{"id":634,"date":"2017-04-28T13:54:07","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T17:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iamlauracharles.com\/?p=634"},"modified":"2017-05-11T14:43:14","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T18:43:14","slug":"cap-haitien-reliving-childhood-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/iamlauracharles.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/28\/cap-haitien-reliving-childhood-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Cap-Ha\u00eftien: Reliving Childhood Memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up my siblings and I spent a couple of summers in Cap-Haitien,\u00a0often reffered as Okap (pronounced<\/em> Oh-Kap<\/em>), in the north coast of Haiti, where my father grew up. Although my father had moved to the city, Port-au-Prince, for medical school, my grandma and some of my uncles still lived in Okap. My last trip to Au Cap was 2014, when I had to lay my grandma to rest. It was a short unplanned trip, under unfortunate circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, when my mom and I were planning our yearly spring break trip with our students, we thought that due to monetary depreciation, and to the fact that we have traveled out of the country in the last 2 years (Jamaica and Orlando), we thought that taking the students to Cap-Haitien, where they can visit some historical sites would be ideal. My excitement quickly grew as we started planning the trip. Although it was a work trip, I was anxious to revisit those sites that were once so familiar to me in my childhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Getting To Cap-Ha\u00eftien<\/h3>

Our trip started bright and early on a tuesday. We departed from the school where Transporteur<\/em> and Sans-Soucis<\/em> bus charters picked us up. We were running behind schedule because the buses showed up a 2 hours later than planned ( professionalism is yet another luxury in Haiti). After we finally loaded and left, things went pretty smoothly. The memories started flooding the minute we hit Gonaives, the familiar sites, the drive through the mountain pass of Pilboro, the laughter shared between my siblings and I, the songs we would sing to overcome our motion sickness, it all started playing in my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since we arrived late in the afternoon, we took the kids on a ride downtown, around the marina, literally a few miles from my late grandmother's house. We made a quick ice cream stopped before the rain started pouring down on us. We headed back to our accommodation as the kids needed to rest for their eventful day the following morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Carenage Boulevard<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Lakou Breda<\/h3>

When we took family trips, we always stayed\u00a0 at my uncle's house in Verti\u00e8res, or my grandma's in rue 4. On my last trip to Okap being that there were so many family members in town, I stayed at Hotel Mont Joli,<\/a>\u00a0which was comfortable, clean, with an unbeatable view of the city.<\/p>\n

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Sunset over Mont Joli<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

This time around, we stayed at a lodge, Lakou Breda<\/a> a little ways outside of the city, described on the website as a bungalow hotel. The \"Lakou\" or courtyard is an important part of the Haitian culture where family and friends gather to socialize, hence is the name Lakou Breda.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Grounds at Lakou Breda caters to travelers who yearn for an authentic Haitian hospitality with a rustic feel. They also grow crops which they use in their restaurants, so you can rest assured that you are eating farm to table style.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Lakou Breda, I had to keep an open mind when it came to the lack of minor things which was bothersome to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Bungalow room<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Neighbors on my Front Porch<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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The Grounds<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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The Room I stayed In<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Breakfast at Lakou Breda<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Tea Time on My front Porch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

One of the highlights of Lakou Breda, is their farm, located right on the hotel grounds. We scheduled a visit where we given a tour guide, who took us around and showed our students the different crops they were growing: cayenne pepper, eggplants, pineapples, parsley, malanga, cacao tree among others. They also had over a good variety of animals like a guinea pig, african pigeons, rabbits, guinea fowl, peacocks, which was a great learning experience for our students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Welcome To The Farm<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Guinea Fowls
Pintades<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Cocoa Fruit<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

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Cocoa Beans\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

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The Pros:<\/h3>\n