Dec. 22, 2013
Port-Au-Prince
The American Airlines flight from Miami arrived at Port-au-Prince shortly after 12:00 noon. A few folks paying music at the entrance to the airport hall – a nice way to welcome guests. Immigration was straightforward. There is a taxi counter and a mobile phone company at the airport but I couldn't find any money changers (there is also an ATM machine but it didn't work!) I’m aware people change money at supermarkets in Haiti but was still a little bit surprised there is no money changer at the airport. Perhaps everybody expects you to get out of the airport using US dollars. I ended up taking a taxi to Park Hotel for US$30.
Park Hotel ($58) is at the center of the city, just next to Champ de Mars. It's a quiet place with friendly staff. Unfortunately there is no food there (at least on the day when I stayed). Good thing is there is a restaurant only 20 meters from Park Hotel open until 10 pm (even on Sunday). Food there is quite good at reasonable prices (my spaghetti + Pepsi only 200 gourdes). Most restaurants I've seen in Haiti also function as a bar. They are actually called Bar-Resto and you can hear the music from 100 meters away.
There is not too much to see in Port-Au-Prince. I just walked around and bought some souvenirs at Marche de Fer (Iron Market). The vendors there are indeed very persistent. There are so many people on the streets so safety is not a concern. Champ de Mars is a large public park in central Port-Au-Prince and it's a good place to sit down and watch people.
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| Bicentennial Monument, Port-au-Prince |
Dec. 23, 2013
Port-Au-Prince to Cap-Haitien
For me, it's too difficult to figure out how the tap-tap and publiques (collective taxis) work in the city. So I just used a moto-taxi to take me to the departing point of the buses heading for Cap Haitien. They use minibuses and depart when full (roughly every hour). There is no need to reserve a seat in advance. The fare is 600 gourds for the 6 hour trip (compared with buses in the Dominican Republic it's actually more expensive and you get less space). The journey uses fully paved highway 1 with the first part along the ocean, mid part in the plains and the last part in the mountains (well, not so high though).
On arriving in Cap-Haitien, I used a moto-taxi again and asked to take me to Universal Hotel first. Universal Hotel is in the middle of the city and costs US$40-50 per night. But the quality there is not comparable with Park Hotel in Port-Au-Prince. I decided to stay at Hotel Beau Rivage in the north part of the city for US$88 per night. It's expensive but the room is clean and it's next to Kokiyai Supermarket & Restaurant and within walking distance to the departing point of the international bus to Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Dinner at Kokiyai was pleasant – I tried Haiti's national dish – Chicken in Creole Sauce.
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| Cap-Haitien Harbor |
Dec. 24, 2013
The Citadelle & Sans Souci
The most important day in Haiti. The sole reason to be in this country is to check out the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Citadelle & Sans Souci. It only takes 30 minutes and 20 gourds by tap-tap to get to the site from Cap-Haitien. Shortly before the tap-tap arrived at Milot (where the site is located), a tour guide jumped onto the tap-tap and introduced himself to me. Interestingly, he was later assigned to me by the site authorities as my tour guide (according to them, you need a tour guide to accompany you). The entrance fee to the Citadelle and Sans Souci is only US$5 but there is US$25 for the guide and US$15 for the horse so most people pay US$45 for the whole thing. However, there are few tourists there (I actually only saw two foreign tourists).
The horse ride uphill (about 90 minutes) is actually very nice with good mountain views and villages dotted on the way. Both the Citadelle and Sans Souci were built in the 19th century by the then king in Northern Haiti to fight the French. There is some good history to learn here but I just enjoyed the breathtaking views on top of the Citadelle (you can even see the ocean from there). Getting down to the village, I checked out Sans Souci, the ruins of the palace, before getting on a tap-tap back to Cap-Haitien. Both horse boys and the guide demanded tips (at least 100 gourds each).
While back in Cap-Haitien, I had a look at the only "site" in the city – Notre Dame Cathedral (nothing special) and sat down in Place d'Armes for some people watching.
Dinner at Kokiyaj again for Christmas Eve and really enjoyed the Haitian pop Christmas songs.
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| Citadelle |
Dec. 25, 2013
Cap-Haitien to Rio San Juan
The international bus from Cap-Haitien to Santiago in the Dominican Republic is run by Caribe Tours of DR and costs US$25 plus US$30 “taxes”. There were only two other passengers on my bus which departed Cap-Haitien at 8:00 a.m. on time. About one hour later it arrived at the border. Because I already paid the “taxes” to the carrier, I actually didn't get out of the bus at both the Haitian and Dominican sides. And no officials came onto the bus to check luggage, etc. Because I planned to go to Darmajagua waterfalls, I managed to have the driver drop me off in Navarrete where I took a shared taxi heading for Puerto Plata for 100 pesos.
The driver dropped me at the side road to Darmajagua waterfalls, about 10 minute walk to the actual entrance. Unfortunately when I arrived there I was told the staff was having a party to celebrate Christmas and the site was closed for the day. It was a pity I missed the chance to experience the unique “27 charos”.
