Anse du Clerk and the approach to Abricot

March 17, 1012 - Abricot, Grand Anse, Haiti

I've been in Jeremie, Grand Anse, Haiti for about a year and a half now. But I really haven't seen much of my temporary home. The reality is that for the first 14 months I was here, I spent most of my time working to achieve my next goal in life: environmental grad school.

In that time I've taken four classes: Statistics 101, Chemistry 101, Earth Science 101 and Environmental Science 201. I got As in all four classes. And I got a not unrespectable 680 on the GMAT. In order for me to achieve that, I needed a great deal of study time. How much study time? I describe it as somewhere between giving-up-all-aspects-of-my-non-work-life and my-colleagues-thought-I-was-hibernating.

Regardless, around Christmas 2011 this butterfly moth finally emerged from its cocoon and began experiencing the sights and sounds -- the waves and whooshes -- of the Caribbean, Grand Anse style! I'm glad I did. There are some really beautiful beaches in southwest Haiti. Beaches of which much of the Caribbean would be jealous -- if they only knew....

Yesterday I continued my adventures by passing through Anse du Clerk (Clerk Beach), before getting to Abricots beach. It was a group adventure organized by Martha Reynolds. Joining Martha and me were Martha's husband, Ed, and my successor as Chief Beancounter, Amy.

We made a pitstop and caught our first glimpse of Anse du Clerc. I love these one-lane, dirt roads. At times I wondered how even a four-wheel-drive could pass them:Slightly up ahead, you can see a man who was vigorously working to expand the "road" so that it was passable. At several points on the road, including here, I wondered how two-axle vehicles could ever pass? I'm guessing that this section of road may have experienced a collapse at some point because even with this widening, it was barely wide enough for our narrow pickup truck to cross this stretch:Despite the fact that the sailboats were filled with Earth-denuding charcoal bound for Port-au-Prince:The mountaintop vistas of Anse du Clerc bay were beautiful:Moving at about 5mph much of the way, we eventually got past Anse du Clerc and began the final ascent over more mountains and descent toward Abricots through more rugged terrain:Before getting to the vehicle-friendly, cement-paved roads of Abricots:

Tim White