Today we decided that we wanted to go visit the boardwalk in Jacmel. We took a tap-tap to downtown and Haley and I were not entirely sure where we were so we just headed towards the ocean. After walking for like twenty minutes we finally came across the boardwalk. It is so weird because the boardwalk was so pretty. There were mosaics on the ground and all the walls. It was absolutely gorgeous but no one was there. We maybe saw ten people on the boardwalk and that I was it. I love the raw beauty that this town has and that it is not a tourist attraction. After walking we headed over to a coffee shop for the a drink. I tried the passion fruit juice. It was very refreshing. I am going to have a really hard time drinking our sugary drinks when I come back home. The fruit juices taste so different because they don't add sugar. After our drinks we headed back on the tap-tap. Haley and I had a little incident on the tap-tap today. So the tap-tap was very crowded and Haley had to sit on my lap. On tap-taps they slam on the breaks a lot. I wasn't paying attention and lost balance and Haley slid of my lap onto an older Haitian gentlemen. Thankfully everyone on the tap-tap thought it was funny and laughed with us!After exploring the boardwalk we headed back to the beach that we went to yesterday. Its nice to go somewhere besides our hotel and this beach is a lot bigger! I spent the afternoon listening to music, reading my book, and watching people on the beach. One of the observations I made on the beach is that Haitians are really good at soccer and they are almost mean. They are throwing elbows at each other and pushing. It was fun to watch and I was wishing I knew how to play soccer so I could join in! Secondly, a group of American tourist came and it was very entertaining to watch them at the beach. They came out of their van with fanny packs and cameras in a hand. It was fun to watch them explore the beach and try to speak the language. We had a little boy come up to us to sell us items. We kept saying no to him and then he goes this helps me pay for my schooling. That literally broke my heart into a million pieces. Its like he knew that we were teachers. Haley and I felt so bad because he was trying so hard to get money to try and pay for his schooling.
We headed back to our hotel by tap-tap again. The tap-tap ride back was a little interesting. All the benches were taken so Haley had to stand in the back. There is nothing that hold you into these tap-taps and we had like nothing to hang on to. I was just praying Haley and I didn't fly out of the back but the Haiti people were holding onto to us making sure that we didn't fall out. I think I will be forever amazed by the kindness these people have while riding on the tap-tap. I think that traveling by tap-tap is one of the best ways to travel in this country. It is a super cheap way to travel and you really get to feel the culture. I mean we get the opportunity to interact with the Haitians. We also get to see so many sights. I love that when you ride in them that you are constantly getting fresh air and you get to experience all the smells. When traveling through the market there tends to be some nasty smells. We smelt some bad things that brought us to the point of almost gagging. I feel like all these Haitians watch out for each other even if they don't know you. They are like a family out here. If you are having car trouble you see like 10 or 15 Haitians surrounding the vehicle trying to help you fix it. When walking down the streets they always say hello and smile at you.Tomorrow schools starts up again and I can't wait to see the kids again and spend the day with them! :)
With Love,
Abby
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