motorcycle adventures in haiti

Tap Taps are the main form of public transportation. It's cheap- usually anywhere from 5-15 gourdes (approx. 40 gourdes is one US dollar). But a tap tap usually only runs up and down one road, at the very least, it has a specific route, so you often would have to take more than one tap tap to get where you need to go. And it can take a long time to get to your destination. People pile into this pick-up truck and they are wanting on and off at different times, so you are constantly making stops. My favorite mode of public transportation has become the motorcycle. Or simply, "moto" as they call it. It's more of a taxi (you tell them where you want to go) while the tap tap compares more to a city bus (a set route with many stops). So yes, you pay a little more for a taxi, but you get exactly where you need to go and in much less time. PLUS with my limited (very limited) Creole, it's easier just to tell someone where I need to go verses trying to figure out which tap tap goes where.

I remember the first time I took a moto. I was working with Three Angels running some errands with Jimmy. We came out from a store to find our car with a flat tire. So he hailed us a moto to get back to the orphanage. This was my first experience weaving through the haitian streets on a motorcycle. I remember emailing some friends that I worked with, excitedly telling them of my adventure.

Since moving to Heartline, I've had to become a lot more independent on the haitian streets. At Three Angels, there was always someone around to help me out. We had several English-speaking haitians in management roles that were always around if I needed to go to the store or run an errand. Now, at Heartline and in a different area in the city, I don't really have a go-to guy. And I don't have a car. So I hail my own motos. Though taking a motorcycle taxi is now familiar and "normal" to me-- it's never any less of an adventure. Here are two of my most interesting moto experiences:

The first one was pre-earthquake. Some friends of mine that work with Three Angels were in Haiti visiting. So I wanted to meet up with them in Petionville. There are two ways to get a moto taxi. You start walking and watch the street for motos going by. When you see one that doesn't already have a passenger, you can get his attention by yelling "hey moto!" and sticking your hand out. Or in many places, there are certain areas that the taxi drivers gather when they aren't out on a run. There is a corner down the street from where I live that you can always find motos hanging around. So I walked down to the corner to find myself a moto. In my best Creole, I asked several guys if they could go to Petionville. In Petionville, police are out on the streets more and they often stop motorcycles to make sure they have the correct license, while in other areas of the city it doesn't really matter as much. The first couple guys I asked told me no, they couldn't drive in Petionville. Then I found someone that said they could. We settled on a price and off we went. All was well until we got to Petionville. A police officer pulled us over. And as it turned out-- this guy did not have the license he needed. So we both get off the motorcycle. I was still a good distance away from Three Angels, but at least I knew where I was, and it wasn't too ridiculously far to walk. I paid the guy and waited for my change. He gave me back less change than the price he had told me before we left. So I paid him way too much and didn't even get to where I needed to go! Oh well. And so I walked the rest of the way to Three Angels.

Second story:

Post-earthquake. After the earthquake, I was really forced to become independent, as I often wanted to go back and forth between Three Angels and Heartline. This was about 4 or so days after the quake. The whole day was pretty crazy but it would take too much time to go through all of that, so I'll stick with the motorcycle story. I was in Petionville trying to catch a moto to head back to Tabarre (heartline). As I was walking down the street, I keep an eye on the road. I saw a moto coming up and was about to call out to him, but then I noticed his motorcycle looked pretty small and junky, so I decided to let him pass. Too late though. He noticed me. So he pulled over and I decided "what the heck" and got on with him. There was hardly a spot for me to put my feet. The motorcycle was constantly making a clanking noise. We had to pull over twice so he could "fix" (use a wire to hold something together) his moto. The second time we pulled over, he also took advantage of that to make it a pee stop. He took a different route than normal. He was constantly trying to talk to me. Which I hate because my Creole is so limited. I know enough to say what I need to say. I can stop a moto, tell him where I need to go, and ask him how much it will cost. As long as that is all that is said, I feel pretty confident. However, when they try to keep a conversation going, and it becomes clear my Creole is not great, I feel less confident and more like the out-of-place white person. I never actually felt unsafe, but I was unsure if his motorcycle would make it all the way. But it did.

A motorcycle ride in Haiti is bound to be an adventure. Bring your sunglasses (or buy a pair at the open market, like I did)- the roads are dusty.