Haitian Flag Day is observed on May 18th, and this year, that happened to fall on a Monday. And of course, that means ... a 3 day weekend! Illioney was hoping to do something special with all of the teachers before the close of the school year, and several of us had been talking about how much we'd like to travel to the north coast of Haiti to see the Citadelle... so put all these things together, and you have an amazing three-day road trip with a bunch of teachers ;) What could be better?!
The drive to Cap Haitien was amazing ... I saw a side of Haiti I never knew existed before. Lush green forests, little mountain villages nestled away amongst large Neem and mango trees... the air was fresh and cool, and there was NO DUST! It was a welcome break for my eyes (even though I still can't wear my contacts ... I've resigned myself to wearing glasses until I get home and have a good eye check-up).
Our white Toyota truck, which we borrowed from a fellow mission in Montrouis, held up very well on the winding, pot-holed roads. But the bumps and bangs must've worn a few bolts loose, because we nearly lost our back bumper at the top of one of the mountains. Thankfully, with the help of a young boy who was sitting on the side of the road, we got some wire that held us together for the remainder of our drive. And Illioney got the vehicle repaired in Cap before our return trip.
We left at daybreak (about 5 am) on Saturday morning so that we could make it here by early afternoon: the historic site of the Palace Sans Souci and the Henri Cristoph's renowned fortrees, the Citadelle. There was a big event commemorating 27 years of AIDS work in Haiti, which drew quite a crowd, but by American standards, it was nothing. We had no lines to wait in and plenty of horses and guides at our disposal. =)
We decided to save some money and just get one horse for the ride up and down the mountain. So we took turns riding him. His name was "Zazookoo " (spelling?), and he was such a gentle creature... It's been so long since I've ridden on horseback, and I loved every minute of it! Although, coming down the mountain, when the young boys kept whipping the poor beast to get him moving, I told them, "Oh, it's quite alright. I think he's going fast enough, isn't he?" ;) I thought he was ... I prayed my way down the mountain, hoping that he wouldn't lose his footing.
Esther, enjoying her turn - and taking pictures too!
This is why I was nervous about the ride down the mountain ... We came across this accident on our way up to the Citadelle, and it was just getting cleaned up when we hiked down. By the time we made it to our truck, the smashed truck arrived at the trail's entrance, in tow behind another vehicle. Thankfully no one was injured. And seeing how precariously this truck was perched on the edge of the trail, we could tell that God's hand of protection had definitely been on them...
Rachel, enjoying the company of our young horse-lads. They were so much fun to talk to - the older of the two spoke four different languages! So he and I enjoyed conversing in both English and Spanish (with a little Kreyol thrown in). I think they enjoyed us as well. They usually make just one-trip up the mountain, on a good day. And it only cost us about $1o US.
A breath-taking view, mid-way up the mountain.
And we made it! Thankfully, we had quite a bit of cloud-cover all day (which later turned to heavy fog, and then rain), so none of us got very dehydrated or sunburnt on the long hike.
But we still needed a breather once we reached the top. Here's the whole gang: Esther, Rachel, me, Lindsay, Mr. Claudy, Samson (friend of Illioney's), and Illioney St. Fleur - our school director
When we entered the Citadelle, we were greeted by swarms of school students who were visiting on some kind of field trip. It looked like fun (for the students), although I'm not too sure how the teachers were handling it ... I was glad to be there on a teachers-only trip ;)
Our tour guide, giving us an overview of the history of the Citadelle. It was a bit hard to understand him, but he did his job well.
Playing on the old cannons ;) I can only imagine the man-power it took to haul all of these cannons and cannonballs up the steep mountain paths ... not to mention all the rocks and cement for constructing the actual fortress! It truly is a marvel. And it was never used. Built shortly after Haiti's fight for independence against the French, in 1804, it was to be a defense and protection against further attack. Which never came. I won't bore you with further details, but if you're interested in reading more of the Haitian history, you can find it easily on the interet somewhere ;)
Resting at the top. This is supposedly the walkway where Henri Cristophe ordered his soldiers to march, march, march, until they wore out and some fell to their deaths, many feet below. Don't know if that's true or just a long-standing tale, but we heard it from several sources ...
