AnoldfishingboatsitsnearLabadee.
Previousspread: CitadelleLaferrière
aquickstop foracrispycassavasnackshaped likea toaster
pastry.Cassava is therootwecall yucca, and thepineapple
filling in thepastry issweet.
Wealsopasspatched-togethershacksofscrapmetaland
oldboardsnexttocinder-blockhomes,mostofthemwithin
a few feetoftheroad.Busymarketsbustleaswecruisepast
men linedupbesidemotorcycles, an alternate transport
option if youdon’t care for ahelmet and canhangon to a
stranger. I’ll stickwithDanJoseph,because in less thanan
hour,wemake it to thepark.
“
Bonjou!
” ismyCreole greeting for guidesWilfredand
JacklinJean,whom Imeetunderdry skies justbelow the
massivewhitestonegatesthat leadtotheruinsofthePalais
SansSouci. Begun in 1807, threeyears afterHaiti’s slaves
freedthemselvesanddefeatedNapoleon’sarmy, this isthe
centerpieceofaroyalcompoundconceivedbyKingHenri
Christophe.Then leaderofthenation’snorthernregion,he
sentHaitians abroad tobringbackknowledgeonvarious
subjects, includingarchitecture.Hispalace,nowashellof
its former self, is evidenceof theking’s vision aswewalk
up the broad entry reserved only for the self-declared
monarch.Wilfredexplainsthatthepalace,whichwasonce
gracedwitha fountain, amassivemirror anda sculpture,
wasfelledbyanearthquake in1842,afterHenriChristophe,
too ill toridehishorseand fearingarevolt,died in1820by
hisownhand.
Asifrecountingapersonal loss,Wilfredsighs,“Hewanted
todieasaking.”
AMERICANWAY
JUNE2015
73
