Transportation in Haiti certainly deserves its very own post. We arrived in the Port Au Prince airport with about 15 people and 25 or so bags, boxes, etc. After making our way through the customs and immigration, we all gathered our belongings and made a quick trip out of the airport. We were so excited Lala and Alex waiting for us. Both Lala and Alex are Americans who have made Haiti their home. They are both fluent in Creole and were able to assist with the excessive volunteers to "help with luggage" so that they could then demand a tip. Someone loaded lots of luggage into a vehicle that I never saw. Then we watched Lala expertly stack and stash and luggage into the back of her SUV. Luggage in Haiti is like a life size Tetris game. When I was sure that not another piece of luggage could fit, she made more fit!
You can see a few pieces of luggage behind us!
Youvendgy along for the lap ride!
Reminded me of "the circle" in Henderson when I was a kid
Finally after a few minutes, all of the people were strategically placed into a vehicle. Let me say, I don't know what the seat-belt laws are in Haiti. I would guess if they exist, no one else knows what they are either. In Lala's 5 person vehicle (think Mitsubishi Montero Sport type vehicle), we had Amy, Kayla, Karen, Lala, Youvendjy, and myself, a minimum of 6 pieces of large luggage, and 4 stuffed backpacks. As we leave the airport, I realize that the rest of the group is piling into the cab of a truck and the bed of the truck. I don't even know how many people were in the vehicle Alex drove. We headed out on our 2-3 hour drive from Port Au Prince to Gonaives. About halfway to Gonaives, Kayla and I requested a seat change and thoroughly enjoyed out time in the bed of the truck on a real highway with 6-7 other adults.
9+ in the back and another 6-7 in the cab!
Let me take a moment to explain the traffic flow in Haiti. Paved roads have a yellow stripe between the two directions of traffic. However, you should know that at any moment, a car may pass you regardless of the oncoming traffic. The road is shared between traditional vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and mopeds or "motos". One of the first things we noticed with the traffic is the use of the horn. Chad thinks I'm an "excessive honker" because I've probably used the horn on my car 25 times in the 24 years I've been driving. In Haiti, the horn is not "Hey! Get out of my way!" The horn in Haiti simply mean, "I'm approaching an intersection" or "I'm passing you." It can also mean "Get out of my way!"
When we passed through towns with street markets, the traffic was a little congested. We could continuously hear people calling "blanc" and pointing at the white people in the back of the truck. At one point, we stopped and the guy on the moto behind us did not. He ran into the back of the truck and fell off his moto. We drove on! We later learned that it is unsafe to stop with a truckload of Americans even if he ran into the back of our vehicle. The man was clearly ok and continued on his way.
Just before they ran into the back of a car...just kidding!
Other forms of transportation were our feet. We didn't walk as much in Haiti as I anticipated. We did walk from Holly's house to the main road each day. We also walked to get drinking water, etc.
Typical escort for Amy when walking to the main street
However, when we had a reasonable distance to travel, we used the moto "taxi". This was definitely one of the most fun modes of transportation. We rode three adults on one moto!
Holly, Karen, and driver
Sounds crazy, but we quickly realized that is a light load. Apparently Haitians can manage up to 5+ people on a moto. They can transport ANYTHING on a moto. Think dining room chair, mattresses, eggs, vehicle tires, anything. We even saw a moto with a driver and a rider pulling 6-8 pieces of rebar. I'm talking 40 foot or longer pieces of rebar being held in the middle with both ends dragging behind the moped. As in a typical American taxi, the charge for the ride is based on the distance traveled. The negotiation is done before getting on the moto taxi. There were times that Holly spoke with the driver and they did not agree on a reasonable fare, so she sent him on his way and flagged another taxi.
Clearly I was devastated with the moto ride each time
A less expensive form of transportation was the "tap tap". A tap tap is a small truck that often has a camper shell and benches along the back. The tap taps travel down the main road from one end to the other in a circuit. You flag down a tap tap like a taxi and climb in the back. When you approach your stop, you "tap tap" or bang bang on the back and yell "mèsi!" When you exit the vehicle, you pay the driver or passenger at the window.
Back of a Tap tap
First Tap tap we rode in
If we walked to the main road from Holly's house, we stopped a tap tap headed in the direction that we needed to travel. Tap taps have a set price per person. Some tap taps have open slots at the front of the camper. Others did not. You can guess the difference in the level of comfort when the wind could circulate through the camper vs. over the top of it due to closure.
