Belly Beach near Labadee Haiti

Belly Beach is a small beach and hotel on the bay between the Royal Caribbean Cruise resort of Labadee and the Haitian village of Labadee. It has fewer foreigners than Cormier Plage, and better swimming in the calm bay and blue water (somewhat cloudy from all the boat activity). It's a nice place to spend the evening. We arrived around 5p on a Sunday, loud music was playing, people were enjoying the beach, but it wasn't too rowdy. They turned off music around 7p and most of the day-use people had left by then, so we enjoyed our meal in peace. 

We didn't make reservations, and seemed to be the only people staying overnight. There were around 10 rooms, $60/night. Each has a mini-fridge, TV, air conditioner, and indoor plumbing. There are no windows so we couldn't enjoy the view or sounds of the waves whiles we slept. Electricity was on until around 11pm. The main water pipe to the compound had broken, so there wasn't water that evening to the rooms (because they didn't know we were coming they hadn't filled the reservoir), but we could shower in the day-use facilities. The rooms had water by morning. The stay came with a hearty breakfast of eggs, bread, coffee. The manager speaks English and was pleasant, along with the woman who manages the rooms. Dinner and drinks for 5 was $30. They take only cash! Check out is 11am.

The morning was the best part for me - I came there to bird and explore. Go up the stairs and to the left to follow the road seen on google maps. There is a small fort, and lots of birds (see next blog). Go up the stairs to the right to get to the next beach over where people sell souvenirs to the cruise ship tourists. Tell them you are not from the cruise ship! The sellers are pleasant and not too pushy, but did try to charge 3x as much as they finally seemed happy taking.

Next time I would like to get there before noon, leave my belongings (and give time for water to the rooms), then take a boat to Labadee village to eat lunch and explore.

How to get there - Though google shows a road that looks like it goes directly to Belly Beach - it's really just a very rocky path that I don't think any truck could manage, and it stops at stairs that lead down to the hotel. On google maps Belly Beach is called Dhaloo, while a place within the resort compound is labeled as Belly Beach. To get to Belly, follow the road past the resort and park near the water taxis. Royal Caribbean had a ship in port the day I went, and when we arrived at 4 pm the area was very busy with employees who work in the resort. Hire a water taxi to take you to Belly. Pay 100 gd for the trip there, and arrange for pick up the next day for 1000 gd. 

water taxi

Dinner

Breakfast

Ouanga Bay Beach Hotel

 If you are looking for some easy snorkeling right outside your hotel room, try the Ouanga Bay Beach Hotel in Cote des Arcadins along Rt. Natl #1.  It is about a 2 hour drive from Port au Prince on the paved highway.  Look for the sign with the hummingbird, and the entrance has a metal seahorse on the gate post.  Ouanga occupies a long narrow strip of beach, with parking behind the hotel on the highway side.  There are two choices for rooms – regular rooms for $110 each room or bungalows with TV for $135 (Oct. 2014).  The bungalows are stand alone, while the regular rooms are in a row like regular hotel rooms.  We stayed in the regular rooms.

The room had A/C, hot water, and two beds.  There was no door on the bathroom, which might make for an awkward situation if you don’t know the people you travel with very well.  All the rooms have an ocean view.  The water is very clear!  The best snorkeling was right outside the regular rooms.  You have to go down a short flight of steps, walk to the far end of the beach and climb over come rocks to get on the beach.  This isn’t the main laying-out beach.  Wear water shoes since there are sea urchins.  We saw puffer fish, a sea snake, little colorful fish, and gobies that like to swim around your fingers.  There are also some chunks of coral to swim around.  Watch out for jelly fish the further out you go!  They were dispersed enough that you can avoid them, and looked beautiful swimming, but still gave us the willies and we went back closer to shore.  There is also a swimming pool at one end of the property.

The lounging/swimming beach is in front of the bungalows and next to the bar/restaurant that sits over the water.  It is a very relaxing place to hang out.  Except when the jetskiers decide to come to shore at the swimming beach!  We left a note of complaint about that.  Our dinner was very good, and relatively inexpensive for a beach hotel.  My friend had bbq chicken with fries ($12).  I asked for a vegetable plate of carrots, melotin (chayote squash) and avocado, with fries ($10).  We had cake for dessert ($5).  A great breakfast comes with the room price: omelet, fruit, juice, bread, and coffee.  They set the coffee out early so you can sit and enjoy the sunrise over the hills behind the hotel.

The people in the lobby were very friendly.  There is no store, but they do have little toothbrush kits if you forget yours.  There are steps to go down then up to get to the rooms.  There weren’t a lot of people there the Saturday night we stayed.  A three or four families, a couple foreigners.  More people showed up Sunday morning, perhaps to spend the day at the beach.

Over all Ouanga Bay is very enjoyable and relaxing.  See the next post about the wharf tour and ecotourism school that are within walking distance of the hotel.

