Monday, February 19, 2007
Fort Bayonnais
If you stand at the doors of the church and look northwest into the mountains you can just make out a square stone structure that resembles a castle. Although little is known of the monument, the "Fort de Bayonnais" is assumed to have been built by the French prior to the slave rebellion and subsequent independence of Haiti in 1804. Jacques Elie and I began our trek to the fort around 6:45 am on Saturday morning with a video camera and a satchel of necessary provisions. It was a formidable hike up the mountains with their steep slopes and jagged rocks but we made it in under four hours. Although the fort did not contain the treasure chest I thought I might find by deciphering cryptographic symbols on the wall, it did lend itself a remarkable view of the surrounding hills. The ground was overgrown with vegetation but the arched doorways and angled windows remained in tact after two hundred years. After a quick snack, we headed to the second, smaller fort across the valley. Though less of colossal presence, the second fort had a giant canon barrel in it which, because of its weight, had not been moved in two centuries. There was also an enclosed room which may have been a brick oven (the French used clay bricks as opposed to the stone and mortar typical of the Haitians). Finally, we found a large tomb that must have been 12 feet deep. No telling what kind of secrets a few shovels and a machete would reveal. In contrast to the bustling compound here, there were times when we would travel twenty minutes without hearing a single sound but the mountain breeze. It was only then interrupted by a wandering goat or a farmer sticking his head out of the sorgum to wish us good luck on our journey. We returned sunburnt, dehydrated and fatigued but as I have learned, there are few things that a siesta cannot cure.
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