La Plage & Super Sunday

La Plage
Well, kiddies, Ken finally made it to the beach--albeit at 4:30 PM just as the sun was setting behind some clouds on the horizon. I could have taken a dip, but my choice was to eat and have a beer after an incredibly arduous drive. The beach is about 50 kilometers away from our house. It took us 2 hours over bumpy, dusty roads to get there. This beach is north of Port-au-Prince along the cote des arcadins. The terrain there is dry and the beaches have rocks or a rough granular sand. More tropical-type beaches exist south of PAP along the southern coast of Haiti. The most famous are near Jacmel, and they're more suitable for our film. Problem is, it's a longer drive and will kill an entire day of our meager 24 day shoot. But such are the sacrifices one must make for art.

Being at the beach reinforced my feeling that the sea has a strong force over me. It was magical, peaceful, and I could have stayed there for many days. Unfortunately, driving after dark in the sections of PAP we had to pass through is dangerous, so we grabbed a quick bite, a few bottles of Prestige, and we were on our way home. Over the next 2 months at least I can look forward to ONE day at the beach, even if it will be for work.

Last eve we went to a Super Bowl party at Barak, our club/bar of choice. There were about 6-7 folks there because American football is not popular here. The game was pretty good, but the food & beverage was terrific: spicy grilled chicken wings, sausage with Creole sauce, and enormous burgers imported from Omaha, Neb. THis brings me to Haitian trait #4) Haitians are extremely gracious hosts. The food was gratis and the conviviality was also on the house. Afterwards we watched a live feed from the downtown carnaval celebrations. Suddenly several shots rang out and the crowd dispersed instantly. Almost immediately afterwards, the TV feed went to Haitian carnaval music videos. We went home to see the news and discovered that the carnaval was back in full swing. Even terrorism will not dampen the enthusiasm of carnaval.