When I first started writing about Haiti, one of my main goals was to visit places not many people talk about. Haiti is not just political issues or economical ones. This country is not just about being the poorest country of the Northern hemisphere.
I've been living in Haiti for the past 3 months and with work plus every responsibility that comes with my new life, I've been trying to do different activities as much as possible. The city of Port-au-Prince doesn't have much things to do besides going out to events and restaurants, sometimes mountain trips however, the real fun is in the provinces.
Over time, I've had the opportunity to meet a few people that have the same interest in activities as me so we decided to make a group and plan fun getaway activities every time we are available. Last one was in January due to the month of February being extremely difficult, most of the big cities were under a lockdown.
My friends and I went a beach near the province of Petit-Goave, in the southern part of Haiti. At first, I thought it was an island and later found out it is on the same coast as the province, just easier to get access by boat ride. Now, I want to believe the name of this island is "Bananye", which means "Banana tree" in English however, when I posted a few pictures several people told me that the name was "Balanye" and that "Bananye" is somewhere else in the country.
When I googled it, I've found a page that said it was called "Bananye", at this point I'm very confused to what the real name is so I leave it to you to choose the name you think is better.
On that day, we left home very early, not early enough in my opinion but you know Haitians don't know what being on time is. We left downtown around 8 AM, made a quick stop in one of Martissan's gas station to buy snacks, drinks and so on. Then another stop in Leogane for a bathroom break before getting back on the road.
The ride was super smooth, our friend Clifford has this way of driving very fast without making the ride uncomfortable. The roads were smooth and had very little traffic so it made the ride even more enjoyable.
When we got to Petit-Goave we met with our boat sailor, whom we made arrangements with several days before. Bananye or Balanye is about 15-20 min away from the main land. We arrived at the beach and met this wonderful lady that offered the meal.
The boat ride is about US $10 and depending on what you choose to eat the prices vary from 600 and 750 Haitian Gourdes. When it comes to drinks we brought our own so we'd have more options. We had a wonderful day honestly, basically it was a normal beach day but what made it different is the fact that we didn't go to someone's beach house. The food was good, we had great company and we went early enough to enjoy the whole day. We left the beach around 4 PM and made our way back to the city.
I don't do vlogs but I had the idea of filming different parts of the day and did a small video to show you the day we had. Of course the video is missing more footage of what we did after we got to the beach and when we left to close the day but, these are things you learn with time and editing.
So here is the small video, I really hope you guys enjoy it and your feedback will always be welcomed.
If you're ever interested in doing this activity and don't know how to plan it you can get in touch with me and I can either serve as your guide or just give you the right contacts.
I've recently decided to put a lot more focus in something I really love to do which is event planning so I've been working in that field here and there and I really wouldn't mind planning the whole day for whoever wishes to avoid all the hassle.
I thank you all for reading this article and even though it was very short I hope there was enough content to make my readers want to experience a fun day like that at the beach.
This was "Bananye Or Balanye?",
written by, Urfavblogger.
Bananye Oswa Balanye?
Lè m te komanse ekri sou Ayiti, youn nan pi gwo priyorite m se vizite kote nan peyi a moun pa vreman pale de yo. Ayiti pa jis on peyi ki gen pwoblem politik ak ekonomik. Peyi a pa jis limite l a peyi ki pi pòv nan Amerik Santral la.
Sa fè 3 mwa m ap viv nan peyi a, ak travay plis responsabilite ki vini a nouvo lavi m bò isi a, mwen eseye fè plis aktivite ki diferan ke m kapab. Vil Pòoprens pa gen anpil aktivite lot ke pwogram, al manje ak al nan mòn donk pou mwen bon plezi a nan pwovens.
Nan tan mwen fè la, m vin jwen chans kontre a moun ki gen menm interè avè m nan pwogram donk nou deside f on gwoup pou n organize ti soti nou yo chak kou nou disponib. Dènye pwogram nou te an janvye pou tèt mwa fevriye a te on tijan difisil lè peyi a te bloke.
Mwen menm ak zanmi m yo al sou on plaj tou pre Ti-Gwav, nan sid peyi a. Anvan mwen te panse se te on zile men mwen vin apran se sou menm provens la noute ye, aksè a te jis pi fasil ak bato. Mwen vle kwè kote n t ale a rele "Bananye", men anpil moun ekri m pou yo di m kote a rele "Balanye" e "Bananye" nan on lòt pati peyi a. Le m te eseye chache enfòmasyon sou entènèt mwen te wè Bananye donk m vreman pa konen sa pou m panse. M ap kite nou deside kijan nou panse li rele.
Jou sa nou kite lakay nou bonè, pa bonè ase nan gou pa m men nou konen Ayisyen pa janm pa an weta. Nou kite lavil bò zòn 8è nan maten, nou f on kanpe nan on stasyon gaz Matisan pou n achte ti bagay pou n manje ak bwè. Apre sa nou f on lòt are Leogan pou on ti poz twalèt anvan nou repran wout la.
Wout la te vreman dous, zanmi nou ki t ap kondui te fè wout la bonjan rapid men pa on fason pou n te pè. Wout yo pa t gen blokis donk sa te vin fè voyaj la pi agreyab,
Lè nou rive Ti-gwav nou kontre a nèg bato nou te gen plan avè l la. Bananye oswa Balanye s on distans 15-20 minit pwovens la. Nou rive sou plaj la kote nou kontre a on dam ki ofri n manje.
Pran bato a 750 Goud e pi tou depann de manje ou pran ki gen dwa varye ant 600 a 750 goud an plis. Pou bweson, nou te pote pa n pou n te gen plis opsyon. Nou pase on bèl jounen, se te yon senp jounen na lanmè men li te diferan de sa n abitiye fè a. Manje a te bon, tout moun t ap pran plezi yo e nou t al bonè ase pou n pase tout jounen an sou plaj la. Nou kite l bo zòn 4è nan apre midi.
Mwen pa abitye fè videyo men mwen te gen ide filme jounen e m fè yon ti montaj pou m te montre n kijan sa te ye. Nan ranje videyo m vin reyalize ke m te dwe filme plis bagay tankou sa n te vin fè lè n rive sou zile ak le nou ta rantre a. Men sa se bagay ou aprann ak eksperyans donk m vle kwè pwochen videyo ap pi pwofesionèl.
Donk men ti montaj la, mespere n ap renmen l e m ap tan kòmantè nou yo.
Si nou enterese fè aktivite sa e pi nou pa konn ekzakteman sa pou n fè nou ka toujou rantre an kontak avè m, m ka swa aji tankou gid pou nou o swa bay nou kontak ekzak yo. Mwen deside resaman konsantre m sou on aktivite ke m renmen anpil ki se organize mòd pwogram sa yo donk sa pa t ap deranje m si nou te angaje m pou m jis organize jounen a pou nou konsa nou pa bezwen inkiete nou ak detay yo.
Mwen remesye n deske nou li atik sa e menm si li te vreman kout m espere te gen ase detay ki ta fè lektè m yo anvi viv eksperyans sa.
Se te "Bananye Oswa Balanye?",
on atik, Urfavblogger.
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