Picture of Stuck truck on a muddy road in the interior of Haiti (Haiti)

Muddy road in the interior of Haiti

Send image of Stuck truck on a muddy road in the interior of Haiti as a free postcard
Download picture of Stuck truck on a muddy road in the interior of Haiti
Purchase Stuck truck on a muddy road in the interior of Haiti (Haiti)

Slow, colourful, painful, but also probably one of the best ways to see Haiti: tap-taps come in many sizes, and are invariably overcrowded with Haitians with whom you can easily get into touch.
In Haiti, tap-taps are basically local, public transportation on four wheels; it can be a former US school bus, but also a pick-up truck. While we were still in Port-au-Prince, the tap-taps we saw were quite large vehicles, full of splendidly painted exteriors with religious or erotic scenes, and often with religious slogans on top, and a loud sound system inside. There were some smaller vehicles, less bright, but doing the same job: transporting passengers from one part of Port-au-Prince to the other. Outside the capital, we did not see the brightly coloured tap-taps anymore. Most tap-taps here are pick-up trucks, where the back side is open-air, with some wooden planks that stick out of the back of the car in order to accomodate passengers even more passengers. Even though locals advised us to always travel in the cabin, we decided to sit in the back of the truck. We thought it would give us more fresh air, but it proved to be a great way to get into touch with Haitians. It is amazing how total strangers are haphazardly put together in the back of the truck, and soon develop into a tight group, sharing the pain and the hardships of the long trip to the final destination.
Read more about: Tap-taps

Tags for this picture:
| | | |

american children car boat Central&South America Europe green yellow grey purple Haiti Laos people tradition road harbour Tap-taps Copán trees sea

Around the World in 80 Clicks - All rights reserved - www.traveladventures.org - 1999-2008 Share your comments