We are back safe and sound from Haiti and that is another story later on in this article. They might say we are now wetbacks - Read On!
Our social calendar is really getting filled up. Every day it seems there is something to do and someone is always stopping by and saying come-on let’s go to such and such a place. This is a great life this cruising, when the boat decides to behave and doesn’t break down.
One of the gringos who came here by boat bought and built a restaurant/bar, (Shaggy’s) in town. Right now his menu only consists of mini hamburgers (white Castle size) and chicken kebobs. Of course he has a full liquor bar and high speed internet (if there is such a thing here). Towards the end of September he had an open house, roasted a pig with all the trimmings. He flew over his friend Micah from the Florida Keys the original Bar Stool Sailor, almost like Jimmy Buffet. Approximately 75-100 people mostly boaters attended and fun was had by all.
A few days later we were off to the mangroves in our dinghy to untie our lines from the mangroves that John placed there before the hurricanes. Inside the mangroves there were spiders, sharp branches and barnacles everywhere and we had high hopes that we wouldn’t damage the dinghy again by punching a hole in it.
On the Sweet Caroline life without repairs was short lived and the wash down pump and the refrigeration pump weren’t working to the captain’s satisfaction. John got his scuba gear on and had to dive under the boat and clean out the thru-hole (raw water intake). This anchorage is like the Indian River in Florida and you can’t see two feet in front of you. At least he didn’t run into a crocodile while under there. We haven’t seen any yet but we are told they have them here in the Dominican Republic.
After a few meetings with a final total of three couples and a guide and all of us a little apprehensive on what to expect and what was going to happen in Haiti the day finally arrived and we left the marina here in Luperon on Wednesday October 8th at 0520. Our guide Tim was a US archeologist, who spent eight years in Haiti. We used his truck for our Guagua (mini bus) with five people inside and two outside in the back on cushions from Tim’s boat. We arrived at the border, Dominican side, in the town of Dajobon at 0820. So far we had not encountered any problems. We ate breakfast at a hotel in Dajobon because we knew it would be a full day and weren’t sure about getting food along the way. Just in case we all had packed lunches to be on the safe side. When we got to the gate it was a good thing we had a guide because it was mass confusion. While waiting to clear customs we saw women washing clothes in the border (dirty) river. After Tim negotiated our passage he found us a Guagua after only two tries for the price he felt was fair. We had a Guagua with a driver for all day for $160 US. There were two seats in the front with two benches on either side in the enclosed back. We had six people in the back and this normally would have seated thirty people in this space packed like sardines.
We arrived at the ruins of Sans Souci, located in the village of Milot at the foot of the Citadelle (which is a mighty fortress crowning the summit of Pic Laferriere mountain). This palace was built by the slaves of Henri Christophe, who was a Granada born mulatto
slave and who arrived on the island via a shipwreck. After a few months he claimed himself king of the northern half of Haiti. He built this castle to resemble Versailles. When the work didn’t proceed as he wanted he butchered every 10th man in a long line. Under the staircase of the grand ballroom he constructed an airtight room into which he suffocated troubling guests. After visiting Sans Souci we all boarded the Guagua and went up the mountain to the Citadelle as far as we could go on a narrow winding cobblestone switchback with no guardrails and one false move to the side and we would fall 1,000 feet. The Citadelle itself is a massive structure and the largest fort in the Caribbean and could house 10,000 people for a year. It was fifteen stories high and quite a sight. After arriving as far as the Guagua would take us we continued up the mountain on foot with a horse and three Haitian following each one of us because they knew we couldn’t make it to the top. We thought we were in pretty good shape from all the walking we do but walking straight up a mountain is another thing. Carol hopped on a horse after about ¼ mile and John didn’t want to be outdone so he hopped on his. As far as we are concerned that is the only way to go up this mountain. The cost for the round trip on horse was only $10 US. One couple and our guide made it to the top walking but they were twenty years younger than we are. The Citadelle is massive and took seventeen years to build. Henri used 10,000 slaves to build this structure and many thousands died in the construction. We found the heads (toilets) in the fort and they looked like normal heads and then we looked through them and it was a 1,000 foot drop to nowhere - (you sure as heck don’t want to fall though). We saw so many cannons and haven’t figured out yet what they were defending and never a shot was fired. He built a smaller fort on an adjacent mountain for his wife. When his kingdom went down he killed himself and his forts were never used. On the Guagua trip back down the mountain and then to the border we had Haitians jumping on the back and sides of our Guagua. At one time we had eight Haitians getting a free ride. When we got back to the border this is where the trip really became interesting. We got back to the border and the gate was padlocked and we couldn’t get through. Now what do we do! Our guide bribed the Haitian official so we could leave Haiti. We didn’t know that he arranged for Haitians to pick us up and carry us across the river to the Dominican Republic side. The Haitians were all swarming us and the next thing I saw was a little Haitians pick up Tim our guide on his back (Tim weighs 225 lbs) and started across the river. I looked for John and he was being picked up by a little Haitian and carried across. I had three Haitians wanting to carry me across and I picked out the biggest one I saw and he picked me up and away we went. I guess you can call us wetbacks. I guess we can all say this is the first time we have ever rode a Haitian. As we arrived on the Dominican Republic side the Dominican border police met us with guns drawn. Our guide with a handful of money showed him our passports and after a discussion with our guide the Commandante told us crazy Gringos to move on to where we came from. We arrived back to the marina in Luperon around midnight totally exhausted but with memories of a “trip of a lifetime”. The next day we slept in for we were totally mentally exhausted. Stay tuned to our next adventure. John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline
Great story about your adventure. Brings back memories about our adventures in Panama 30 yrs ago. I am glad is going well for you.