I actually did not see much of this town, spending most of the time driving through and staying at a large estate for an hour or two. The family that owns it started an orphanage and little school that took in about 19 or 20 children after the earthquake. The property is large, beautiful, and full of plantain trees, goats, chickens, and a small school and lodgings for the children. The family that owns the property is currently building a 2 story house for the older couple that started the building.
En route to Arcahaie, we drove past Cite Soleil (after make a stop at an industrial warehouse where a Haitian man redistributes imported food) and saw some of the construction going on over there. We also drove past what looks like an impressive sports facility outside of Port-au-Prince, not too far from Titanyen, where many displaced people after the earthquake were pushed to. It was a barren land and certainly did not look like a good place to relocate victims of the 2010 earthquake. The nice thing about it was the ocean view, I guess.
Seeing the crowded Cabaret on market day was more exciting and interesting, although I foolishly did not take any pictures of this busy small town market. Vendors, stalls, a small blokis, and just about everything you would want to buy in Cabaret was out for sale. Bright colors abounded, and an orderly disorder triumphed (at least, to my unaccustomed eyes). It was nice to see a crowded market outside of Port-au-Prince because it was so much cleaner and did not stink. Cabaret is another place I must see again.
As for Arcahaie, I did not see much. We drove around a bit and the nice guy who owns the guesthouse (he was the one driving us around) took us to an area where he purchased some land. He told us that the Haitian government wants to develop part of this area for tourism, and I can see why. It's relatively unspoiled by pollution or overcrowding. The area he showed us only had a few large, private homes and several lower-class residents washing their clothes in the stream that flows into the ocean. Nonetheless, I wonder how those local residents feel about government plans to turn their homes into tourist resorts and forever change the lovely beaches.
Although I know Arcahaie is the town where the first Haitian flag flew, we didn't have time to see the monument the Haitian government erected. We drove back to Port-au-Prince and did not face any heavy traffic most of the way. The guesthouse owner's mother returned with us to sell plantains in Delmas, because so many people sell fresh plantains around Arcahaie she would face less competition in the Delmas neighborhood.
Arcahaie is a nice small town. Though I did not see much (and perhaps there's not that much to see there), I was generally pleased. The town is near the coast, less polluted, has a slower pace of life, and struck me as in a good location in terms of less traffic on the way back to Port-au-Prince (unlike Jacmel and routes heading toward Leogane and the south that go through Carrefour).
Unlike Fonds Parisien, another small town I visited that is not too far from Port-au-Prince, the people of Arcahaie seem to be better off in that they have more access to freshwater, and less barren agricultural land. Fonds-Parisien, to be honest, I only saw at night when there's no electricity, but looked less appealing. I suppose Fonds-Parisien has that Mission center and is close to the Dominican border, where so many Haitians cross into Jimani and seek work. The good thing about Fonds Parisien is that some of the new housing is at least designed to be well ventilated, and I had the pleasure of meeting a young Haitian-American architect who had designed some of the houses.
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