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Published: March 25th 2007
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Haiti: our adventure continues!! As we state on our web site! Surrounded by beautiful scenic landscapes… the pool is opened 24 hours a day (no chlorine, no lifeguard and at own risk). Palm trees and coconuts.. $6 bottles of rum.. Snorkeling on reefs with more colors than you can imagine.. Romantic outdoor sunset dinners, while being serenaded by the wind and waves, and later by the glow of the moon… We can truly now say this is not a statement but the truth to our daily lives!!
Our time is well spent here in Haiti, as every day is driven by our quest for discovery, learning and adventure. With almost four months under our belt here, we have learned so much since our arrival this past December. Much of our time is invested to the adaptation in the way of life here and to our daily surroundings. Yes, our Creole is improving tremendously; well at least we think so!! I am sure at times that we make up some of our own Creole words which make no sense to the locals but for us, the words just sound right!! Who knows…..as no one complains. The time we have
spent in the suburbs, living close by to the villagers has been very educational to our own daily lives. Every day spend here truly makes us realize what we take for granted and shows the value of life. We are so fortunate to have the chance to see both sides of the fence.
During our time in Grande Goave, where we are moored, there are two very large coral reefs that extend at both ends of the Island just in front of us, and with the weather getting hotter and hotter every day, we are taking advantage of the opportunity to do a lot of snorkeling during the peak temperature hours of the day. These reefs are really incredible and are regularly dived by fishermen, but only for fish, and as there is close to no tourism. The local divers don’t take or break the coral to make souvenirs or decorations. With the reef intact, the life and colors are a real treat for our eyes. When we go diving we are always keeping an eye out to find some remains of a treasure ship!! We need only find a few gold bars to make our schooner project happen!!
Haitian Sail Boat
Haitian sail boat off the south coast, returning from Port au Prince loaded with everything they can find. hahaha. Ok, not to be too greedy…….we would only need to find a few extra gold bars so that we could fly down all our family and friends to visit us! Today I was reading on the internet about sunken Spanish galleons in the surrounding waters of Haiti. This article was about a salvage vessel from Maine that has discovered three sunken ships with an estimated value of…..get this…..over One Billion dollars!! So who knows!! Never say never!!!
To give you an update on our fishing trap…. Well we have not taken the mother load of lobster or fish yet. In fact, we haven’t caught anything so far!! Partly due to the fact that we have not baited the trap correctly.. Lila has to find some bread fruit, oranges, apricot, bark from papaya tree and smoked some starfish (not what you are thinking!!) to bait the trap??? Luckily he has other traps too… and with nothing in our trap the other fishermen have not let us down. Maxo and the other fishermen come by every day to show and offer us their catch of the day. Also, many times, they bring us fresh lobster, which cost as little as
Boat Wash In Haiti
You can't see our faces!! but we are smiling ear to ear!! this is boat wash day in Haiti!! $2 dollars for a two pound lobster.
Last night, around 1:am, we were awakened by what is called “Ra-Ra”. Many , many people in the streets celebrating. The Ra-Ra is an ongoing ceremony which takes places every weekend from mid-February (just after the carnival/mardis-gras) till Ash Wednesday. These ceremonies are held in most villages and entail a bunch of people singing, playing a musical instrument somewhat like a trumpet made from either aluminum or bamboo and Haitian drums (similar to bongos) while humming and chanting a hymn to the rhythm of the beat of the music. We must say that this rhythm is most hypnotic in it’s own a sound as it is a repetitive beat that goes on and on. We are not sure of this but are told that this type of Ra-Ra (there are different types) and it’s sounds bring it’s followers to some sort of a hypnotic state before proceeding into a voodoo ceremony.
Not forgetting Bria, we are patiently waiting to set sail to return there , but before we do, we are setting everything up and gathering everything we need for their little town. Everything here is in Island time, so what
Haitian sweethearts
These adorable little girls’ live a short ways down the beach from where we are moored. we are told will be done tomorrow eventually happens the week after (if you are lucky, because it could be the week after too)!! We have been keeping in contact with the people of Bria and they are very much looking forward to seeing us soon...
Annie and I are in Port Au Prince at the moment, which is where we are writing this message from. We are staying here till Monday and then will make the journey back to Grande Goave. (If you are wondering where Grande Goave is, go to the main page of our web site and Click on the “Locate us” button, we are linked to Google earth. Our location is the blue pin/marker on the map. You can also click on Satellite view which will give you a bird’s eye view as to where we are..)
Cheers,
Annie & Eric
Aboard s/v My Love III
In Haiti
Web: www.WeBeSailing.com E-mail: WeBeSailing@yahoo.com
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Merrill
non-member comment
Always entertaining
Reading your blog is always very entertaining ... you have a great ability to choose just the right words to bring the adventure to life for those of us who have yet to cross over to the other side! Fair winds....