Citadelle 2020 Part 2 - The views

Here are some photos from the excursion to the Citadelle! It was overcast with low clouds at the Citadelle, but full sun at the Palace.

Palace San Souci, from the road above.

Citadelle 2020 part 1 - the road there and payment

Too many people trying to help!

On a Monday in February 2020 I took a visitor to the Citadelle! Rather my Haitian friend took us and helped us navigate not only the road there but payment. Let your Haitian friend take charge of all payments! (I didn’t and overpaid the horse guides). Here is what we did. Hope it saves others from confusion! And you need a really good truck with good motor and clutch to go up and down the mountain.

The drive: 7 hour round trip! Left UCNH in Haute-Limbe at 6:45a. Go earlier if you want to go birding. From Rt 1 we turned south onto the nice road through Akul, then went south through Bois Rouge and popped out on the main paved road that goes south to Milot. 8am arrive at the tourist payment building at Palace San Souci, after we picked up a guide who was standing on the street outside a nice gate/walled area. He had a badge and rode with us in the truck bed. FYI he spoke Creole, French, and Spanish, but very little English. My friend ended up translating. 9 am arrive at Citadelle parking lot. 9:40a arrive at Citadelle whether you rode a horse or walked. 10:30a left Citadelle. Noon back in truck at tourism building and left. We returned on the road that runs along the south edge of the Cap airport. 1pm arrive at Rt1 out of Cap. 2pm pull into UCNH.

At the tourism building: They give you the list of prices (see photo below). We only paid the entrance fee of 2300 gds for 2 foreigners and 3 Haitians. They couldn’t make change! The guide exchanged smaller bills with us. Supposedly you can pay for all services there and not be charged later in the main parking lot right below the Citadelle. At the tourism booth they charge $15US (1500 gds) for a horse (then you tip your 2 horse guides). But it’s cheaper to hire a horse on your own at the parking lot above. Which I didn’t know, and paid 2000 gds and told the 2 guides to split the extra 500. Didn’t know my friend had negotiated 1000 gds for a horse. At the end we gave the guide 3000gd. And I paid for gas and use of my friend’s truck.

Souvenir sellers: Be prepared for all the art and souvenir sellers in both parking lots. I put a predetermined amount of cash in my pocket, small US bills. And spent only that. They will ask $10US for a wood bowl. Then when you get in your car to leave, they will say you can have 2 bowls for $5US! I had to roll up the window and close the door, they are very assertive.

The horse ride up: Choose only horses that have the hibiscus logo branded into the horse. My vet friend trains the horse owners to care for the horses and gives the brand to those who passed. I took a horse (Tako) so I wouldn’t be so tired at the top, but it’s not a bad walk. Steep but smooth stones. The horse is too bumpy for bird watching and they didn’t stop much.

See part 2 for some photos!

The building where you pay the entrance fee for Palace San Souci and Citadelle.

The hibiscus brand on horses managed by people who received training in horse care.

Chocolate making tour

Roasting cacao seeds

An ecology student showed me how chocolate is made, from picking the pods, to drying and roasting the beans, and grinding them into what we would call pure chocolate. Finally we made it into the hot chocolate drink people enjoy here. Everything took place within walking distance of UCNH university near Limbe. Let me know if you would like to set up a tour! See this blog for how to identify the 3 varieties.

Drying the cacao beans

Grinding the cacao beans

Resulting balls of cacao which are boiled to make hot chocolate.

Boiling the ground chocolate in water, before adding milk and sugar to make a drink.

Agroforestry tours at UCNH Haut Limbe

Criollo

In addition to the many species of birds found at and around Université Chrétienne du Nord d'Haïti (UCNH) in Haut Limbe (east of Limbe), visitors can learn about the agriculture in the area, including cacao - the source of chocolate, and bananas and plantains. There are many groves of each in the area, and the denser cacao groves host many species of birds, including: common yellowthroat, yellow-throated, black-throated blue, and Cape May warblers during the winter; broad-billed todys, Hispaniolan lizard-cuckoos and Antillean bullfinches, and the endangered plain pigeon. 


Chocolate is made from cacao seeds which are found in pods that grow directly on the trunks and branches of the cacao tree (a habit known as cauliflory which is common among tropical trees). All three varieties can be seen, even in the same grove. Criollo, supposed to make the best quality of chocolate, but susceptible to disease, is identified by reddish pods. Forastero, more productive but not as flavorful, is identified by longer grooved pods. The hybrid of these, Trinitario, combines these two qualities, and is identifies by its stouter warty pods.

You will also learn to identify the differences between plantain plants, which are starchy and boiled or fried, and the sweeter banana plants. Plantain leaves are a lighter green and have a pink edge, and the bunches are looser. They grow better in the sun. Banana leaves are slightly darker, have a thinner browner edge, and the bunches are tighter.

Contact me if you would like a tour to see birds, agriculture, or chocolate making. Please be considerate and ask your guide before taking photos of people.

Yellow-throated warbler

Trinitario the hybrid

Forestero

Banana

Plantain

Banana left, plantain right with pinker wider edging

The Citadelle in Haiti

I finally got to visit Haiti’s famous Citadelle, the fort built on top of a mountain by Henri Christophe in 1820.  It is near Cap Haitien which now has international flights, and the road is paved, so is easy to get to.  From Cap Haitien drive south on National Route 3 to the town of Milot.  Drive through town, and past the Palace Sans Souci (Perhaps first visit this palace since the Citadelle is grander.  Don’t buy all your souvenirs here, there’s more at the Citadelle).  The road to the Citadelle is paved with rocks and is steep.  You’ll eventually come to the parking lot where there are flush toilets and sinks, souvenir booths, a police station, and what seems to be a new visitor center.

