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Fort Jacques is tucked up and away in the beautiful mountains of Kenscoff near Pétionville and Port-au-Prince. The drive to the historical area is super easy compared to some other rugged locations we've visited. From the top, you can see the bay of Port-au-Prince...what a beautiful view! There are two forts named after Alexandre in honor of General Alexandre Pétion and Jacques in honor of Jean-Jacques Dessalines. We only visited Fort Jacques, which is restored and kept maintained, however Fort Alexandre (east of Fort Jacques) is not. Every May 18 (Haitian flag day), there's a celebration with music and fun. It's definitely worth the view! Oh, and DO NOT MISS the outdoor griot spot in Kenscoff...it's the best! 
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 When I met my husband Endy (then-boyfriend), he would tell me all about Haiti. He would tell me stories about growing up with his siblings, his best friends. He would tell me about the journeys they had to get to school, the funny stories of dressing up in their parents clothes and the soccer games they played on the roof of their house. He would tell me how beautiful "The Real Haiti" was. I mostly just listened, and quietly doubted that a place I always heard was a "third world country," could be beautiful. What? You're going to Haiti on vacation!? It took years of convincing to plan a trip to Haiti...7 years actually! Endy planned everything for our 10 day adventure. Although I was excited, my worried mind kept playing questions over in my head like, "what if we can't find water to drink?" and "what if we get TB or yellow fever?" As I type these ridiculous things (that I never actually said out loud), I can't even believe I thought such judgmental things about a place I'd end up falling in love with! As an innocent Italian-American, red-headed, 28-year-old, I really had no clue what Haiti was really like. I had no clue that visiting Haiti would change my life. As our vacation plans neared, I secretly wanted to back out or hoped for some reason we weren't going to end up going (sad, but true). The time came and we flew from Florida to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. My life was forever changed and my eyes and heart were opened like they had never been before. For more of an in depth look about what I saw and experienced, read my blog about things I noticed while in Haiti. Before my first trip, my husband encouraged me to start a blog about Haiti to share what we saw. I wasn't fully on board with the idea, but I did. When I was there and then returned home is when I started blogging about all-things-Haitian and really fell in love with the idea of blogging. I embraced the culture and through my experiences, I had to share all of the amazing things that were so new to me. Some of the best memories i have in haiti Fast forward EIGHT years later Since I started The Real Haiti, Endy and I got married and have two little boys now! Although we don't get to travel to Haiti as much anymore (adulting too much), promoting the Haitian culture, food, people and life in Haiti is still my passion! I couldn't find one place online with resources for teaching kids about Haiti and Haitian Creole so I created my own for my boys and am sharing it with you! I have added a kids section (there's also a tab above) to The Real Haiti where you can find a variety of resources to teach your kids or students about Haiti -
While all of this started as a fear of Haiti, then a love for Haiti, it's now my business and a huge part of my life. I am so grateful for all of you for following my page for all of these years. Lastly, thank you always for your encouragement! Happy anniversary of The Real Haiti blog and business. Mesi anpil!!! If you're new to The Real Haiti, sign up below to subscribe to the blog!
Can you imagine seeing the video promo below on Haiti on TV today? It was 1983 and this video was produced for American Express to promote travel to Haiti! I see more things that have remained the same in Haiti than have changed.
