16704: O'Brien--another waterfall in the Plateau Re: 16699: Slavin: On Bassin Zim (fwd) Corbett adds (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: mmcpeob@earthlink.net

There is another nice little waterfall near the small village of Layhay (sp?) not far from Hinche.  The fall is much smaller and less impressive than the one at Bassin Zim, but both the fall and the pool are quite lovely.  There is only a trail (i.e. no road) from Layhay to the falls (which I have heard called "Saltadere"--although there is another place by the same name elsewhere in the Plateau.....).  Apparently there is also an interesting cave farther up the mountainside above the falls, but I have never been to the cave.

Patrick Slavin mentions that the area makes you want to be a rancher.  Apparently the area around Hinche used to be known for its cattle.  In speaking with a native of the area who now lives elsewhere, I also learned about some of the tactics of the "Cacos" during the occupation--sending secret signals to each other from small hillocks, for instance.  And, of course, Charlemagne Perrault is a regional hero (although the person who told me about the cacos also mentioned that when he was growing up that his parents always warned him not to reveal the fact that Charlemagne Perrault was a distant relative for fear of what that information might bring upon him.)

Martha O'Brien