Port au Prince

Day 5 

Port au Prince

Port au Prince....crickey, what a place. The traffic!!! Just a crawling mass of vehicles all randomly dodging and beeping their way along potholed, dusty, rutted roads. Buses are amazingly brightly painted and decorated, moving works of art. With template like, patterned windows and covered in elaborately painted scenes, some religious with messages beautifully scripted.

And people everywhere. 4 x 4 vehicles of all shapes and sizes nudging through the streams of traffic. The occasional hand pulled, and pushed, carts covered in metal pipes and another with firewood, determinedly trudging along with the massive trucks and hooting cars. And of course, 'motos' (scooters) everywhere, dodging in and out between the cars and bumping along the pavements when gaps can't be found in the traffic. 

Bedlam at intersections with no apparent system as to who has right of way, everyone pushing their way forward until they create a gap to squeeze into. Bryan is completely in his element, manoeuvring his way through the nose to tail traffic.

Ladies carrying huge bundles of blankets or wood on their heads, some swinging throttled chicken with their dead wings, and heads, flopping about. Vendors selling piles of stuff from wheelbarrows, small stalls and from rough concrete steps of their small shops. 

We visited the metal work factory area to buy some of the beautifully cut out metal pictures and artworks. Found a beautiful mirror with peacocks tails cascading down each side, for Bryan's house. (Bachelor lifestyle doesn't prioritise things like mirrors but Bryan thinks it could be useful for shaving!)

Strong, lean Haitian men sit hammering away at the metal sheets onto which they have traced intricate templates of sea scenes, trees, birds and cyclists. Once they've carved out the design, another guy sits tapping away with hammer and small anvil like tool, tracing around the edges of objects to create a raised pattern. Huge amount of work and then to sell a medium sized artwork for $10.

Next to the find the american supermarket 'Giant' in the supposedly salubrious Pettonville district, which I had been led to believe was very wealthy and exclusive. The roads were in much better shape and there is a feeling of it being a 'neighbourhood' with solid, big buildings, hotels and a more structured layout to the whole area. Some quite grand buildings with gardens and street lights. The same random surging traffic system though and still masses of people swarming along the pavements and hanging out in squares and parks. 

'Giant'...clean, orderly and completely westernised, has everything you could wish for and we were even able to buy an ironing board and kettle. A very genial, polished, pale skinned, french looking lady, who would have looked at home in a posh french boutique, helped us find some bits and chatted away charmingly. The ex pats at the hospital in Mireblais, apparently make a group trip here once a month...it must be a godsend. You can buy sliced bread, any cereal imaginable and butter, and cheese! All unheard of items in Mireblais markets and so called supermarkets.

Then into another world completely...we went to wonderful 'Brasserie Quatier Latin'. A sublime restaurant in an old colonial house, in the Pietonville district. It was now dark and as we walked up the spotless peddled covered drive we were transported into another world of calm and beauty, the lush gardens lit up by fairy lights wrapped around the trunks of huge palm trees and then into the tall ceilinged rooms with white clothed tables lit by candles and soft lighting. We ate delicious food in the beautiful open aired courtyard and when the band struck up, Seb was encouraged to join in by playing the shakers, the cymbals and then tapping to the beat with wooden sticks. of course, he loved the limelight and jiggled his way through the songs. A gorgeous place, world class and a memorable experience.

Then back along the softly lit palm treed drive, at the end of which sat parked security cars with and guards hovering, forming a barrier to the city people...not a comfortable experience and a bit of a stark reminder that there are desperately hungry people nearby. Start the journey back to Mireblais and down the hill from the attractive area of Pietonville into the crazy throbbing city, dodgem driving and back onto the dust swirling, bumpy roads ...a bit quieter now but the pavements still thronged with people hanging out, open fires burning trash and dogs scratching around the piles of debris.