A vacation thrill! Shopping among the Street Vendors of Haiti and the Dominican Republic

 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND HAITI STREET VENDORS

     There are few supermarkets in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, so street markets have sprung up all over both countries. The Haitian Créole people call them “marchés,” which sell produce on the street, unlike “markets,” which are indoor supermarkets. Most people buy their fresh produce in street markets because it is cheap and plentiful. It’s quite a variety to choose from throughout the year since the items change with the seasons. Buying in the markets requires a better understanding of local customs, and at least a conversational grasp of Creole. With time, you’ll learn how to buy fruits and vegetables alone, without an interpreter! But the sellers know tourists have money and will jack up the price really quick. If you venture to Haiti and experience these markets, be prepared to pay the “prix blanc”- white person’s price.   

     When I strolled the streets of Sosua, Dominican Republic, street Vendors sold from carts or little permanent spots in the streets, beaches, and doorways in all parts of the city. The Dominican Republic street vendors are usually out no matter the weather. These salespeople work from their little carts of varying types. Motorized, peddle carts, under an umbrella, push carts or horse drawn carts. Some carry a tray of food atop their heads even using a discarded fan cover as a basket.

     I had to embed them in the plot of the MISSION OF VENGEANCE spy thriller! They were everywhere bringing products to the people. If you visit the DR, you must stroll among them. Some of the vendors walk with the items they are selling dangling from every available place. They can be seen on foot in the streets. You can see them hanging out at an intersection or weaving in and out of traffic. They can be any place the cars are known to slow down (watch out at stops, you may get your windshield washed even if you do not want it). Some of these street vendors have permanent spots. Some are roamers. They are walking up and down the beaches. They can be seen almost any place in the country. Many times, these vendors can be a nuisance and need to be chased away.

In the MISSION OF VENGEANCE spy thriller, CIA spymaster Corey Pearson and his counterintelligence team place these “marches” under intense surveillance while searching for terrorists. Here’s a snippet about an unfortunate American tourist family in Sosua, Dominican Republic, who bought an item from a street vendor, an item that ended up getting him and his family killed at their resort hotel room that night:

Plot scene: A half hour later, they drove their rental car to downtown Sousa to shop among the street vendors. Thousands of them marched up and down the streets, selling anything they could out of necessity. The alternative was a night with no dinner for their families. A boy their son’s age washed their windshield at a stoplight. There was no time for price negotiation. The light turned green and the cars behind him started honking, so John slipped him two dollars and drove off.

     They parked the car and strolled among the street peddlers. Most had their own puesto, or post staked out. John’s wife bought a few Caribbean dresses displayed on makeshift racks. Young boys ran out to cars stopped at traffic lights to sell candy and cookies to the temporarily trapped drivers. Others sold phone cards and cell phone chargers, covers and extensions. John bought a Motorola V3 for half the price he’d pay in the states.

     It was an enlightening experience for their two children to see: kids their age shining shoes, selling bootlegged DVDs, and causing traffic jams as they ran into the street to hawk their wares to motorists.

    A man peddled an ice cream cart through the traffic, tapping on car windows, holding up popsicles for the drivers to see. John motioned him over and bought his family a round of skim ice and popsicles to beat the heat. As they enjoyed the cold refreshments under the shade of palm trees that lined the back street they were on, a vendor stopped and showed John a plywood board with fancy men’s jewelry pinned on it. He was about to wave him off but noticed a most unusual tie clasp, a large blue and green rhinestone parrot set in silver. He bought it, the worse mistake he ever made in his life.

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     Lastly, you’ll enjoy this video of the food street vendors and markets in the Dominican Republic. 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community, and enjoys journeying to the Florida Keys and Key West, the Bahamas and Caribbean. He combines both passions into the COREY PEARSON- CIA SPYMASTER spy thriller series.