Tap tap with openings for AIR FLOW
After a couple of tap tap rides, we had a better understanding of the standing Haitian joke: How many Haitians can ride in a tap tap? Just one more! There were times we had so many people in the back of the truck that when they pulled over to pick up more we were sure they would change their mind and walk. They did not. They stood on the bumper and held on as we traveled down the road. Let me clarify, people didn't begin to stand until you had multiple people in your lap and you were sitting so closely to others that your sweat became their sweat.
Tap tap after most people got out
Tap taps are one of the most affordable methods of transportation. Each person pays 10 gourde per ride. That's about $0.15 USD.
One of our favorite forms of transportation was a privately owned vehicle. I believe they belonged to Mama Jan, Lala, and others. I honestly have no idea who owned them, but they had AIR CONDITIONING!! The moped was fun, but a 15 passenger van with a row of A/C vents blowing on you when you've been out in the heat for hours at a time is a blessing like I could have never imagined!
Other forms of transportation that we witnessed were people on donkeys with packs and a couple of thin horses with riders.
lady on a donkey
Aside from types of vehicles, we had some interesting transportation stories. One of my favorite was the morning Kayla and I were headed out to work at Jubilee with the rest of the Texas Team. Holly put us in a vehicle with a Haitian man and told us we were going to Jubilee while she, Amy, and Karen went to the market. A few minutes into the trip, we were wedged into a congested area of town. On a two lane road with cars parked along what would be a curb on both sides, we stopped moving. With the crazy amount of vehicles, mopeds, and people at any given moment, this was not unusual. We immediately noticed the honking. When the vehicle didn't move again, we started looking around. I realized that the the truck next to us (Kayla could've touched it with her window down) was parked in the road without a driver. Obviously the traffic behind the truck could not move. We could not proceed forward. Mopeds couldn't even get around any of the vehicles. Drivers are beginning to get aggravated and yell and gesture. Our driver...remember Haitian man who we can't communicate with at all...opens his door and begins to yell and gesture at another Haitian man sitting stuck in traffic from the opposite direction. Naturally, the man behind him got out of his vehicle and joined in the "conversation" and gesturing. Kayla and I were a little nervous about the situation. It did not seem to be overly aggressive, but obviously we were a little unnerved as the white women in the vehicle who can't communicate. After a short stand off, our driver backed up all the way to the prior intersection and allowed the other line of traffic to pass the parked vehicle and the typical flow of traffic could resume . A typical traffic pattern is like Shriners in a parade with honking, swerving, near missing all while "taking turns" passing around stopped vehicles.
First...A/C vents
Second...The parked truck that caused the traffic jam
The day we went to the beach, we rode in the bed of a truck for several hours to get to a resort. When we turned off the main road to get to the resort, we left paved roads. The best I can describe the "road" is a treacherous rock and dirt trail that requires a 4 wheel-drive vehicle to navigate.
Road headed to the beach
After about 20 minutes driving up, around, and over a mountain, I was sure that we had been Punk'd and there was no beach. The entire time we could see the water about a 1/2 mile below us over the side of the cliff. We passed people grazing cattle on ropes, men and kids on horses and donkeys, goats, people walking, etc. I've never been "rock crawling" in a vehicle. But I'm sure that's what we were doing. In America people build special vehicles and do this as a pastime/sport. In Haiti, we did this in the BED of the truck to get to the beach!
We made it in. It rained while we were at the resort. We had to "make it out" in the mud. Go ahead and scroll back up and look at that "road" and imagine it after an hour of rain. First of all, in a four-door truck designed for 6 people, we had more. You know how many people you can fit in the cab of a truck when it's your only way home in the rain? Just one more! Seriously, we had 12 people, a booster seat, and a watermelon in the cab as we slipped, spun, slid, and prayed for safety for the 30 minute trek back out of the resort. I can't recall the name of our driver. However, he was amazing. Aside from the roughness of the terrain and the one time we slid toward a side rail of a cliff, it really was just a squished, calm, yet comical ride. If you know Kayla or Karen, ask them about this ride home.
And then one picture that just made me giggle at the moment I realized what I was seeing.
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