During my stay, Habitation des Lauriers was nearly full with missionaries, NGO types, and a Bringham Young graduate writing his PhD thesis on Haitian tenant farming in the 1940s. I was the only tourist. After breakfast, the day after my arrival, I struck up a conversation with the American evangelical church band staying at the hotel. One of the chaperones showed me a couple of videos: One of a Haitian woman in the throngs of a demonic possession, and anothe...

Like Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien was not super tourist friendly. Once off the hotel grounds I felt as if I were the only white person on the streets. This duck out of water feeling did not disparate for on every street I crossed someone yelled out, "blan, blan" ("white" in French/ creole). Children as young as 5 or 6 even got into the mix. I never felt threatened, just clearly identified by my color, and it was an odd feeling that has stuck with me for days. ...

Cap Haitien was a downright sleepy port town compared with Port-au-Prince. My hotel, Habitation des Lauriers was set up a steep drive way off of Rue 13. At the top of the driveway, I was rewarded with views of the entire town from the cathedral to the port. Habitation des Lauriers is a family run affair. Brenda, her husband Les, and son James could not have made my stay more welcome. All three were a wealth of knowledge, they even arranged my day trip to th...