Labadee


The final island, nothing like a private paradise! Since our ship couldn't dock, we had to take smaller boats to get onto the island. It was so gorgeous and gave you such a calming feel from the moment you step foot onto the sands. There were beach chairs everywhere, floating mats
station, drinks galore, and they even had these cute kiddie water parks.

Lamy, a guide, informed us about the current situation with Haiti and just about life in general there. It was a real shocker to tell you the truth. Not that I didn't know about the constant fighting, but to hear it first hand from a native was upsetting. Apparently his job with RC pays more than what a doctor or police officer makes in Haiti. People with the "good" yearly salaries make around $500. It's pretty crazy thinking about what is really going on outside of our little paradise. We found our way to Dragon's Breath (oh man, it felt like a roaster there). It's cool, somehow the placement of the rocks and the tides causes a sound much like a dragon breathing.

After our picnic, we wandered into the market where they were selling plenty of craft items. I ended up getting some wooden things and some paintings. I know that you could have haggled but I didn't feel right in doing so since I knew they needed this money to survive. M picked up some booze and cigars. They actually gave her this weaved straw bag to hold the booze. As we went further in, most of the people were selling similar items. They would fight for you to buy things from them, each lowering their prices. I can't even remember the number of times that I've been harassed to get my hair braided. With less than 2 hours left before having to leave, the 3 of us found hammocks and we just relaxed on those. I want a hammock so badly now! They are just that awesome. Kevin and M had the luxury of completely conking out but I stayed awake to watch the time. I was having a blast watching all the people who could not figure out how to get onto a hammock! Oh right, they had so many lizards running around all over the place. There was even one that was right on the tree in front of us.