Let's see, the view from the mountain bungalo overlooking Jacmel, the actual tent I slept in (charming in its own wat, everything opened up to the stars and I could hear the ocean below, pas mal de tout), hammock at the house, candle light dinners of sorts, amazing fresh grilled tuna on the spot, incredible beach, I kept thinking I was in Bali for some reason, Jacmel Bay from the mountains when we visited Bassin Bleu, sunsets on the beach, and finally breakfast and a relaxing day, all day on the beach! Then a tour of the town of Jacmel (still a lot of visual destruction from the earth quake) and a gem in the rubble, Hotel Florita. Chocked full of local art and original fixtures and furnishings (1888), you can imagine my ecstasy. Oh, and big, puffy white beds protected by big, flowing mosquito nets. I know where I'm staying next time. The part I really fell in love with was the bar, it was idyllic and both Billie Holiday and the Ricard flowed non-stop; which probably made it even more dream-like. We went back for lunch the next day before boarding the nightmare bus and driver/bat out of hell over the mountains to Port-au-Prince. The lunch was amazing, I didn't want to leave.
Jacmel is a well-known artisan and coffee town and I was lucky to find two canvases I couldn't live without and in typical fashion, parted once again from a town with completely ridiculous baggage in town; two large, stretched canvases. Luckily I had my own art dealer with me who got the price down to less than half. I think he has a career in dealing, or bs, I think its the same thing.
What I was really looking forward to was the big bathroom and shower and giant comfy bed at L'Oasis. A 5-star hotel in PAP that I easily paid $120/night for. After hiking in the rain, sleeping in a tent on a cliff over the ocean and being whipped over the mountains on motos and in vans, I would have paid five times that. It was exactly what I expected and the views below from the window are not of a rocky mountain side but of houses stacked into the cliffs. Quite impressive. That's Port-au-Prince, happy to see it from a window.
I miss Hotel Florita...
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