The cozy resort Village Vacances could very well be every nature lovers dream. Built on the strikingly beautiful island of Ile a Vache (Cow Island), the environmentally and socially conscious hotel was the perfect base for me while I explored one of Haiti’s most stunning remote satellite islands located off its southwest peninsula.
Read MorePORT SALUT
Ungovernable, devastating, heartbreaking, environmental disaster.
These are just a few of the words that turned up after I did a quick Google search on Haiti ahead of my trip several months ago. In search of positive travel stories highlighting what was once known as “The Pearl of the Caribbean”, I set out to see it for myself.
Read MoreBELLE AYITI
What did I know about Haiti before I decided to visit? Nothing, to be completely honest. I was of course aware of the unrest and chaos typically associated with the country and also remember reading a paragraph or so about the Haitian Revolution during World History in undergrad a few years back. But that's not saying much - I don't believe knowing the cliff notes and stereotypes of a place translates to any real knowledge of it. After meeting Vanessa, a Haitian American whose love for her home country would become contagious, my ignorance quickly turned into curiosity.
Read MoreEXPLORING AYITI WITH SIMON RUSSELL
As part of our Frequent Flyer series, we post follow up stories from previously spotlighted travelers. Simon is a professional photographer that has traveled extensively; visiting intriguing locations like Morocco, Ireland, Borneo, and New Zealand to name a few. In his previous feature, he shared his experiences traveling throughout Ireland, documenting its beautiful landscapes and long-standing traditions. Now he's back to shed light on the beauty that exists within Haiti and what he thinks other visitors can do to contribute to the country's economic redevelopment.
Haiti had been on my radar for several years. One of my friends is the founder of Cine Institute, located in Jacmel, and had been visiting the country for about 25 years. It was through his documentaries that I was first exposed to Haitian culture.
Read MoreHAITI BY VANESSA RIGAUD
My name is Vanessa Rigaud. I am a travel occupational therapist by day, photographer and philanthropist by passion. I am currently living in Woodbridge, VA on a travel assignment for the next 3 months. I also co-own a jewelry business, Bisoux Jewelry, with my sister. My interest in photography was initially sparked out of a need. My sister and I had just started our jewelry business, in which all our proceeds are currently going towards our Haiti efforts, and we needed to take pictures of our inventory and had aspirations of creating a lookbook. We couldn't afford a photographer or anything at the time, and I had always been interested in the craft anyways, so I decided to buy a DSLR off of craigslist. It was love at first click =)
Read More