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.
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.
