ILE A VACHE, HAITI

The view from our boat was tranquil.

Thanks to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we have extensive experience with “boat boys”.  However, the boat boys in the bay at Port Morgan, Ile a Vache were in a class all their own.  Instead of focusing on selling cruisers like us some useless tourist trinkets, these lads were primarily intent on selling their services to clean, polish, guide or do anything else a boater may need.  Before our anchor was lowered, three pirogues were quickly paddling toward Exit Strategy. These small canoes, carved out of mango wood, appear to leak profusely and are usually manned by two, so one person can keep baling.  We motioned for them to back off and allow us time to set the hook and they obliged. Creole is the official language of Haiti, so we were pleasantly surprised to find that many of the children speak English.  In school they either learn English or French as a second language.  In a blink, about a dozen other pirogues made their way out to greet us and each one politely explained their particular service. We were fatigued from our 140 mile trip and sounded like a broken record- “No, merci, nothing today.”  Another half dozen or so skiffs manned by adults greeted us during the next few hours and we booked dinner with two of them. One policeman came to collect a $5 US anchoring fee.  After a quiet meal, we drifted off to a sound sleep in the clear still waters of the bay.

This boat boy offered to sell us a puppy since we
had no work for him.  Another sang to us in Creole.

This pirogue was a delux model.

      

At sunrise, sweet birdsong harmonized with passing fishermen singing as they poled their goose-winged sailboats out of the bay. Later that morning, we bought a few hours of internet time using a Hotspot from one of the islands entrepreneurial teens. He gave us a price of $3 US/hr. and we bargained it down to $2.50/hr. (The exchange rate is 43 Gourdes: $1 US, but on Ile a Vache they use the rate of 40 Gourdes: $1 US.) We also made arrangements with another teen for him to go and buy some Haitian beer on the mainland and bring us the change in US dollars.  That afternoon we took a walk around the Port Morgan Hotel and down the dirt road (no pavement on island) into the village.  There were groups of locals and school children milling around various food/drink/snack stands during their lunch break, but no restaurants or stores were in sight.

Part of Port Morgan Hotel

   

That evening we dinghied across the bay to have dinner at Jean Jean’s. Our spoken menu choice was chicken or conch, so we ordered one of each the day before.  Mounds of food were served family style to just the two of us.  Six other patrons had dinner there that night and were served in a similar manner.  Our tab for the meal that included drinks was $26 US.

The main road to the village

These horses are small, but they pack a lot, including people.

     

There is a market twice a week in the village of Madame Bernard that is a few miles away from Port Morgan.  We had one teen guide us their via our dinghy, as we also wanted to drop off a donation of goods at St. Francois d’ Assises School and Orphanage.  We found the market loosely organized and found what we wanted to buy when our guide Cezar led us through the maze of stalls.  They sold much more than fresh fruit and vegetables there (average cost of a half dozen of anything was 25 Gourdes or about $.60 US). Some vendors had clothing, others had paper goods, and while still others sold drug store items like shampoos, lotions, and over the counter medication. We even saw a steer being hacked up on a large table in the full sun.

Recess!

I thought this little guy was sleeping, but he gave me a
huge sweet smile when I touched his arm and spoke to him.

    

Up the hill from the market is where one can find the Centre d’Accueil St. Francois d’Assises.  Sr. Flora, a petit Canadian nun, runs the orphanage that houses 70 children, 25 of which are severely handicapped.  We stopped to leave a donation of goods and to see the children, although we did not meet Sr. Flora because she was in New York seeking charitable contributions. 

 

That evening we had arranged for Dou Dou and his wife Vilna to prepare and bring us a traditional Haitian meal for $10 US per person. Dou Dou and Vilna are soft spoken individuals and handed us a flyer written in English to explain their dinner plan because they don’t know much English.  When they arrived in their pirogue, I took their Dutch oven-sized pot and three plastic containers below to transfer the food into our pots and pans.  While doing so, I saw there was way too much food for just Dan and me.  So I asked them in as much French as I could muster if they would like to eat dinner WITH us.  They looked surprised, but happily accepted.  We had the BEST time visiting with them and I think they enjoyed the multicultural and lingual experience as much as we did.  In fact, they invited us to come and eat at their home the next time we visit the island and we certainly will!

Notre amis, Dou Dou and Vilna

Prior to visiting Ile a Vache, we had the impression that the islanders were quite poor from what we had read in various publications.  However, after touring part of the island and interacting with some of the people, we found them far less needy than expected. The children and people were clean, smartly dressed, and appeared well-nourished.  Some of the teens had cell phones and IPods.  Yes, the boat boys want to earn money, but they do not beg for food or money.  There are no cars on Ile a Vache, but they do walk, and ride bikes or horses.  Electricity is not widespread because there is no power plant and it is not cabled over from the mainland.  They have access to good water, as we witnessed many youngsters carrying jugs home from the village well, but don’t have running water because it is not piped throughout the island.  We never once smelled sewage as often occurs in other more developed islands. Their land is fertile enough to grow fresh fruit and vegetables and raise livestock.  Circumstances on Ile a Vache allow them to live a simpler life than the average foreigner visitor.  And that is somewhat of a blessing.