Long Ago and Far Away #22: Greetings, In 1978 my sister, wife and I took my mother, at her request, to Disney World in Orlando, FL. She had recently been diagnosed with cancer and we...

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

Greetings,

In 1978 my sister, wife and I took my mother, at her request, to Disney World in Orlando, FL. She had recently been diagnosed with cancer and we all thought that the trip would be helpful to her. It was really fun which I didn’t expect.
At the end of the first week, my sister and mother flew back to Philadelphia and Fran and I went for 10 days to Haiti. Talk about culture shock!

We arrived at Port Au Prince and to our reservations at the Oloffson Hotel. Let me tell you of Haiti in 1978. Haiti was an interesting place but the poverty was gruesome. Located on the island of Hispaniola (shared with the Dominican Republic); east of Cuba in the Caribbean. It is the third largest country and the poorest country in the Caribbean. Columbus arrived on the island in 1492. Haiti is the second oldest independent nation in the western hemisphere (USA is the first). Haitians are gamblers and cockfighting is everywhere. Mobile phones (now) and internet are reserved for the wealthy. 50% of the country’s wealth belongs to 1% of the people. Haitian currency is the Gourde. French and Haitian Creole are the two official languages.
About the Oloffson; This was a "gingerbread" mansion, home for two Haitian presidents and made famous by serving as the location for the hotel in Graham Greene's novel "The Comedians". It was a must place to stay by many famous guests such as Jackie Onassis, Mick Jagger, lots of artists and writers. When we were there it was still a nice place but slightly worn and the room smelled musty. One interesting
thing was a collection of French models on a shoot and they went topless at the pool.!!

Port Au Prince
The city was founded in 1749 on the Gulf of Gonave. The bay there is a natural harbor. In all of Port Au Prince (in 1978) there were only three traffic lights; all close to the President's Palace. There are some pretty steep sloped streets to the hills above the city center where the wealthy mansions and hotels are located. Cars going uphill have the right of way over the horizontal streets.

Please use your mouse to enlarge photos.
Thanks for looking...
Larry

Port Au Prince: Founded 1749 on the Gulf of Gonave at a natural harbor. When we were there there were only 3 traffic lights in entire capital city and as it was fairly hilly, cars going uphill had the right of way.

The Iron Market and Public transit in Port Au Prince.

Port Au Prince: Typical "down-town" Street.
Port Au Prince: Typical "down-town" Street....

Port Au Prince: Some interesting buildings.
Port Au Prince: Some interesting buildings....

Port Au Prince: Another street scene.

Port Au Prince: The Cemetary.
Port Au Prince: The Cemetary....

Cap Haitian: Founded 1670 by the French. 3 hour drive from PAP. Scene of slave uprising in 1791. Market for local produce; bananas, sugar cane , coffee, pineapples and cacao.,
Cap Haitian: Founded 1670 by the French. 3 hour d...

Sans Souci: A grand house built in 1853 by merchant Thomas Holt for is German wife. Significant ruins.

Kenscoff: Located in foothills of the Chaine de la Selle mountain range southeast of PAP. Highest settlement in the Caribbean. Cooler temperatures make this tourist and vacation spot. Typical landscape shown.
Kenscoff: Located in foothills of the Chaine de l...

Kenscoff: Industrious flower sellers.
Kenscoff: Industrious flower sellers....

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Nice photos, but using the mouse doesn't make them larger. You have to check the box to store original for us to be able to enlarge the photos.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

HamBar06 wrote:

Greetings,

In 1978 my sister, wife and I took my mother, at her request, to Disney World in Orlando, FL. She had recently been diagnosed with cancer and we all thought that the trip would be helpful to her. It was really fun which I didn’t expect.
At the end of the first week, my sister and mother flew back to Philadelphia and Fran and I went for 10 days to Haiti. Talk about culture shock!

We arrived at Port Au Prince and to our reservations at the Oloffson Hotel. Let me tell you of Haiti in 1978. Haiti was an interesting place but the poverty was gruesome. Located on the island of Hispaniola (shared with the Dominican Republic); east of Cuba in the Caribbean. It is the third largest country and the poorest country in the Caribbean. Columbus arrived on the island in 1492. Haiti is the second oldest independent nation in the western hemisphere (USA is the first). Haitians are gamblers and cockfighting is everywhere. Mobile phones (now) and internet are reserved for the wealthy. 50% of the country’s wealth belongs to 1% of the people. Haitian currency is the Gourde. French and Haitian Creole are the two official languages.
About the Oloffson; This was a "gingerbread" mansion, home for two Haitian presidents and made famous by serving as the location for the hotel in Graham Greene's novel "The Comedians". It was a must place to stay by many famous guests such as Jackie Onassis, Mick Jagger, lots of artists and writers. When we were there it was still a nice place but slightly worn and the room smelled musty. One interesting
thing was a collection of French models on a shoot and they went topless at the pool.!!

