressed an interest.  We both agree that Haiti is far more dangerous than Algeria ever was.  Though having people come would most definitely brighten our lives, we will likely strongly discourage any visits here.  There is really nothing we can do but stay on the compound, maybe go to one or two close-by restaurants.  It would be a major waste of the visitors’ money.  Let’s meet in the DR or anyplace else in the Caribbean.

Maybe in another year we will feel differently.

 

Some Good Things About Haiti

JULY 11, 2014

I write to fill the time.  Of course, we’ve only been here 11 days, but we still have no internet or TV service.  (I use an extra computer at the embassy every couple of days to keep in touch.)  I’ve finished four books and a 1000-piece puzzle so far.

Here are some things I like about Haiti: 

• The beautiful flowers.  I took some pictures of lots of the pretty flowers in our front yard; but for some unknown reason, I am unable to upload them to this blog. 
• Our nice house.  Once I get my things, I will enjoy puttering around, arranging and organizing, and as I often did in Algiers, rearranging and reorganizing.
• The proximity to the embassy.  Not more than a 5-minute walk, I can hang out up there.  I am going to Zumba twice a week, which is held in the embassy atrium.
• Being on this compound.  I cannot even tell you how awful my life would be if I were stuck out in the satellite housing areas.  Not only am I close to what I need here, this compound has its own generators (nevertheless the electricity goes out several times each day), its own water well (which means we can use tap water to brush our teeth, but we still can’t drink it), and its own logistics support structure (including simple things like trash pickup, grounds keeping, etc.).  As I said earlier, there are many others living here, so I am sure I will make friends and find activities before too long.  I’ve already talked to the Information Resource Center at the embassy about volunteering there.
• Of course, the people.  As we've found since our first encounter with the diplomatic corps, at every post there are interesting, smart, friendly, kind, people who are in the same boat that we are, who understand everything we are going through, and who are happy to help with advice, rides, food, whatever.  They come from diverse backgrounds, so we never tire of meeting fascinating new people, every one with a variety of experiences and stories.

Our First Outing

We got to see the real Haiti today as our sponsor kindly took us to the large grocery store in Pétionville.  I don’t think Pétionville is far from us, but it seemed to take forever as we navigated the unpaved roads (making Monday’s “main” road look like a modern interstate) up through the hills.  The grocery store was great, though extremely expensive. 

But what I want to write about is the ride.  The abject poverty was truly striking.  All along the way we saw people carrying 5-gallon buckets to gather their water.  They had donkeys, motorbikes, wheelbarrows; but mostly they carried them on top of their heads.  And they had to negotiate the traffic on the “roads” (unpaved of course) going steeply uphill.  It’s difficult (impossible) to imagine that people have to do this every day just to survive.  Of course, you see scenes like this in movies, on the news; but up close, when you look into people’s eyes – when they look into yours, you are overwhelmed with sadness.  And you think, where did the water come from anyway?  The ditch at the bottom of the street/hill?  The pond on the corner where all the garbage floats?  Or maybe some far-away UN dispensing station.  How many trips up the hill do they have to make each day?  What do they do with the water?  Do they have to choose whether to cook or drink?  I suppose washing is out of the question.  This was my first foray into the real Haiti.  Will it hurt each time?  I haven’t even considered venturing into the heart of Port-au-Prince, which is a lawless no-man’s-land (and off-limits anyway).  Survival there is even harder.  How will I last here two years?  Will I become immune?  Can anyone make a difference?

Next Assignment - Haiti

HAITI

July 1, 2014

Maybe I can be better about keeping up my blog this time around.  So much has happened between my last entry and today, I can’t begin to catch up.  Our time in Algeria was filled with new adventures and exotic experiences.  We did so many wonderful things – mostly trips.   And yet my days were often long and lonely.  But our travels were always wonderful and happy.  We also made lifelong friends with whom we hope to keep contact and meet again in our journeys.

Here are a few of the things we did between 2012 and now, in addition to the things I already wrote about in previous blog entries:

·        We met up in Barcelona and Carcassonne early in 2012 before I actually moved to Algiers.  I never wrote about this trip; it deserves it own entry.

·       We visited our wonderful family in Virginia and Maryland several times.  Needless to say, these visits are precious, especially as the kids grow up so fast.

·        We spent several more long weekends in France: Marseille, and Aix.

·        We shared Thanksgiving dinner with colleagues at the ambassador’s residence.

·        We spent Christmas 2012 in Bruges and New Years in Amsterdam.

·        I volunteered often at the embassy’s Information Resource Center where I made many Algerian friends.

·        I spent a long weekend with old friends in Munich.

·        We spent 2 weeks in Paris – Baboo working at the embassy, me out and about.

·        We spent a long weekend in Rome and 2 weeks in Tuscany with our dearest wine-drinking Budapest buddies; we were joined by several other special guests as well.

·        We spent a week in London.

·        We traveled to Tlemcen in western Algeria.

·        We endured terrorist threats, lockdowns, and Ramadan; and Baboo participated in rescue operations.

·        We left Algeria in October 2013, traveled to Athens and boarded our cruise ship where we spent the next 26 days cruising around the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic to Florida.

·        After that, we picked up our new Jeep, spent some time with family in Florida (sadly Baboo’s dad passed away just a week after we visited him), Georgia, and a week on the Outer Banks.  Then home to Virginia for the holidays.

·        Since January 2014, Baboo was in training in Virginia until departing on June 30 for Port-au-Prince.

And here we are in Haiti for the next two years.  Getting here was super easy from DCA.  And no jet lag since we are still in the Eastern US time zone.  We were greeted at the passport-control area by a local band playing Haitian music.  I loved it. 

It is quite hot here as you would expect and so far very breezy.  And since there is still so much devastation (more on that later), the air is filled with dust and dirt all the time.  Our house is on a secured compound not very far from the airport.  It’s hard to describe the drive from the airport to home.  I’m not sure what we were driving on; they called it the main road.  But really, it was nothing more than a riverbed.  “Potholes” do not begin to describe the ditches we had to maneuver around and through, along with all kinds of “vehicles.”  I think driving is on the right, as in the US, but I’m not really sure as it was every man for himself.  It was a bone-rattling adventure and I decided I will not be driving much around here. 

Our social sponsors met up with us and took us to a lovely open-air restaurant not far from the compound.  We met the owner, who bragged about all his imported, non-Haitian and sanitary food.  We enjoyed our meal very much.  (I was so happy to be out in public drinking a beer with bare arms, something unheard of in Algeria.)  We stopped by a small grocery store and I was pleasantly surprised at the variety and quantity of things available.  I think we will be quite comfortable.



Our House



Bedroom closet



Our Kitchen

We are really happy with our housing assignment.  To be here on the secured compound is the best possible situation, especially for me.  The neighborhood is very pretty with about 37-38 residences.  Our new home is quite nice and very spacious.  Compared to our little apartment in Algiers, it’s a mansion.  We have a 3-bedroom townhouse with loads of storage space, more than we will ever need.  Being a storage-space junkie, I love it.  All the ceilings are VERY high, even in the closets.    And, as a special bonus, none of the walls are white!  We are next door to the community tennis court and pool and half a block from the recreation center, where we gathered with new friends to watch the World Cup.  We hope to meet lots more of our neighbors at the 4^th of July BBQ party this Friday. 

While I unpack our things and putter around our new home, Baboo is getting settled in at his new office.  Lots of bureaucratic administrivia to deal with this first week; he’s anxious to get into his responsibilities and start working. 

I hope I will be better this time about keeping up.