... Well that was unexpected

I didnt get to see the island as we landed, as a matter of fact I didn't get to see anything from  miami to Haiti.  I sat next to a Haitian woman on the plane who had the window seat.  She was evidently afraid of flying and had the shade down the entire time. Luckily Tony got footage of the approach and landing.  When we landed we were led down some stairs where a Haitian band was playing and then in to busses that took us approximately 100 yards from the terminal from where we were at.  We really could have walked but when we got out of the busses I got my first glimpse of the island itself. It is gorgeous here.  Amidst the chaos and the wreckage I can honestly see the potential this place has.

When we came off of the busses and went in to customs we went through one of 4 lines we handed our passports and visa information to a person working at one of the 4 lines. The guy in my line didn't even look at my passport, he just stamped it and sent me on my way.  After matt had the chance encounter of chance encounters, a Haitian police officer met matt and I and seemed really happy to see us.  He lead us to Ronald.  He is a Haitian guy who will be our guide for the week. Amazingly the Haitian baggage claim people were a picture of efficiency. They already had all of out bags with our tags on them out and ready for us to go.  Unfortunately Brent's guitar didn't make it to Haiti from Miami but he isn't worried about it. 

The same Haitian police officer took us to our van after the baggage claim.  Now matt had explained to us before this that the workers will offer and insist to take your bags but they will want a tip later so don't let them take your bags. Well for whatever reason no one wanted to directly follow the police officer so I was the first one out the door behind him. After exiting the baggage claim there was a long covered walkway that led to the parking lot, and it was absolutely full of men who were all looking at me who I assumed would want to "carry" one of my bags for me. I held both close to me but Dylan didn't have two backpacks, he had a rolling suitcase. Well the police officer apparently told one of the guys to lead us the rest of the way to our van, and he, being a generally nice guy, ripped the suitcase from dylan's hand and smiled and showed us the rest of the way.  In like the middle of the walkway this baggage guy high fives/shakes the hands of two guys, then I see a third guy go to high five him, when he finishes, I see a couple bucks in the guys hand. He immediately hid it from view but I caught a glimpse of it, there was some form of American currency in his hand and I was immediately sketched out. I checked my pockets and I was good so I just kept following him.

Once we reached the parking lot I was in off road truck heaven. Literally every rare or awesome off road truck that I have ever dreamed of was in this parking lot or driving by us. Toyota hilux diesels, Nissan patrols, Toyota fj55 landcruisers, Nissan paladins, even one or two xterras with turbo diesel engines with hood scoops. We were led to a mid 90's Toyota Coaster van with tube bumpers, a snorkel and a brushguard. We waited here for Brent for a while and when he eventually came back without a guitar, there was not enough room on the van. So Drew, Brett, and I were given the option to ride in the luggage truck which I jumped at the chance to.  It was a 5 speed 2nd gen Nissan frontier and I'm fairly sure our driver was named funky.

Eventually the cop came back and got on a Honda dirt bike that was by the van.  He led us and another group out of the parking lot basically giving us a police escort to a gas station where a man offered us a wiring harness as we pulled up to the pump. We were allowed to go inside where I bought a small red bill for 4 American dollars. Turns out I was overcharged by a dollar but to be honest I didn't mind. After a few of us were out of line a man in uniform came in the convenience store carrying a pistol grip shotgun with his finger on the guard...I left. When we were reloaded on to the truck and van, we were essentially taken on a back alley tour of Port au Prince.
There essentially are no traffic laws here people pull out and get within inches of each car and there are horns going and it is chaos. I loved it. We were taken through a rougher area and then we made a couple of turns and all of a sudden there were these big gated houses around with 15 foot walls topped with razor wire or broken glass bottles.  It was here that we are staying tonight and here where I truly saw Haiti's beauty.  I got hints of it when we would drive past a bombed out building or a half finished one but I truly saw the potential of the island when I saw these hostels. With a little A/C and some elbow grease these places would rival the best hotels I have stayed in. And that is just here in PAP, on the coast the only reason this can't be over there is the government and the fact that haiti is dependent on other nations. When this country gets on its feet again this place will be a vacation spot for sure. The place we are staying at has an above above ground pool in an upper deck. It is a beautiful structure and the cooks are incredible.