The adventure of Nelson at PARC LA VISITE

📍Parc National de la Visite, South East, Haiti

Part one of the adventure

There is so much to discover at Parc La Visite!

Saturday morning. It is 9:10AM. I am Returning from Léogâne the day before. I was with my loved ones for three days. That did not prevent me from being stressed and tense in the silence of my room. Reaching the Parc la Visite was for me a real challenge. In the heart of a panic-stricken pandemic, I wanted to go hiking to relieve the stress of being forced to stay, for several days, between the four walls of the house in sight to reduce the risk of catching the Covid-19. I took precautions, but I didn’t allow myself to be overcome by fear. The risk of becoming infected and beyond seemed to be high in Haiti, considering the number of people cured of the disease. The high risks of catching the virus can be reduced by a strong immune system, the benefits of our medicinal plants or by the genius of Western medicine. But, despite everything, prevention is way better than a cure. According to a statistical figures, several millions of people are already infected and more than a hundreds of thousands have died from the virus. Governments around the world are struggling to cope with this massive disaster.
 I had a lot of things to do that day. I had to take online trainings and webinars that I had registered for. There are legion of them available on the web in these times of confinement. However, I felt like I was running out of energy, so I decided, alone, to take up the challenge of reaching Parc La Visite. Since my last attempt had been a failure, I was excited for the opportunity.

 This national park is located in the southeast of Haiti in the Selle range. It is one of the buffer zones of the mountain biosphere. It was reserved and designated by the United Nations Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) in 2012.

In 2015 during a pedestrian rally that was organized by a professor of the School of Human Sciences with other students and professors. I had until sunday to submit an assignment. That weekend was my last  and the only opportunity to submit my assignment. The following day after my adventure was my last chance to meet the deadline. Nevertheless, I decided to take part in these unprecedented event. I had no idea what route we were going to take to reach the park. At all costs, we had to put the assignment on the back burner back. I had no choice.

As usual, participants in the hike would meet at the local Epidor, a fast food in Pétion-Ville. There, I had the choice of handing over the assignment to the professor and head home. During my student life, Sundays were always important to me. It was the only day that I had the opportunity to enjoy respectable family cooking. It’s a Haitian custom to reserve good food every Sunday. In my case especially, time like this was mostly spent  at the Faculty. From Monday to Saturday, even on Sundays, there may have certain interesting courses that are being offered on campus. I thought to myself, why not try the adventure this time! There was a pretty girl that I just met, who encouraged me to go with her. I thought about her offer for a few seconds, then I agreed to hang around down the mountain road with her. The young lady surely came prepared! She had in her bag, water, juice, and a variety of snacks. Such preparedness is strongly recommended by the organizers and high level staff of the event. Of course I came unprepared. I had no water, juice, and nothing to eat to cover a 40 kilometers walk. To my credit, I had enough money to pay for a ride back home. This money that I took with me had been the subject of a well carefully calculated plan. It was during my student life. I felt rationally, that my final decision to leave with her on thus adventure was correct.

The walk began around 10 AM, in the heights of Kenscoff (a municipality located east of the capital).

Along the way, me and my partner discussed everything and nothing. We told stories, we shared life experiences. We discussed the misery in which the inhabitants of these regions were living, and the deforestation of the hills brought us to reflect on the responsibility of the Government. There were absolutely no services available to the locals. There were no school, healthcare, or potable water available to them. The crowd who were ahead of us quickly faded away mainly because the people who were with us weren’t walking at the same speed. Perhaps, they were not all of the same vigor. The road was difficult. There were a lot of risks along the way. However, we were determined to see and or enter the park.

Around five in the afternoon, the first group reached the destination. They took photos, and quickly turned back.

The sun was already about to leave the horizon. Me and the young lady started to be real accomplices during this time. We were about 2 kilometers from the park, when we saw the first group returning from the park. We felt obliged to turn back. I looked at the destination from afar as the people of Israel who were not allowed to enter the promised land. It was such a waste of time. After so much sacrifices, We ended up not reaching our goal. It was definitely a failure. However, to my credit, I had the will and the energy to get there.

Unable to travel back home, the young lady hired a motorcycle driver to bring her back to Kenscoff. It was then, I realized that she never had the will nor the energy to reach her destination. Obviously, I could not have stayed without her during the hike. No one can achieve the impossible.

After 5 years, I took up the challenge once again. This time around, I did reach my destination. This time around, I was able to do the course on foot without any constraints. This time, I had the help of Jean Raymond, a motorcycle taxi driver who quickly became infected with my passion for adventure – as contagious as coronavirus – and drove with me to the park. But, intermittently, we had walked in the most dangerous places on the road. It quickly realized that I did not have the same energy like before.

 Parc La Visite is beautiful and has lots of places to visit. Since it was already 2:30 PM, I limited myself to visiting one historical cave named Nan Sitèn, with the guide assistant hired for safety purposes.

On the way back, I decided, that Jean Raymond, the enthusiastic motorcycle taxi driver, Should go together to have a drink in a near by restaurant. The idea was to thank him for his courage, his patience in this adventurous spirit. Unfortunately, a few meters from the road to Kenscoff, I saw Arold Felix, a friend I met for the first time at Fort-Liberté, in the northeast of Haiti, who was also visiting the park. He offered a ride to drop me off to my house. One can never say no to an old friend. I just had to thank Jean Raymond and sized the opportunity and accepted the offer to drive back in town with Arnold Felix.

That afternoon, I came home with that feeling of accomplishment. It is true that I wasn’t able to visit all the attractions of the Park, but I do hope to return there very soon. This time around, I will have time to see all the beautiful places this little piece of paradise has to offer.

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