Port Au Prince
The city was founded in 1749 on the Gulf of Gonave. The bay there is a natural harbor. In all of Port Au Prince (in 1978) there were only three traffic lights; all close to the President's Palace. There are some pretty steep sloped streets to the hills above the city center where the wealthy mansions and hotels are located. Cars going uphill have the right of way over the horizontal streets.

Please use your mouse to enlarge photos.
Thanks for looking...
Larry

Greetings, br br In 1978 my sister, wife and I to... (show quote)

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

nimbushopper wrote:

Nice photos, but using the mouse doesn't make them larger. You have to check the box to store original for us to be able to enlarge the photos.

The photos are not sized to allow the Store Original to work . You can use the keypad and the mouse wheel to enlarge the image. This works on my machine and on a couple others that I have checked on.
Larry

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Interesting set of photos.

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

jaymatt wrote:

Interesting set of photos.

Thanks,
Larry

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

nimbushopper wrote:

Nice photos, but using the mouse doesn't make them larger. You have to check the box to store original for us to be able to enlarge the photos.

My iPad worked well to enlarge by opening my thumb and finger.

Dennis

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Great photos. I have never wanted to visit Haiti. Thankfully your excellent photos filled all the right gaps for me.

Dennis

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Thanks for posting Larry.

Don

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

Thanks, guys, for the comments.
Larry

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

dennis2146 wrote:

My iPad worked well to enlarge by opening my thumb and finger.

Dennis

Larry

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

dennis2146 wrote:

Great photos. I have never wanted to visit Haiti. Thankfully your excellent photos filled all the right gaps for me.

Dennis

Glad to help!
Larry

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

PAR4DCR wrote:

Thanks for posting Larry.

Don

Don,
Happy you enjoyed looking.
Larry

Bubalola Loc: Big Apple, NY

HamBar06 wrote:

Greetings,

In 1978 my sister, wife and I took my mother, at her request, to Disney World in Orlando, FL. She had recently been diagnosed with cancer and we all thought that the trip would be helpful to her. It was really fun which I didn’t expect.
At the end of the first week, my sister and mother flew back to Philadelphia and Fran and I went for 10 days to Haiti. Talk about culture shock!

We arrived at Port Au Prince and to our reservations at the Oloffson Hotel. Let me tell you of Haiti in 1978. Haiti was an interesting place but the poverty was gruesome. Located on the island of Hispaniola (shared with the Dominican Republic); east of Cuba in the Caribbean. It is the third largest country and the poorest country in the Caribbean. Columbus arrived on the island in 1492. Haiti is the second oldest independent nation in the western hemisphere (USA is the first). Haitians are gamblers and cockfighting is everywhere. Mobile phones (now) and internet are reserved for the wealthy. 50% of the country’s wealth belongs to 1% of the people. Haitian currency is the Gourde. French and Haitian Creole are the two official languages.
About the Oloffson; This was a "gingerbread" mansion, home for two Haitian presidents and made famous by serving as the location for the hotel in Graham Greene's novel "The Comedians". It was a must place to stay by many famous guests such as Jackie Onassis, Mick Jagger, lots of artists and writers. When we were there it was still a nice place but slightly worn and the room smelled musty. One interesting
thing was a collection of French models on a shoot and they went topless at the pool.!!

Port Au Prince
The city was founded in 1749 on the Gulf of Gonave. The bay there is a natural harbor. In all of Port Au Prince (in 1978) there were only three traffic lights; all close to the President's Palace. There are some pretty steep sloped streets to the hills above the city center where the wealthy mansions and hotels are located. Cars going uphill have the right of way over the horizontal streets.

Please use your mouse to enlarge photos.
Thanks for looking...
Larry

Greetings, br br In 1978 my sister, wife and I to... (show quote)

Thanks for the photos and story, Larry! I do enjoy your postings! Keep on!

HamBar06 Loc: Philadelphia, PA

Bubalola wrote:

Thanks for the photos and story, Larry! I do enjoy your postings! Keep on!

Thanks,
Larry