But we couldn't resist getting close to the edge ;)
It was an awesome place for a photo shoot too ...
And I loved the mountains of rusting cannonballs!
Showing off our brute strength =) I guess that's what you get after 1o months of floods, heat, mosquitoes, and teaching ...
Some of them wouldn't budge.
We slept SO well in our hotel that night. And on Sunday morning, we enjoyed a simple breakfast of mangoes and leftover banana bread before heading off to church. We attended a small church just outside Cap Haitien, where Illioney's friend, Matthew, was pastor. The worship was wonderful (many familiar hymns and choruses, sung in French and Kreyol) and Claudy shared a very powerful message based on the story of David and Goliath. As frustrated as I've been with my lack of Kreyol-knowledge, I think I understood the majority of the sermon that morning! But I think a lot of that was God - the message spoke directly to a lot of things I'm facing right now, and I needed to hear it.
Matthew invited us over for lunch afterwards, but before we knew it, all the kids from the church were coming along too! AND all the chairs! So we piled in, Haitian style, and once again, prayed our way to our destination. When we arrived at his house, the kids all went their separate ways. And we headed on to his house...
Posing for a photo shoot in Matthew's banana tree 'garden' - which he was very proud of =)
And relaxing under the mango tree while dinner was prepared. Here you see Matthew on the far right, and then a blind gentleman from his congregation, who is an AMAZING accordian player! Illioney and Claudy enjoyed showing off some of their skills on it as well, but then we were treated to a mini concert from our new friend - mostly old hymns that he had learned from his years of attending church and meeting missionaries. He played "Majesty" (one of the first worship songs to came out in the 80's) at one point, and got such a kick out of it when we all started humming along. When he finished playing it, he told us that ALL the missionaries he meets know that song. So he calls it his missionary song ;)
Rachel and Lindz, with one of Matthew's friends, killing time before lunch ;)
And this is our distinguished group of teachers (minus Rhodes, who was in the D.R. at the time, with the DTS students).
Lindsay was happy to meet and hold yet another Haitian baby, before we left Matthew's neighborhood. What a cutie ... (take your pick ;)
A monument commemorating the war of independence, in downtown Cap.
A view of the wild and windy north coast of Haiti.
After church, we drove up to Labadie - a well-known beach resort on the outskirts of the city. We were sad to find out that the actual beach-front was closed for a year, due to renovations. But we did manage to hire out this small boat to take us on a little tour of the area.
Part of the Labadie beach resort - NOT what you'd expect to see in Haiti!
Nor this!
We had so much fun spending this weekend with Illioney. He's been under so much stress and spiritual attack this year, on many fronts. And it just did our hearts good to see him having so much fun - laughing, posing for pictures, being goofy, hanging out with his buddies ... It was a good way to bring closure to our year together.
And the beautiful blue-green water made for some fun pictures too ;)
Haitian sisters - Lindz and Laura (both LJH's ... but not for long!)
And we made it back to shore.
A view of our hotel, early Monday morning. If you look closely, you can see me off in the distance, having my quiet time (with a view). ;)
And I also got to see this - children making their way downtown for a Haitian Flag Day parade.
Rachel and I rode in the back of the pick-up for most of our drive back to St. Marc. We saw some amazing views and enjoyed the fresh mountain air. And got a little sun-burnt ...
And we even bore the Haitian flag (bandana style) for the world to see ;)
God, thank you for all these amazing opportunities to travel during my short year in Haiti. To see so many parts of this rich, yet imoverished nation. We pray that you would continue to fulfill the destiny of this people...
As we read in Zechariah 8:13 (the verse God gave to YWAM Haiti over 15 years ago) - "As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, so I will save you and make you a blessing."
