Villa Manrese, a safe haven in Port-au-Prince

This is Villa Manrese where I stayed in Port-au-Prince. It's run by a religious order housing visiting priests, nuns, and other travelers. You can see the entire city from the balcony. You can also hear the sounds of the entire city. You can hear the roar of the cheers of Haitians while gathered around a TV watching a soccer match. You can hear the gunfire from the area around the cathedral, and the sounds of the wildlife all around.

Each morning you wake by hearing the roosters call or the singing in the chapel of the religious singing the morning prayers. Mass is at 6:30am, breakfast is at 7am. This area is very safe. Many people that live around this area walk to mass here each Sunday. It's a great place to learn about the country of Haiti. There are missionaries from all parts of the world, working in all areas of Haiti. But English is not the spoken language. It is difficult to find those that can speak some broken English. I meet only 2 other Americans, both were missionary sisters working in Haiti.

Because Port-au-Prince is the capital and the largest city, it is very different from Ft. Liberte, St. Suzanne, Cotlette or Furcy. Cap Haitian is very similar to Port-au-Prince with one great difference, Port-au-Prince is a war zone.

Each part of Haiti can be very different, with one exception- extreme poverty.