  

Day 2 – Moulin sur Mer and Musee Ogier-Fombrun

This continues my 3 day road trip around Port au Prince and the Artibonite Valley.  After church on Sunday Day 2 we hit the road around 2pm and drove National Route 1 which follows the southern coast of Haiti’s northern peninsula.  From Tabarre PAP it took us about 2 hours to get to the resort Moulin sur Mer.  There’s a sign right along the highway pointing the way to the resort, just keep driving til you reach the resort gate.  You park inside the gate then a little cart comes and takes you to the check-in booth.  Riding the little cart made me feel like I was at Disney World!  A room for 2 with 2 beds was $156, an affordable splurge to relax at a clean beach.  That price came with a great breakfast of fruit, rolls, omelet, and juice (with real butter!).  There is a higher price that includes dinner.

The room was great – nothing fancy but it did have hot water!  The grounds had a lot to look at - a pond with geese and giant land crabs which entertained people like me and Rhoda.  Miniature golf, a swimming pool, a cage with two monkeys (!), a small playground, racketball court, and a giant chess game.  There is a little gift shop with mainly swimwear, toiletries, and medicines.  But we were there for the beach!

There are several mini-beach areas.  At the edge of the roped off swimming area next to the man-made ‘island’ are rocks with sea urchins and fish, but jet skiers were going back and forth just beyond us, churning up the water and making it difficult not to get sloshed up against the rocks.  Why couldn’t they go farther out?  They have the entire bay!  The hotel offers kayaks and snorkeling gear to rent, and there’s a marina right next to it to rent jet skis, store boats, etc.  We swam, had dinner, then the best part came after dark when we were hanging out on the little ‘island’ where fish were attracted to the lights!  It was so exciting to see all the fish, clear water, no jet skiers.  Next time I’ll try night snorkeling.

Food was Haitian restaurant fare, a bit more upscale I suppose, but since I am a vegetarian I can’t comment on how it compared to other places.  For vegetarians I recommend a cheese sandwich with mushrooms and onions on the side to put on the sandwich which came on a great baguette.  Even better was the dessert, Twa Let, which caused some confusion.  Twalet – a toilet?  Or Twa Let – 3 milk?  Fortunately it was cream-based desserts (see photo).

We got up for a sunrise swim.  No jet skiers!  Clear water!  And then a great breakfast.  We checked out at 10 am and went to the plantation museum right across from the main gate.  This Musee Ogier-Fombrun was closed for renovation, but we were able to walk around the grounds and see some of the exhibits in the entrance way (and oddly there is a small pool and a bar – I suppose for the hotel patrons?).  With my museum studies degree, I was horrified to see letters written by Toussaint Louverture, Haiti’s revolutionary leader – in the entrance way – under glass but still exposed to light and humidity.  Here is a photo to preserve the letters for all eternity (or until the end of computers).

We left the museum around noon and traveled to Petite Riviere via Saint Marc.  Stayed tuned for the next posting about that journey.

The turn from Route 1 to Moulin sur Mer.

The island lights attract fish at night!

A good place to do some light snorkeling - sea urchins and fish.

And you can do some light birding - sandwich terns!

The marina next to Moulin sur Mer.

 

Historic letters.

Letter by Toussaint Louverture!

The Jacmel adventure

From Port au prince we drove though the mountains down to Jacmel and spent the night at the hotel La Florita.  It’s 2 blocks up from the beach and had great atmosphere.  It’s a gingerbread house built in 1888.  We had the top suite to ourselves.  An artist, Rose Marie Lamour, was having a reception, and there was a jazz/kompa band.  The room came with complimentary breakfast (bread, fruit, coffee) and you can also order other food.  They serve lunch and dinner too.  And did a good job rebuilding after the earthquake (see scary earthquake damage photos here).

The beach right in Jacmel has so much trash!  We saw people dumping trash near the wetland early in the morning, and concluded it was the city dump.  People let their goats and pigs run loose in it.  We came across a couple kids throwing stones to try to hit swallows, so used it as an opportunity to teach about birds and how to use the binoculars.  Attracted about 10 kids and one woman who brought a puppy in a sack to wash off in the ocean.  I gave them each a birds of Haiti laminated card.

We drove down the coast and found a beautiful rocky beach in Caye Jacmel.  We stopped along the road near a bridge and walked along the shore.  Found tiny hermit crabs.  We cut through a small banana tree field to get back to the road to walk back.  Found a talented woodworker and also give his kids some of the bird cards.  He said he was glad we didn’t humiliate him by not stopping to talk. I'll post images from this nice beach in the next blog post.

That day we drove to the north shore along the bay, and ate dinner at Samaritan’sPurse at Jax Beach, then stayed overnight with Rhoda’s friends who run the Kodep guest house and program.  They have demonstration forests up in the mountains, and will open a school this fall.  At their house is a tilapia farm.  In the morning we went snorkeling in their back yard!  Saw fish, sea urchins, star fish, coral, etc. 

Hotel La Florita

Dog

Band at the La Forita

Inside the La Forita

Debbie & Rhoda at the La Florita

My room at the La Florita

Don't throw trash here!  Scouts & UN

Trash heap on the Jacmel beach

Teaching birding on the Jacmel beach