Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/01/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Henry, DO IT!!! Haiti is an AMAZING place and the people are WONDERFUL. My only caveat is that when in Port au Prince and the Cite Soliel slum area, as in ANY city (if you go to these areas) you must be wary of thieves. (if you do go to Cite Soliel, go down and visit the fishermen at the community wharf... GREAT PICTURES in the morning.) The most common type are "snatch & grab" types so just keep aware of your surroundings and who is around you... don't leave things dangling over your shoulder. The most common thing I saw there were thieves at intersections and in traffic jams grabbing into the open windows of cars... even snatching watches off the wrists of those foolish enough to have their arms out the window..... SOOOOOO.... the lesson is, when in a car in the city, KEEP the windows rolled up. .... and take a cheap watch. In the markets you'll see guys going around with dozens of watchs on poles. A friend working with the UN managing to buy back his watch a few days after it was stolen. I spent a month there walking around with my gear in the worst areas and didn't have any problems. The sun and heat was brutal on the "northern hemisphere" guy. I was drinking 3-5 litres of water a day. Get out to the countryside if at all possible. ...and did I mention the tarantulas? The red ones can kill you but the brown ones just hurt..... Of course, the difference between brown and red is a matter of opinion so just stay away from the all. They like the mango trees. HAVE FUN, DARN IT!!! Greg Locke St. John's, Newfoundland http://www.straylight.ca/locke - ------------------------------ PictureDesk International ...news pictures ONLINE http://www.picturedesk.org