Having a day or a few days at the beach in December was one of the main things I was looking forward to on returning to Haiti, so when plan developed for us to go Sunday morning, I was plenty ready to go. A group of her colleagues and associates in the humanitarian realm where able to commandeer a Unicef jeep for our two hour journey up north where the beach was. The temperature was about 80 degrees, but with the caribbean sun beaming down it felt like 90. Good thing the air conditioner was working.
The official name of the beach resort is Club Indigo, but it name was changed a few years back after it used to be part of the Club Med franchise. When we pulled up to the parking lot I couldn’t help but notice the ten or so UN vehicles also parked there, must have been a lot of commandeering that day. The place had all the amenities of a Club Med; hotel rooms, pools, bars, lounges, big screen TV, and of course a large strip of beach with cabanas and coconut trees. Although I wouldn’t have minded a hotel stay, we were just going to be there for a few hours. The pass to the beach was $20 US each, and there was the option for the buffet for another $20 US, but we stuck with the beach-only and went with the option of buying food on the side at the snack bar. Along with the signs for admittance and food, there was also a sign forbidding firearms at the club, I was happy I didn’t bring my bazooka.
As soon as the set foot on the beach and found a shady place to lounge, we had ourselves a coconut for $2 US (we later found out we could’ve gotten one for $1, but certain coconut sellers were brazingly testing the market). The water itself was nice and clear, just a little extra salty than I last remembered. I had brought goggles (no, not Google spell check) and a snorkel to view more of the clear ocean floor. Initially there wasn’t much to view underwater at this location other than clean sand and some plants, but later on as less people were splashing in the water, tiny fishes came out of their hiding. One bizarre sight that didn’t require goggles at all was a small private jet that flew recklessly low over the coastline and towards the mountains. Perhaps it was the angle I was viewing it, but it looked like it was headed straight into a mountain and I was anticipating a small ball of fire followed by and echoing explosion two seconds later. The way the pilot was operating that thing gave me the impression he/she lost control of the plane and was going down, it was either that or gross negligence. Turns out it was gross negligence as the plane returned the other way in the same fighter-jet maneuver style. The options of food at the snack bar wasn’t very plentiful, and it turns out Club Indigo serves white cheese on a cheeseburger instead of the standard yellow cheese, maybe the Club Med owners took the yellow cheese with them. Towards the lounge area there was a 63” flat-screen television which was airing an NFL football game, but it wasn’t for any teams I was concerned with so most of my time was spent in the water. Upon leaving, the outskirts of the parking lot has a number of artists and craft-builders with their works on display for sale. There’s a sign that says no photos of the art, but of course there was one person snapping a pictures (no, not me).
If that plane were to fly overhead again, then sign or no sign, my camera would’ve been ready….
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