The beautiful mountains above Port-au-Prince allow for a crossing to the south, but not by car.
One of the more adventurous, yet perfectly doable walks in Haiti is the weekend trip from Kenscoff, a mountain village above Port-au-Prince and Petionville, to Marigot on the southern coast, a two-day walk with overnight in a simple hostal in Seguin. The key to success, however, is organisation: somebody will have to drop you off in Kenscoff, and somebody will need to pick you up the next day in Marigot – and preferably drive you back to Port-au-Prince again if you want to complete this within a weekend.
We never managed the logistics – a lousy excuse, really -, but we did do part of the trip, one Saturday, by car, as far as we could get, which is not even close to Seguin, incidentally. The attraction is the unspoilt nature, steep mountain valleys, small rural villages, and observing the Haitian countryside transport mechanisms. Although we would have wanted to walk this route as a leisure activity, many Haitians do it for a living. There is a lively trade going on between Kenscoff and Marigot, and all the places in between, and in the absence of a through-going road, the transport of goods is by people, donkeys and horses. Fascinating! And good for a couple of pictures.
next: the sugar plantations around Croix des Bouquets
Prachtige foto’s!!