Day Two of our trip to Ile a Vache in Haiti included a journey to yet another small island fifteen minutes away called Lover's Island. We started the day with our complimentary breakfast at Abaka Bay, which included the first cup of coffee I had in Haiti. Afterwards, we met up with our guide, Willem, who waited for us at the end of the resort's beach to take us into the village and ultimately to the place called Lover's Island.
The walk to the village took about ten minutes, going up and down hills and passing by various farm animals tied up to ropes. Willem even bought his trusty dog along with him, who probably knows the trail just as good as he does. We eventually made it to the village, which could be described as a fishing community, and first made a rest stop at Willem's house. The dog that was walking with us was a female, and two of her offspring were waiting for us too at his place, especially the younger pup who was more than willing to pose for pictures. A simple motor boat took Willem and us out to the waters and there must have been a small leak at the bottom because the driver kept using a small bowl to scoop up water and toss it overboard. We passed a few tiny islands and fishing boats as we buzzed through the calm waters. There was even one tiny island which was summerged under water, but clearly visible by the white glow above on the water's surface. Apparently, when the tide is high, the land is covered. When the tide is low, it pops out from under water. The island we went to didn't have this same issue and was above water level all year round.
The residents of the island live a very simple and old fashioned life style. In fact, one small child was scared of seeing me as he wasn't used to caucasians. The homes were mainly little huts made out of leaves from the coconut trees. Most, if not all the children were walking around naked, and the only "clean" water source was a well with sand at its bottom. How people drink that and don't get sick is somewhat of a mystery to me, but I guess it works for them. After walking around a little and seeing the place, we picked up a number of colorfully designed sea shells. There were so many to choose from just laying around on the sand, but we were only able to take a small few with us. There came a point where we asked ourselves where do these people go to the bathroom and there didn't seem to be an outhouse around, well, at the opposite side of the island we smelt something foul and got our answer. Hopefully, none of the sea shells are used for toliet paper as in 'Demolition Man'(1993). Getting back to the good side of the island I checked around to make sure there were no surprises laying around, and when it seemed clear, I went in the water for a quick dip.
When lunch time came we had a number of seafood delights as in lobsters, grilled fish, and conch cooked right in front of us. For drink, we had a few coconuts cut open for us, and each time we would turn our backs on a coconut, one of the goats would come over to try to drink up the juice inside. Most of the people there seemed friendly, except there was one guy, who was dressed like a LA gangbanger, being bossy to people around him and complaining we should be paying for spending time on his land. The thug, as we named him, didn't say anything to us directly, but he was making his opinions known to Willem and his fellow islanders. Nothing much came of it, but overall poverty sure had its influence on the residents. One girl wanted to charge money for a number of shiny-looking shells she had in her possesion(which we could pick up on the floor for free), and then another lady wanted money for really no reason other than she claimed visitors usually give her money. After lunch was finished and we were done with our visit, it was time to head back to the main island we were staying at. Before getting into the boat, a group of small children on the beach stopped to pose for pictures. With their bodies wet from the water and the white sand sticking to them, they looked like an African tribe with their war paint on, ready to head into battle.
Once we were back near Willem's, we made a little detour to the village library that had a few large speakers out front blasting music for people to dance to. I didn't know it was a library at first, but once I went inside and was offered a beer, I looked at the shelves and noticed encyclopedias and other books housed all around. As I sat, two small children, with clothes on this time, noticed my camera and started dancing so I could take pictures of them. They were quite amused at seeing themselves in photos and videos that I showed them. Willem, and the dog, escorted us back to the Abaka Bay resort and with my swimming trunks still on, I decided to go in for another dip in the nice water. As I was swimming, I went out a little further than I normally would have, and while moving my arms I felt something slash across my left arm, which left a red mark. I'm not sure what caused that, might've been a long and sharp tree leaf that was in the water, or some type of water creature I bumped into. Either way, I stayed in closer from that point on. With my goggles and snorkel on, I was able to scan the underwater surface and saw all types of colorful small fish. There were also shells and small pieces of coral laying around the ocean floor.