Similarities and differences between Haiti in 1983 and today What hasn't changed in Haiti since 1983:
What hasn't changed in Haiti since 1983:
After reading through all of these similarities and differences, you must be even more curious about travelling to Haiti! I promise it will be a trip of a lifetime. Go explore and see The Real Haiti! If you've been to Haiti, drop a comment below on what you noticed that was the same as 1983! 7/29/2014 1 Comment Hotel Cyvadier ReviewI don't tell hotels that I am there to review their property when I reserve the room and check in. I was so excited to be in my favorite city in Haiti: Jacmel. The prices on their website are confusing and that led to a big misunderstanding when we arrived. We ended up paying more than we thought based on Internet prices so before you book, just clarify that with them. Because of the hiccup, we moved rooms twice in 3 nights, which was fine because they were trying to be accommodating. The rooms are basic and decorated with Haitian decor...nothing special. {the manager ended up showing us nicer bungalow style rooms when we were checking out, so that's a better option if you want something more modern.} Overall, our stay was good and I was happy they tried to accommodate us after we had the issues in the beginning. Tip: to save on power, the hotel shuts off the electricity for a few hours in the morning and then in the afternoon. It's pretty inconvenient. I under stand doing that at home, but it was tacky for the hotel to do it. The food is okay, but way cheaper outside of the hotel. Here's a link to their website: http://hotelcyvadier.com/home/ 
3/29/2014 0 Comments Carnaval + Camionette + the MacheThis last trip we took to Haiti, I naturally pulled out my camera right away and started shooting pics of our adorable little cousins. After that, I decided I didn't want to use my camera on this trip. Being a photographer, this is one of the hardest things to do. I often find myself missing moments or avoiding things because of my camera. So, I packed it up and just used my phone camera and my photographic memory, ultimately living in the moment. {I apologize in advanced for the quality since they are from my phone!} Carnaval I am not a Carnaval person, at all! I had never been and never really planned on going to it. I didn't realize that there would still be action going on in Jacmel during the time of the national Carnaval in Gonaives. Overall, I am happy I got to experience it…it was crazy! What an amazing experience to see and appreciate the art. click here for more picturesCamionette I know, I know…how do you know The Real Haiti without riding on a camionette? Well, this is my confession: After traveling to Haiti for so many years, I had my first camionette ride! We were walking down the street in Jacmel with a friend without any destination in mind. Endy said to me, do you want to jump on and just ride downtown? So, we did. We got on and rode downtown for about 20 minutes with people jumping on and off. For those of you who don't know what a camionette is, it's a pickup truck with benches on the back and a roof. You jump on and then tap the glass by the driver when you're ready to get off. Then you get off and pay the guy in the passenger seat. It's super cheap and fun to be with the locals. I always wonder where everyone is always going. Everyone is always so busy in Haiti!
As a past troubled place, Haiti hasn’t been number one for Caribbean tourists. However, in the recent years, the country has been trying hard to overcome their negative image which usually shows poverty, corruption and disasters. Travel company Young Pioneer Tours announced that they will offer a backpack tour to Haiti as one of the first in the world. As known, tourism in Haiti has been very limited so far; most foreigners are expats working for various NGOs, travelling around or tourists make a one day stop with cruise ships going to Labadee. Hopefully, this tour will start a new flow of tourism and development for Haiti.
The tour aims to show the current reality in Haiti, but also that there’s more than poverty. Beautiful Caribbean beaches, Vodou, special rum, great architecture, and a beautiful landscape all prove that there’s more in stock for this half of the Hispaniola-island. It shows a country that’s dying for positive new impulses from the outside world, which one should be tourism. While the other Caribbean islands are overwhelmed by tourists every year, Haiti has been left alone. Neighbor country Dominican Republic has been more well-known as a holiday destination where many Western tourists touch-down every day. By starting and ending the trip in DR, Young Pioneer Tours hopes to give more insights on this intriguing island and to add something positive to the image of Haiti. The tour includes visits to Port Au Prince, Central Plateau, Bassin Zim and Croix des Bouquets. The trip starts in May, and Haiti can be reached easily through budget airlines via Dominican Republic. Starting and ending in Port Au Prince is also an option. For more information, visit http://www.youngpioneertours.com/tour/haiti-tour/. Please tell them you saw this information on The Real Haiti website! 12/1/2013 0 Comments Meet + greet = ♥It's taken me weeks to process this. And many drafts. My husband thinks I am a little nuttier than he thought before and my heart is so full of love from people who I didn't know 30 days ago. I've been posting about the Art Creation Foundation for Children for a while now. It all started in January of 2011 at an event in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I met and interviewed Judy Hoffman, the founder of ACFFC. She told me about the foundation and how several pieces of the art displayed at the event were pieces as art therapy that the kids did to heal after the trauma. I bought a few pieces of art at the fundraiser that the kids made from papier mâché (future blog about why this is important!). This past March, I had the pleasure of visiting ACFFC in Jacmel. Most of the kids were on Easter break, but we were able to stop by a site where there were some creating a mosaic wall near a gas station {blog and video about it}. It was awesome, but I didn't know exactly why I loved this place and the idea of ACFFC until this November 2. Ten kids from ACFFC - they are 16-22, but I am calling them kids - got visas to visit the US to work on a mosaic project with Toussaint L'Ouverture high school in Delray Beach {press release with details}. On November 2, we attended a meet and greet gathering with all of them. This was the beginning of a journey that took my heart on a ride and I will treasure forever. Food, dancing, DJ Endy and most of all, an experience of so much love from "strangers" and now friends. 10/20/2013 16 Comments It was more than a photography assignment...My experience working with a Haitian photographer. He was dressed in a red button down shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. He had his camera bag full of equipment and his PRESS pass around his neck. He pulled out a notebook to show me how he keeps track of the details of the photos he takes. The front of it has the CNN logo and he told me his friend from the US sent it to him. Inside it reads: Ki moun? Kisa? Kile? Ki kote? Kijan? Poukisa? I am writing about Fedno Lubin, a 20 year old young man who lives in Jacmel, Haiti. Ten years ago, he moved from the mountainside to live with his aunt in the city to go to school. Fedno’s aunt knew about the Art Creation Foundation for Children (ACFFC) and signed him up. Over the years, he learned many forms of art, but his passion is photography, who he learned from Jen Pantaleon…his teacher and guide. He mentioned Jen’s name a lot throughout the 2 days we spent together for Gout et Saveurs Lakay, Haiti's Food & Spirits Festival to celebrate the country's Gastronomy. His appreciation for the art of photography is great. He inspires me.
