Spring Break, Citdel Trip: Part 1

When the team went to the Citadel it took them 12 hours, round trip. The Citadel is a fortress, seen on the mountain to the right.

We decided to try a short cut though the cane fields. Cory looked at the satellite photos before we left so he had an idea of the roads and we asked a senior missionary for advice. With no map or road signs it was part of the adventure. At 6 a.m. on St. Patrick's day we headed out with energy bars, sunscreen, water, cameras and hats.

The cane fields cover the plain between Cap Haitian and the mountains. Most families have their own cane processing equipment. The cane juice is squeezed out of the cane and then boiled down. Most of the juice is then turned into a strong alcohol or rum. Some is made into sugar and a smaller amount into molasses or cane syrup. The large piles of cane stalks [after being pressed] are then used as fuel for the fires to boil the cane juice.

We only had to take one short backtrack, to get to the main road to the town of Milot. The roads were mostly dirt and large bumps. I had the seat with the broken seat belt and hit my head hard once on the roof of the truck. Not fun. We hadn't had rain for a number of days so the roads were dusty not muddy.

John Pierre made the trip with us, his 7 th visit to the Citadel, and first in 8 years. The week before Easter is the busiest of the year for visitors to the Citadel because of the schools being off for Easter. We expect to see many Haitian school kids making the trip up the mountain. Anna was most excited as she really wanted to ride a horse.