Cap Haitien

Well, while I am usually quite an adventurous traveler, I really didn't know if I should be impressed or petrified on the final leg of my journey to Cap Haitien. I have taken the twin prop over the mountains in this Creole speaking former French colony before, but never on a Czech plane with Portuguese signs and a Spanish speaking Honduran flight crew. It was either very worldly or slightly insane to even have boarded. Perhaps I will sort out my feelings on this during the 5 repeat trips over the next few weeks.

Cap Haitien is beautiful. The beaches and the water truly show why Haiti was known for so many years as "The Pearl of the Caribbean." Our hotel hearkens to another era and sets the stage for our days of beach living. The public areas are all open air structures with timber frames and thatched roofing. The entire area is softly lit with pendant lamps adorned with translucent shades created from local shells. (Sounds awful but is really quite stunning - it disturbs me a little to say that.)

As I sit writing this a cool sea breeze is blowing. I had the grilled spiny lobster for dinner - one of the largest I have ever seen - and I am now relaxing with a glass of rum and listening to the thunder roll across the night sky. Not a bad reward at the end of a three day journey.

PS - I might try this rustic beard thing out for a few castaway weeks - thoughts?