Word: ported
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Even the opportunities for such standard tropical pursuits as swimming and sunning are limited. Both Kyona and Ibo beaches-the only ones anywhere near the capital city-have limited facilities. In addition, they are a spine-snapping one-hour trip from Port-au-Prince over roads that are hopelessly rutted and potholed. In fact, Haiti's poor roads virtually confine all but the hardiest tourists to the capital city and its environs...
...Haiti offers enticements of its own. Even in the rural areas close to Port-au-Prince, it is still the land of "mountains of very great size and beauty, vast plains, groves and very fruitful fields" that enchanted Columbus in 1492, when he landed on the island he called Espanola. In Haiti's unpolluted air, sunsets are breathtaking, night skies are spectacular, and colors so vivid that they have inspired Haitians to become a nation of artists. There are more mundane attractions. Five days in a comfortable Port-au-Prince hotel can cost as little as $125, including breakfasts...
Laughter. From the moment visitors step off the plane and pass through the customs checkpoint in the new expanded Port-au-Prince airport, they are assaulted by the sights and sounds of Haiti. Driving toward the city, they pass dilapidated thatched-roof shacks. Peasants crowd the roads, balancing on their heads the flowers or fruit, tin cans or huge straw baskets they hope to sell in the marketplace...
...hospitality of Haitians has apparently rubbed off on some of the expatriate innkeepers who have settled in Port-au-Prince. At the gingerbreadstyle Grand Hotel Oloffson, for example, owner Al Seitz, a native of Connecticut, is reluctant to add more rooms to his charming anachronism because "if it got too big I would lose personal contact with the guests." But the stay at the Oloffson is worth it if only to meet Columnist Aubelin Jolicoeur, Haiti's unofficial ambassador of good will, who drops by with a diverting account of the past week's goings on. Equally solicitous...
Baseballs. Actually, there are enough attractions within Port-au-Prince to occupy tourists for the good part of a week. In the well-to-do Lyles district, there are the remarkable Victorian gingerbread houses, with intricately carved balustrades and spires, that are now commanding Stateside real estate prices. At the Iron Market, beneath a twin-spired iron roof, hundreds of Haitian entrepreneurs haggle with tourists over the price of wood carvings, sisal mats, dolls and hundreds of other products displayed in crowded stalls. There is the formal city hall, outlined at night with strings of glowing light bulbs...