Day 3-028
7 hrs, 1 .3 kms
Day Totals: 16 hrs, 6.5 kms

Elias Pina is just a a stones throw from the border with Haiti. I'm by no means going to cross here though. I'm just here to revisit this town and reminisce on the crazay adventure when I crossed this border 9 years ago. Here's what happened:

December 10, 2006

Finally we reach the town of Elias Pina, which supposedly is near the Haitian border. So we continue on on foot to see what we find. Here the people look quite different than Santo Domingo, they look purely African rather than a African-Spanish-Indian mix.

Finally we reach the the Dominican border, where I'm a bit annoyed at having to pay a 12 dollar "exit fee" not sure if that was legit or not... then we follow a dirt path down down to a stream, expecting to find a Haitian entry post, but nothing... Just a couple of guys on dirt bikes, very eager to give us rides .

I try talking to them in French, saying we want to walk

"C'est trop loin!" (it's too far) they tell me. They're getting more aggressive, fighting each other over who's going to give us a ride.

Think quick. If we pick one, the others will get pissed off. And I don't want to start our Haiti adventure with a bunch of pissed off bikers following us! So I ask

"C'est qui le chef?" (who's the boss?) They point to one guy. Then I ask him who should be our driver. He makes the choice, and everyone else backs off.

I feel proud of myself. I'm doing pretty good figuring my way in this Wild West country.

So Matthew and I hop on the back of the back along Haiti's "highway", which is little more then a very rocky cow path. Finally we reach a simple building ... ride past...

A young fellow wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and khaki pants calls out for us to stop. Our driver obeys. I guess he must be some sort of border guard. We come over to where he and another fellow sit next to an extremely curvacious woman, and he asks what we're doing here. I explain in French.

"This isn't a border crossing" he responds coldly

"They gave us an exit stamp out of Dominican Republic..."

"We're having elections. I think you've come to cause trouble in our country"

Riiiight...

"Do you have money?" he asks. I don't like the way this is going.

"I have a bank card to withdraw money if I need" He insists on having us empty our pockets and on seeing our bank cards

"We're going to have to lock you up . Your families will have to deposit money into your accounts that we can withdraw."

I chill runs down my spine. This guy can't be serious. He's actually thinking of kidnapping us and holding us for ransom? And he works for the government?! What the f--- is going on in this country?!

Once again... think fast... think REALLY fast... you've got one shot to try squirm out of this one before things turn very ugly.

Beg? cry? run? threaten? bribe? flatter? Maybe a combo tactic might work.

I put on the most firm and respectful face I can, look him straight in the eye.

"Look we came to vist your country. You are the person in charge here and if you don't think we should enter your country, we will respect your authority and go back to Dominican Republic (I sweep our passports and bank cards off the desk) . In Dominican Republic we had to pay a 10 dollar fee to visit that country, and we could also pay that fee to visit your country"

10 dollars versus being kidnapped for ransom? That's a real long shot!

But unbelievably, it works. He accepts our 10 dollars and welcomes us to Haiti.

Still in a daze we head over to where there are a couple of guys loitering around a pickup truck who say they can take us to the nearest town, Mirebalais. I don't know what to make of them... I mean, if I can't trust the border guard, who can I trust here? And then there's the tricky matter of changing money. Haiti has two currencies and it seems their trying to trick us into agreeing to an exchange rate on one currency, and the give us the other one...

Finally we change some money and then climb onboard. We paid for the truck to be all to ourselves, but he keeps letting on other passengers (thugs maybe?) making me increasingly nervous . All the way I'm expecting the truck to stop and we get robbed--or worse.

It's only when we reach village where there are people walking alongside the road that I can finally breathe freely , and... pavement! electricity! I never thought those words could sound so beautiful!

Finally we reach Mirebalais, where there's a nice hotel that even has a swimming pool. We made it. We survived our first 6 hours in Haiti.

Here I explain to Matthew what all went on. He doesn't speak French, so he missed out on the whole drama we just went through. I finally start to relax and now he starts feeling really nervous.

We head out to look for some food, finding a restaurant which is little more than a plastic tarp where they serve some sort of goat stew. Good enough. We join a jolly crowd which includes a couple of Dominican guys on business. This place is feeling safer already.

Outside a pickup truck rumbles by with a tower of amplifiers in the back, booming out dance music and a whole crowd of people following behind, dancing.

"The elections are in a couple of days, each political party has its pickup up trucks playing music."

So I guess people vote for whichever party plays the most lively music? I'm starting to like this country!

I take a relaxing swim in the pool. Ironically this is perhaps the most luxurious hotel I've ever stayed in during my travels--in the poorest country! Then I head out to the streets to join in the revelry--even making a fool of myself trying to dance along with everyone else--much to their amusement. All the troubles of earlier in the day are forgotten... along with all the uncertainties of tomorrow... it's just a singular, magical now... a frozen moment in time I will always treasure.

I'm sure these people know that the elections will probably be followed by violence. But that doesn't mean they can't enjoy this moment of happiness. Nearby there's an armoured anti-mine vehicle with a couple of Nepalese UN troops watching the party.

I add this experience to my song "Lend you my Eyes" a song about my 2004-2006 travels

If on my next journey you could tag along to where an entire village dances in the streets
Knowing there will be bloodshed before dawn but for tonight they find happiness and peace...

Matthew, however, isn't feeling the vibe. He paces around nervously, unable to sleep that night until I promise that we'll go ahead and head back the next morning, rather than continuing on to Port-au-Prince.

...And so, in less than 24 hours, our Haiti adventure comes to an end...


Now I'm back... and I definitely do not want a repeat of that experience. I've done my research this time (rather than just using a photocopy of a map to guide me!) and I'm going to enter and experience Haiti the right way.

Here in Elias Pina, I just need to do my Parkbench concert, do a quick walk around, and head on my way.

One thing interesting about this town is a brand new (not yet opened). "Museum of border culture", I'm assuming it's about trying to give a positive spin on the troubled Haitian-DR relationship. Not sure who's going to visit this museum though, a this town is clearly way off the tourist circuit!

I wander through the market a bit, which has a very African feel to it... then head on my way.

it seems taking a collective taxi is my best choice for getting back to La Mata. I squeeze in along with 5 other passengers (in a 4 seat car!) and we head down the road.

We are almost immediately stopped by the police who ask for our papers. A woman with a small child doesn't have her papers with her and attempts to bribe the police, who refuses. I suddenly feel very uneasy, wondering if the reason he won't take the bribe is because there's a tourist in the car, and you don't take bribes in front of tourists...
I try my best to look the other way and pretend I have no idea what's going on...

No use, the woman is told to get out of the car... and we drive off...

"She's Haitian, trying to enter illegally" the driver explains.