It was only 2 p.m. and I decided to bypass this site and continue northeast. First I stopped a Javilla Tours minibus to get to Peurto Plata where I changed to another guagua heading east and stopped at Cabarete briefly. The reason to stop at Cabarete? Apart from checking out this “famous” tourist destination (there were really many, many tourists, and I only saw one kite), I needed to change some local currency and there are plenty of them in town (I changed a small amount of local currency at the border at bad rate).
Continuing east I called it a day at the sleepy fishing village of Rio San Juan and stayed at the French-Canadian owned Hotel Bahia Principe for US$30. It's not surprising the hotel is very famous in town (even the guagua driver assumed I would stay there) – the location is just superb: right on the sea overlooking a small beach, and every room has ocean views. Whether you are relaxing in front of your room, eating at the restaurant, or walking at the nearby beach, you know where you are.
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| Hotel Bahía Blanca, Rio San Juan |
Dec. 26, 2013
Playa Rincon
A good thing about travelling in DR is that there are always frequent guaguas available from one place to another (buses are usually not that frequent). From Rio San Juan, I took a guagua to Nagua then changed to another guagua to Samana where I changed to another guagua to Las Galeras. Good thing is there is usually only one central guagua station in a city or town (this is not the case for buses as different bus companies have their own bus stations) and I never waited for more than 15 minutes for a guagua to move.
Las Galeras is like a paradise in DR. Although transportation is not difficult, the number of tourists here is still quite limited, that makes the beach look quieter and more beautiful. I stayed at centrally located Gri Gri for 1,200 pesos per night and arranged a trip to Playa Rincon by 4 wheeled motorcycle for US$40 (half-day).
Probably because of its remote location (though most part of the road to the beach is already paved and advertisement of the beach along the road is heavy), Playa Rincon is considered the best beach in DR. The place is beautiful and relaxing, with almost no accommodations (though Restaurant Rubi claims to provide accommodations in its advertisement). So almost all tourists are day trippers. I had grilled fish at the recommended Restaurant Rubi for 400 pesos – the size was good though I didn't find the taste too special.
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| Playa Rincon |
Dec. 27, 2013
El Limon Waterfall
To get to the capital Santo Domingo from Las Galeras, I didn't go direct from Samana. Instead, I took a detour to Las Terrenas and checked out El Limon Waterfall on the way. It turned out very rewarding.
At Samana, frequent guaguas head for El Limon. I stopped at the main intersection in El Limon where a restaurant called Santi can provide horse ride to the waterfall for 750 pesos. It's actually a 45 minute horse ride and 15 minute hike including crossing a river so water shoes are a good idea. The waterfall is nice enough to justify the journey and there is a pool for swimming.
Back to El Limon, I jumped to another guagua to Las Terranas. This town is said to be like Las Galeras 30 years ago, but now with a considerable expat population and heavy development (many hotels and restaurants are owned by foreigners). The beaches are still nice though. And there are a few minibuses heading for the capital everyday. I took the 2 p.m. one for 350 pesos and arrived in Santo Domingo about 3 and half hours later. The bus station is just north of Zona Colonial and after a short walk I checked in Hostal Nomadas for US$28.
Dec. 28, 2013
Santo Domingo to Bavaro
Zona Colonial is worth seeing to every visitor to the Dominican Republic. Apart from the Big Three – Catedral Primada de America, Museo de las Casas Reales and Museo Alcazar de Colon, just walking along the alleys in Zona Colonial is very pleasant. And the police presence at almost every corner makes it very safe day and night.
Although I wish I could spend more time at Zona Colonial, I had no more time and had to check out Hostal Nomadas and walk to a bus station just north of Zona Colonial to take a bus to Higuey (275 pesos). This is a big bus and takes only 2 hours to get to Higuey, a transportation hub in southeast DR. From Higuey, I took another big bus to Bavaro for 130 pesos (1 hour). There doesn't seem to be a “bus station” in Bavaro. The bus just stopped at different resorts along the road. Amazingly, I used Google Maps on my mobile phone to locate El Cortectio Village correctly.
Bavaro is a very famous beach resort destination for tourists. The beach is very long and there are numerous all-inclusive resorts along the beach. Luckily, the small village of El Cortectio caters to independent travellers at reasonable prices. Actually I booked Apartahotel Green Coast at booking.com in advance for US$60 (including tax) but when I arrived at the place I was told there was no room for me for the day (I later realized that the online hotel booking business also has the problem of “overbooking”). The manager then put me into the nearby El Cortecito Inn for the same price.
The beach at Bavaro is so long and there seems no end. As a matter of fact, I walked almost one hour and still couldn't see the end of it. The beach itself is nothing special. Actually I found the section around El Cortecito Village to be the most beautiful. There are a couple of restaurants along the beach as well but not much night life in this tiny place.
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| El Cortecito Village, Bavaro |
Overview
Although Haiti and the Dominican Republic are on the same Hispaniola Island, they are totally different countries. There are virtually no tourists in Haiti (even around Christmas) and being there is basically to experience and to be around local folks. While in DR there are so many tourists and at beaches most people around you are foreigners. DR's beaches are generally nice, especially the smaller ones. Don't forget Santo Domingo – the first Spanish colony in the world. You will see lots of history there, and beauty too.
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