On the Tuesday that the big group from Texas was in for a few days (just 1 week after we arrived), they invited us to join then for a trip up to Fort Jacques and the Baptist Mission. We couldn’t resist the idea of seeing more of Haiti!
We hopped in the van, with part of the group in a tap-tap behind us. (A tap-tap is sort of a Haitian taxi. They’re colorful and can carry a lot of people. See photo.) It took about 45 minutes to get up to Fort Jacques. We got to see the colorful hillside in Petionville before going up the mountainside.
The drive up was beautiful, but bumpy! This was our first real experience of Haiti outside the walls of the orphanage or the house, so we didn’t really know what to expect. But the views were incredible. Haiti is so colorful and cheerful!
We headed to Fort Jacques first, which has a lot of important history for Haiti. It is where they fought for their independence from whites (and slavery) … and won. On a clear day, you can see the ocean and all of Port-au-Prince. Unfortunately, it was very foggy that day, but we could see a lot and enjoyed the fresh mountain air. After that we went over to Kenscoff, where the Baptist Mission is. It’s very touristy there with lots of souvenir shopping (and hassling).
What a beautiful day and experience! We were so grateful to get the opportunity for this field trip.