Naturally, since we ate lobster for lunch on Lover's Island during the afternoon, that night at the Abaka Bay hotel resturant, they had to serve lobster for dinner...
The walk to the village took about ten minutes, going up and down hills and passing by various farm animals tied up to ropes. Willem even bought his trusty dog along with him, who probably knows the trail just as good as he does. We eventually made it to the village, which could be described as a fishing community, and first made a rest stop at Willem's house. The dog that was walking with us was a female, and two of her offspring were waiting for us too at his place, especially the younger pup who was more than willing to pose for pictures. A simple motor boat took Willem and us out to the waters and there must have been a small leak at the bottom because the driver kept using a small bowl to scoop up water and toss it overboard. We passed a few tiny islands and fishing boats as we buzzed through the calm waters. There was even one tiny island which was summerged under water, but clearly visible by the white glow above on the water's surface. Apparently, when the tide is high, the land is covered. When the tide is low, it pops out from under water. The island we went to didn't have this same issue and was above water level all year round.
The residents of the island live a very simple and old fashioned life style. In fact, one small child was scared of seeing me as he wasn't used to caucasians. The homes were mainly little huts made out of leaves from the coconut trees. Most, if not all the children were walking around naked, and the only "clean" water source was a well with sand at its bottom. How people drink that and don't get sick is somewhat of a mystery to me, but I guess it works for them. After walking around a little and seeing the place, we picked up a number of colorfully designed sea shells. There were so many to choose from just laying around on the sand, but we were only able to take a small few with us. There came a point where we asked ourselves where do these people go to the bathroom and there didn't seem to be an outhouse around, well, at the opposite side of the island we smelt something foul and got our answer. Hopefully, none of the sea shells are used for toliet paper as in 'Demolition Man'(1993). Getting back to the good side of the island I checked around to make sure there were no surprises laying around, and when it seemed clear, I went in the water for a quick dip.
When lunch time came we had a number of seafood delights as in lobsters, grilled fish, and conch cooked right in front of us. For drink, we had a few coconuts cut open for us, and each time we would turn our backs on a coconut, one of the goats would come over to try to drink up the juice inside. Most of the people there seemed friendly, except there was one guy, who was dressed like a LA gangbanger, being bossy to people around him and complaining we should be paying for spending time on his land. The thug, as we named him, didn't say anything to us directly, but he was making his opinions known to Willem and his fellow islanders. Nothing much came of it, but overall poverty sure had its influence on the residents. One girl wanted to charge money for a number of shiny-looking shells she had in her possesion(which we could pick up on the floor for free), and then another lady wanted money for really no reason other than she claimed visitors usually give her money. After lunch was finished and we were done with our visit, it was time to head back to the main island we were staying at. Before getting into the boat, a group of small children on the beach stopped to pose for pictures. With their bodies wet from the water and the white sand sticking to them, they looked like an African tribe with their war paint on, ready to head into battle.
Once we were back near Willem's, we made a little detour to the village library that had a few large speakers out front blasting music for people to dance to. I didn't know it was a library at first, but once I went inside and was offered a beer, I looked at the shelves and noticed encyclopedias and other books housed all around. As I sat, two small children, with clothes on this time, noticed my camera and started dancing so I could take pictures of them. They were quite amused at seeing themselves in photos and videos that I showed them. Willem, and the dog, escorted us back to the Abaka Bay resort and with my swimming trunks still on, I decided to go in for another dip in the nice water. As I was swimming, I went out a little further than I normally would have, and while moving my arms I felt something slash across my left arm, which left a red mark. I'm not sure what caused that, might've been a long and sharp tree leaf that was in the water, or some type of water creature I bumped into. Either way, I stayed in closer from that point on. With my goggles and snorkel on, I was able to scan the underwater surface and saw all types of colorful small fish. There were also shells and small pieces of coral laying around the ocean floor.
Naturally, since we ate lobster for lunch on Lover's Island during the afternoon, that night at the Abaka Bay hotel resturant, they had to serve lobster for dinner...
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