 The Secret My flight was delayed 2 hours in Miami when departing to Haiti. The explanation was that there was a flat tire on the plane. They have contracted workers who wear shirts that say Ultra Aviation Services (not Haiti Aviation). There was one Creole speaking employee. The rest spoke Spanish and barely any English. Before the flight left, the staff went around the room collecting carry-on bags from people to check in because there apparently wasn't enough room in the overhead bins. People did not want to give up their carry-ons because they had things in there that they wanted to CARRY-ON! Otherwise, they would have checked it in. The staff offered for people to take personal belongings out of it and give up the bag, but where were they supposed to put it? *The actual flight there was fine with no complaints. They served typical airplane drinks, sandwiches and dessert. The crew was great, but they still only had one Creole speaking employee* I arrived early to the PAP airport for my 11:30am flight. When I went to check in, I was excited because there was no one in line! When I got to the counter, they told me, "Ma'am, we aren't flying today. We spoke to you already and told you that. See your name is crossed out on my list." Ok, I understand things happen, but they were clearly lying to me because I would not have left my hotel and my friends, pay $40 to get to the airport, to be stranded for fun. Not my idea of a good time. I thought this was a joke. They told me that there wasn't enough people on the flight to fly and that my flight would be the next morning. I started panicking because my ride already left the airport and I was alone. They offered to send me to the Kingdom Hotel located near the airport. While I appreciated this geasture, I was not going to a place I wasn't familiar with because of their mistake. I remained calm while they tried to figure out what to do with me. I also had some entertainment by watching people walk up to the desk and being told basically they are screwed for the next 24 hours. One woman in particular was a nutcase, screaming and yelling, HA offered to give her a refund in cash to go buy another ticket on another airline. I was in shock, not by her frustration, (because I wish I had the balls to do that in public), but by all of the security officers and police officers just standing around watching her yell at the HA staff. She disappeared and the staff continued to help me. The end result...A HA enployee personally drove me back to my hotel that I was staying at for the week and paid for it. I told them the rate, forgetting about tax and energy fees. They 'conviniently' brought the exact amount, so I was stuck with the balance of tax and energy charges which was around $30. They did offer to pick me up from the hotel to go to the airport the next morning, but at 6:45am and my flight wasn't until 11:30. I ended up paying for the hotel shuttle so I didn't have to wait around all of those hours I still had to wait around for hours once I arrived at the airport. Remember that entertaining lunatic lady that I told you about earlier? Well, she apparently went back to the counter to resolve her issue after disappearing, saw no staff and allegedly smashed all of their computers at the Haiti Aviation desk. You're pissed so now you want to make everyone elses life miserable? Nice. This resulted in having to wait for hundreds of people in line for several flights that morning to get checked in and get handwritten boarding passes. No joke...here it is.
Two days later, my friend had a flight home with HA. I called them the night before to make sure they would be flying. They said the flight was at 8am. He swore up and down that it was taking off at 8am. when my friend arrived to the airport, it was NOT scheduled for 8am, it was for 11:30am, so he had to wait from 6am at the airport.
Needless to say, Haiti Aviation had a bad week. I believe in second chances, but I am not sure about this one... Tell Lisa you found out about her trip from The Real Haiti!
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