Family Day OUT

On our days off, Patrick and I try to muster up enough energy to avoid lounging around the house all day and instead venture out and about to explore a different part of Haiti. Getting out of the city is usually reward enough for pulling off the pajamas and packing for a day trip. Not long ago, we found the most recent Lonely Planet for Haiti and are using it to find some recommendations of hidden away finds we'd otherwise not know to stop.

Usually a day out takes us to the beach because after a long hot week, nothing sounds better than cooling off in the ocean waves. But today, we headed up the mountain for a drive, a hike, and a picnic.

We continued past our usual stopping point at the Baptist Mission, headed over the pass into Kenskoff, then followed the twisty roads to the little village of Furcy. After climbing the first pass, a whole new mountain range opened up before us, a vista of dramatic peaks and valleys for as far as our eye could see. "Mountains beyond mountains" was illustrated in a visual feast as we nudged the galloper (newly serviced) over the mountain roads. As we climbed higher, each vista seemed to be more lush, more green, more beautiful than the last. The air cooled the higher we climbed. Our sweat glands sighed with content at their first vacation in a while, and with windows down and air billowing in the galloper, all riders were happy.



For a small country, Haiti has many diverse landscapes: mountain top to ocean side, plains and valleys, lush tropical vegetation and dry desert like fields. Today's trip took us into a green and fragrant part of the country filled with small pine forests and mountainsides criss-crossed with cultivated fields clinging to steep inclines by terraces and other creative farming techiniques. Instead of land covered with colonies of cement communities, homes were hidden in groves of plantain fronds, behind trees, and in between interlaced fields. As we passed by the heavily farmed mountainsides, we watched farmers, both men and women, working the ground with hoes, a cow or pig being lead by a rope to town, little boys following their fathers down a foot path with machete in hand. As we drove further from the city, trash dissapeared from the roadside, greens deepened, the air cleared and cooled, and we all felt lighter, cleaner, refreshed.



Even the livestock looked fatter, happier, and sported a healthier sheen to their coats.

We drove through the tiny village of Furcy. Today looked like a sleepy day for the villagers. Kenskoff had a huge market day and the streets were congested with vendors and merchants selling their fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and household items. Furcy, in contrast, had empty market stalls and a few people lazing about the bigger buildings in the town. We passed famliar sights of men working on broken down trucks, women walking along the roadside with baskets of vegetables on their heads. We passed a man slaughtering a pig, a woman asleep--head in her folded arms--while tending to her refreshment stand.


After passing through Furcy, the road got more narrow and rutted, and since we'd given the Galloper more of a ride than she was in shape for, we were quick to find a place to pull over and have a picnic. Much to our good fortune, we found a large tree-lined, grassy field on the side of the road which hosted amazing vistas of surrounding peaks and valleys. Perfect.

I was elated. The peace and quiet of our magical find elevated my spirit like a fresh spring breeze after a long winter. Quiet is a luxury no one can find in the city. But here, only the sound of the wind whistling through the feather pines and the occasional crow of a rooster found our ears. We settled down for a little lunch in the grassy field. Solomon wasn't so sure at first what to do with this tickley stuff all around him. I suddenly realized with a start (and a tinge of horror) that this was Solomon's first experience with grass! He is 10 months old and is just now discovering grass for the first time. We're not in Kansas anymore!!! Tile and cement far behind us, Solomon initially sat staring at the earth and grass as if it might bite him. We giggled, reassured him, and eventually he let his curiousity win him over.


In time, he was taking to this "nature thing" as quickly as any child should. Mommy made a mental note to increase frequency of mountain drives so her child doesn't experience extreme culture shock when exploring the fields of Kansas and the hillsides of Colorado for the first time!


After a light lunch, we set out on a walk down a foot path leading from our picnic pearch. By this time, our foreign presence had been recognized, and a few locals had gathered to ask questions and show us the way. Our new friends took on the "job" of protecting our car for us as we wandered off for a little family hike.

We followed women returning from the market, carrying their purchases on their heads. I was amazed at how quickly they navigated the rutted and slick foot path we followed. True to my nature, I nearly took a few headers while skirting over rain soaked rocks and slippery slopes. Patrick, with Solomon riding Tandem in his Snuggly, watched and learned from my discovery of "slick spots."

I loved getting out in the fresh air, exploring the country side, conversing with passers by as they eyed us curiously and with big grins. A young boy wielding a machete helped show us the way to his school, his brother introduced himself in broken English and invited us into his family home. We followed him down a hill, behind a plantain grove and found a neat and tidy little yard where a blue-washed cement house stood. Two beautiful young girls were sitting on the porch and smiled at us in surprise when we came through. Greeting the mother and the father as we came in, we introduced ourselves and indicated their son had invited us. You'd have thought we were long expected guests. We all sat in the yard, talking about the kind of crops the father grew, the good work his children do for him, and the favorite foods of the children. They discussed how difficult it is for children in the area to go to school. Although a Methodist mission houses a primary school not far from their home, the secondary school is in the town of Kenskoff and is much more expensive. The oldest son, who had greeted us in English, had to sit out this year from school due to lack of funds. But they were hopeful that next year he could return and continue his studies.

We were offered a fresh papaya as we left and invited to return if ever on their corner of the mountain again. Given the perfection of the drive, the picnic spot and the beautiful tree-lined walk, I would not be surprised if we wandered their way again.

We had a perfect day with an escape from the heat and the city into a part of the country with extraordinary beauty and tranquility. We (re)discovered grass, quiet, pine-scented air and were embraced with hospitality true to Haitian culture. Now back to the heat and congestion of the city, I'm aching for more moments in that field. If only the commute wasn't so long, I'd pitch a tent and move!!! But now our dreams will carry visions of cool green mountain escapes dancing through our heads to sustain us through another week. That is something worth smiling about.

Home and Happy!