I kind of debated even publishing this until I could return, but hey this is part of traveling I suppose! So Jacmel is a nice place to visit for its beaches and for the carnivals that take place in February. Many NGOs and people who work in Haiti come here for a weekend getaway. On the way from the capital I passed this beautiful hotel that was being built. The owner was more than happy to give me a tour of the place and offered me half price if I ever return!
I remember his excitement at showing me all the different rooms with young Haitians tiling and painting the interior. The photo above shows the view from the hotel balcony. My driver for my Jacmel trip seemed to be both a global warming activist and a defensive driver educated by national geographic.
He complained about how all the trees had been cut down by the population and that it was one of the reasons why a recent hurricane was so devastating. Like most of Haiti, you can see the mountains in the background have been stripped bare, but the hotel grounds did a good job of keeping palm trees on the property.
While in Port Au Prince I got into an argument with another guy over what was a fair price for Jacmel. Walking down the street I found a beat up minivan with at least a dozen tiny holes in the windshield that had been repaired by gluing pennies over them. I knew this was my ride, and the man who owned the vehicle was more than happy to be my driver for the day. After I gave him a deposit he immediately used it to buy alcohol and then made a random drive to the ghetto.
We came to an abrupt stop in front of a building that seriously had at least 15 plus Haitian men sitting by the front door. I had absolutely no idea what was going on. After a couple minutes a few motorcycles drove up to us and dropped off three women and I realized he was attempting to hire prostitutes. At one point while he did his negotiations I was left alone in the van and I was worried the gangster guys would think this was my idea and take offense to it.
