I just joined the group and I don't know how or if we can respond to someone's post within this thread but I can like so relate to Kim040465's post as I was 14 when I boarded the MS Skyward in March, 1974 & turned 15 during the week long cruise visiting all the same islands. I too took the ride on the camel to visit the old Citadel on the peek of the mountain. It had never been finished. Each of us participant's on this optional journey in Cap Haitian, Haiti rode those donkeys while 2 Haitian men walked by foot on each side of our donkey prodding her along. I remember feeling sorry for the two men having to walk and for the donkey getting whipped so often. Also, on our way to the starting point of the donkey trip to the Citadel. We took a " taxi " which was a late 1950's auto. The roads were dirt and their was no speed limit and even any rules concerning which side of the road they drove on. As we went through a village the people were so poor they lived in little straw huts. Chickens and pigs roamed aimlessly. Sometimes you'd see women walking down the road balancing a clay urn on their head. Remember that this was 1974 but we were told by the tour guide that the average income of a local resident of Cap Haitian, Haiti was only $70/YEAR in American dollars !!! The MS Skyward had to set anchor far from the shore and so they had to use a couple of the ship's lifeboats to take us to and fro shore. Young boys who could do it would swim out to the ship. People would throw quarters & half dollars from the highest decks on the ship. The boys who were wading in the water would dive for the coinage and scoop it into their mouths. The one's who were the best swimmers & divers would return to the surface with the change in their mouths causing their cheeks to pucker. We were told that on any given day one or more of the boys would drown swimming their way to the ship or on the way back to shore. But it was worth the risk because the American money improved their and their family's lives so much. Although the seven mile trail to and fro the Citadel took us several hours due to the slow donkeys it was an incredible journey with gorgeous views of the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. The men would occasionally stop the donkeys at vantage points so we could take pictures. We were warned by the ship tour director to beware of men who would ride up in horses and engage us in conversation. They could speak english but the local men guiding us up the trail could not. The men on horses pretended to be your friend but they often got in the way. We were told what they were really interested in were not us but the big tips they expected. Sure enough one took a liking to me as he rode to and fro different people he would engage me in conversation and pretend to like me. I would often ignore him as the two men guiding the donkey I rode obviously despised him. I can tell you that he never got a dime from me but I tipped the two men well ( the two guiding the donkey ). My 17 year old brother was on a stubborn donkey not too far ahead of me but at one point I realized he had vanished. When we finally made it to the Citadel my brother was there & he told me had been waiting for us to arrive. Well it turns out he told one of the english speaking guides that he had gotten off his donkey and started walking as to keep his donkey from getting beaten. Apparently another english speaking guide convinced my brother to leave our scattered caravan and follow him up an often treacherous path that would shave time off the journey. Another interesting nugget is that their were no " workers " at the Citadel. After we had eaten the lunches our ship's crew members had brought we were free to roam the Citadel at will. I followed my adventurous brother and when we made it to the top of the Citadel my brother convinced me to follow him as he walked out onto the highest ledge of the Citadel. The ledge was only a couple feet wide and if either of us had lost our balance we surely would have fallen to our deaths. But the view of the mountainside looking towards the ocean was indescribably beautiful. I stopped about 1/3 of they way out and returned to safety as I waited for my brother to finish his perilous journey. The return down the trail on the donkeys was a much shorter journey timewise . As we were riding in the " taxi " to return to town another car suddenly appeared coming at us from the opposite direction. Because their were no rules of the road it became sort of a dogfight to see what side of the road each vehicle was going to take. I 'm sure the other passengers were wondering what I was : " Are we going to have a head on crash " ? Thankfully we didn't. When we returned to the ship I was so glad for having had the opportunity to make that trip but so glad to be safely back on board the MS Skyward ! I'm sorry if my story is a little disjointed but I am writing things as I remember them. I have more stories to tell about the other ports on this cruise & about the ship but I'll wait till later. I hope someone enjoyed the story about my Haitian journey !
