Student Trip 2018

Aspen to Haiti Student Trip March 2018

Arrive Saturday 10 March;  Depart Friday 16 March

Trip members included 8 students, ages 14 to 18, with 5 female and 3 male students. Two chaperones from the Snowmass chapel accompanied the students. HSP provided 3 Haitians as trip leaders.

Please contact HSP if your school is interested in coming to  beautiful Haiti for an unforgettable and life changing experience.

Itinerary

Day 1 Saturday – Arrive Port-au-Prince late morning to early afternoon. Bus to Champ Mars, museum, street art, lunch. After that to hotel and pool. Dinner at Latin Quarter, which has traditional Haitian and American food and Saturday night a troubadour band.

Day 2 Sunday – Early church Service at St Pierre Cathedral, catholic; back to hotel for breakfast; bus van to Croix des Bouquettes; visit iron artists shops; lunch in Croix des Bouquettes; continue artists shop visits; then to Souse Zabet sacred voudou water and trees. Back to hotel for dinner.

Day 3 Monday – Breakfast at hotel; tap tap to Fermathe in the mountains above Petion-Ville; visit street artists; hike to Boucon Water falls. The trail to the water falls winds through residential homes, then down a steep trail across a river and up to the falls; the hike provides great views of the surrounding hill gardens, which provide many of the fresh vegetables for Port-au-Prince. If there is time, we will visit Espwa Berlancia, a malnutrition center for babies and very young children and the Baptist Mission. Dinner will be BBQ Chicken and rice at a local street Restoran. Back to hotel.

Day 4 Tuesday – Breakfast at Hotel & check-out; van bus to Jean Jean arriving about noon. Depending on traffic it will take about 3 hours. Visit secondary class students, walk around village, meet and greet. We will be spending the night in village homes. Bucket showers will be available. Please shower as it is the polite thing to do. Big party planned for the village and students late evening.

Day 5 Wednesday – Breakfast with family host; morning activities with elementary students; van bus after lunch to Jacmel. Beach in the afternoon. Stay at Hotel Florita, oldest hotel in Jacmel.

Day 6 Thursday – Breakfast at hotel and off to Basin Blue beautiful hike and water falls. Return to Port-au-Prince for last evening and fantastic dinner.

Day 7 Friday – Breakfast at hotel; check out; van to airport. Bon Voyage

The visit Jean Jean, a remote farming village, about an hour south of Port-au-Prince, provides a rare glimpse in the lives of a small farming village. Activities will include interacting with students in one of the local schools and visiting with the locals. Accommodations will be in a village home with 2 trip members per home. Because the road to the village was washed out during Hurricane Matthew in October 2017, the last couple of kilometers will include a moto ride. If you are concerned about the safety of a moto ride, we can walk this part, which will take about 20 to 30 minutes. 

Suggested Reading

I am going to suggest only one book, In the Valley of Artibon, by Leita Kaldi. It is Letia’s story about her time as Administrator at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti. It is entertaining, an easy read, and informative. If anyone is interested in other reads from novels to history to political, please ask.