Adventures in the Caribbean: Arriving in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

This morning we were up before the sun and notebook-negotiating with a cabbie again.  The ride to the airport was quick, with little traffic on the roads yet.  By the time we got to the airport, the sun had risen. 

Aerolineas Mas is not defunct.  In fact, based on our observations, there seems to be enough business for both Tortug’ Air and Aerolineas Mas, as both had plenty of passengers.  And since then I’ve become aware of a third airline flying the same type of plane on the same route: Sunrise Air. 

We checked in without a problem, but here’s an important thing to know about traveling between Dominican Republic and Haiti: both countries charge entrance and exit taxes.  Mostly these taxes are included in international airline fees, but not on this route.  The tax amounts change, but they were: $10 entry and $20 exit tax for Dominican Republic; $10 entry and $55 exit tax for Haiti.  Not cheap, especially that Haiti departure tax!

We flew on a small, 19 passenger British Aerospace Jetstream, which was close to entirely full.  I got to sit right behind the cockpit and watch the pilots fly.  

The flight was less than an hour, and provided some beautiful views of the sea, the island, and especially Lago Enriquillo, Hispaniola’s biggest lake.

. . .

On the ground we went through customs with little incident.  The Port-au-Prince airport is not the nicest facility, but neither is it as bad as some travel reviews will lead you to believe. 

The friendliest people we encountered in Haiti were the man who met us at the airport and the driver of our van, who were different people, for some reason.  Neither spoke English or any version of French we could understand, but they knew where we needed to go, so that didn’t really matter.

By far the most memorable part of our visit to Port-au-Prince was the airport transfer.  I am not joking.  What we saw out the windows of our van as we passed by the largest slum in the Western Hemisphere, Cite Soleil, will always be with me: homes made haphazardly with seemingly random materials, sometimes on top of each other, almost all appearing to be in danger of falling.  They stretched in chaotic formation over a small hill, as far as I could see. 

Garbage was everywhere, but especially in the open sewage canals which ran between "neighborhoods."  Much to my astonishment, enormous blacks pigs roamed these canals, apparently eating the waste.  They were among the largest pigs I have ever seen, and I was surprised to see them, and even more surprised that they managed to survive in an environment in which people are surely starving.    

Meanwhile, around us, motorbikes, small cube vans and pickup trucks, 4x4s, and the occasional car made their way along, often, it seemed, paying more attention to their horns than which lane they were in.  The streets were crowded, although not jammed, and traffic moved more or less consistently, if not necessarily efficiently.  As far as traffic went, it was not significantly different than Santo Domingo, but there were fewer smaller vehicles, and significantly more 4x4s, presumably due to the condition of Haitian roads, especially outside of Port-au-Prince.  Also, there were tap taps. 

Of all the vehicles, the tap taps were by far the most interesting. Colourful in hand-painted ways reminiscent of Pakistani trucks, the tap taps are small Japanese-brand pickups, riding low under the weight of numerous bodies.  The cabs carry not only the driver, but a passenger or two or three, and, it appeared, a toll man or conductor of sorts as well.  The beds of the trucks have been enhanced with wooden walls and roof and benches, and carried anywhere from a couple to more than a dozen people.  I doubt there are any rules regarding how many people they can carry, and if there are any, I assume they are ignored.  Invariably, every possible inch of the exterior was painted in the brightest colors, and they all included a Christian message of some sort, whether a Bible verse reference or spiritual catchphrase.  Prospective passengers simply wave down the driver when needed and tap the roof or otherwise indicate when they need to get off.  How they know the routes I am not sure.   

The middle of the roads themselves were relatively clean and clear, and not even in especially bad condition by Canadian standards.  The countless pedestrians and huge amounts of garbage were largely confined to the sides of the roads, except when pedestrians tried crossing, which usually involved darting quickly to minimize honking and avoid being hit.  I never saw a vehicle slow down, let alone stop, for a pedestrian.  There were very few controlled intersections, and maybe only three that involved traffic lights, including one at which the traffic lights were not functioning.

Police were visible at several points on the trip, either in pickups or with motorbikes, but they were certainly ignoring what would be egregious and blatant traffic violations in Canada.