You can either walk or ride horses.  Going up took about 40 minutes on horseback.  A friend is working with the horse guides and owners to get better saddles and treatment for the horses and much improvement has been made, so I didn’t feel badly about riding a horse.  A guide will lead the horse up the trail, and occasionally take pictures for you.  But also other people will come along coaxing the horse or ‘helping’ you and expecting a tip!

At the Citadelle you dismount and tell the horse guy if you’ll walk or ride back.  There are also women here selling cold pop and water and snacks (bring small bills to pay them).  Then a guide will take you all over the Citadelle explaining what everything is.  Near the end of the 2 hour tour is a modern bathroom (leave some money for the lady who cleans it).  There is also a new museum with lots of cannons, and a restaurant is being built.

The walk back down to the parking lot is easy and only about 40 minutes.  There is also a short cut near the little building right before the Citadelle.  The path isn’t any faster than walking the paved road, but you see cool rocks and are amongst the trees.  It is tricky to navigate since you are going down over rocks.  The guide will help you. 

The visit cost $25.  Because someone else made all the arrangements, including paying the guides and driving, my group and I were free from the hassle of many people trying to be our guides, and hangers-on wanting tips for ‘helping.’ The women selling souvenirs were really pushy, you just have to say no and walk on.  At the very end when we were in the truck about to leave, a bunch came over offering their wares for super cheap, so I got two of the bird carvings I had been eyeing for $5 total!  The lady had asked for $15 each when I was in her booth.

After the trip read the historical fiction about this time period, The Kingdom of this World by Alejo Carpentier.  Here is someone else's blog about his Citadelle visit.

The road through Milot. The dome is on a church that is next to Palace Sans Souci.

The road to the Citadelle, coming from Milot.

The parking lot and where you get on the horses.

The ride up to the Citadelle.

Start of the shortcut down.

Steep shortcut.

Walking down from the Citadelle.

Wharf and ecotourism school

View of wharf from Ouanga Bay Beach Hotel.

Near Ouanga Bay Beach Hotel (review at previous post) in Cote des Arcadins is the wharf for boats to Ile de la Gonave, Haiti’s largest island.  Some men involved with the ecotourism school took us there before we headed across the street and up the hill to the ecotourism school.  The wharf was busy with passengers and products being loaded onto boats.  There were large sail boats and a motorized boat.  The road down to the wharf was lined with people selling food.

The ecotourism school offers a 6 month training in the service industry.  It is sponsored by the Brazilian group Viva Rio.  There are 4 new buildings featuring a restaurant kitchen and dining room and a hotel room.  The school also does some farming projects such as methane from pig manure and tilapia.  To reach both the wharf and the school you have to walk along Natl Rt #1, so watch for vehicles.  The walk up the hill to the school is a bit steep but it is not far.  Well worth the effort to see what is going on in Haiti.

Passengers waiting to go to Ile de la Gonave.

American rice waiting to be loaded on boats.

Methane piglets at ecotourism school.

Tilapia ponds at ecotourism school.

Ecotourism school buildings to the right.

Day 3 – St. Marc and Ti Rivye

With Larmier's son in front of his art studio.

(Day 3 of this mini-tour of Haiti)  After leaving the plantation museum around noon, we continued along the coast to St. Marc.  The grocery store mentioned in the Bradt Haiti guide had gone out of business, but we found another on the town square.  We stocked up on some snacks for lunch, then continued to Ti Rivye to visit the bird artist Larimer and his art studio which sits along the highway near the west edge of town.  I have mentioned him in these posts.  If you are interested in his bird art contact me.  It was great to see him again and see where he lives. 

 

Baby goats at the fort.

Larimer and some friends took us for a tour of the local historic sights: Palace of 365 Doors and Fort Crete-a-Pierrot.  A high school social studies teacher was with us and explained the history of these places.  The palace was built in 1816 by Henri Christophe and is being restored (we had to find a man who had to find a key to let us in).  The fort was attacked by Napoleon’s army in 1802.  The Haitians were holed up there for 20 days and used voodoo to fight off the French.  We stopped at a hotel* on the west edge just to see what it was like – another one is nearby.  Contact me if you would like guided tours of this area and we can track down the social studies teacher.  

We continued through the Artibonite Valley to pick up a friend of Rhoda’s who needed a ride to Port, passing the turn to the famous Saut d'Eau waterfall and also the new Partners in Health hospital in Mirebalais, the town where the cholera outbreak started.  Finally meeting up with National Highway 3 and taking it south back to Port.  We ended our journey around 8pm at home in Tabarre.  

Palace of 365 Doors.

Fort Crete-a-Pierrot

View from the fort of the Artibonite River.

Common sight in the valley - rice drying by the side of the road.

*La Piscina Hotel disclaimer – I don’t know the owner and didn’t stay at this hotel.  I just want to let travelers know it is an option if you are in Ti Rivye.  There is another hotel, d’Ossieau nearby.

La Piscina Parc Hotel near the west side of Ti Rivye.

Entrance to the hotel (pink building) as seen from the highway.

The pool at 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!