Spring Break 2013

This week is our spring break at school so we have five days off!!  Last week, I was physically and mentally exhausted.  I had been suffering from insomnia and was in major need of a break.  I decided that the best thing to do would be to take a little trip away from Gonaives/Jubilee.

I recruited Beaver and Kathy's 14 year old daughter, Rebecca, and my friend, Lala and her 5 year old Haitian son to come along.  I have always wanted to visit Cap Haitian, the second largest city in Haiti.  So we decided to take off for a two night vacation.

You can see on the map above where we traveled.  It doesn't look too far and really it isn't.  But, for someone who gets motion sickness very easily it was not a pleasant journey.  We had a three hour ride in the back of a tap-tap to get there.  Pictured below is a tap-tap.  It is a small pick-up truck with a cap and small uncomfortable benches welded on the inside.

We realized AFTER we got on our tap-tap that it was named "Golgotha".  I thought that was very fitting considering that it was Palm Sunday and the fact that we very well might meet our death at some point during the treacherous drive to Cap Haitian.  There were 13 adults crammed in the back so tightly that I could not even move my arms.  Not to mention, there were three grown men sitting on top of the roof.  I ride tap-taps all the time.  I'm accustomed to being crammed in like a sardine.  But, there is a huge difference between riding one for ten or twenty minutes on a flat road vs. riding for three hours over mountains and hair pin turns without guardrails.  Our driver took some of the turns so fast that I felt like if I leaned my body in the slightest bit we'd just flip right over.

I was seated second from the end.  I started to feel very car sick about an hour into the drive.  All I could think about was, "How in the world am I going to be able to throw up when I can't even move?!"  I closed my eyes and repeated in my head "don't throw up, don't throw up, don't throw up" over and over again for about twenty minutes until I realized that I was definitely going to puke.  Thankfully, the  Haitian man seated next to me was very gracious as I dove across his lap and hung my head out the back of the moving truck so that I could toss my cookies.  He even held onto me to make sure I didn't go flying out the back.  That was the third time in my three years in Haiti that I've puked off the back of a moving vehicle.  Correct me if I'm wrong but that doesn't happen to normal people very often.  Needless to say it was NOT a fun ride there. 

As soon as we arrived at our hotel, Hotel Roi du Christolphe, I realized it was all worth it.  I instantly started feeling rested and relaxed just by looking at the hotel.

The grounds had lots of lush plants and a lovely pool that we took advantage of everyday.

We had adventures planned, but as soon as we set foot in our hotel room, we barely wanted to leave.  We immediately turned on the air conditioning.  None of us knew degrees Celcius so we set it to 16 degrees.  Turns out, that is 60 degrees Fahrenheit!!  For the first time all winter we were able to bundle up with long sleeves and blankets.  Then, we all took hot showers.  It was my first hot shower in three months and it was quite possibly my favorite part of the entire trip.   I managed to take 6 nice long hot showers in the three days that we were there.  We also loved relaxing and watching American TV!  We had five stations all in English.  I'm sure to most of you, that sounds quite boring, but when you don't have TV, ac, or hot water for ten months out of the year, it is a big deal.

Aside from those three things, we enjoyed other parts about our trip, too.  In the mornings, we enjoyed complimentary breakfast.

We had turtles that lived right outside of our hotel room door.  

We found a great little outdoor restaurant beside the ocean for dinner.  We filled our bellies with delicious food while we talked and laughed.

making a fool of myself and making Youvendjy laugh

We stopped at a tiny grocery store for snacks and found Becca in doll form.

I loved seeing different styles of architecture than what we are used to in Gonaives.

One thing that we noticed and greatly appreciated about Cap Haitian was that everyone there was so much friendlier and more polite than what I am used to.  It was so peaceful.

We joked, laughed, rested, ate, and had a fabulous time!  A perfect three day vacay.  

I can't thank the Lord enough for the precious time of rejuvenation.  Check back tomorrow for another post about our other vacation adventures!