Labadee, Haiti

Another seaside view, this time from a lot further away, though. This card isn't actually mailed directly from Haiti but it's still a nice addition to my collection, and a really nice view, too.



Labadee is a port located on the northern coast of Haiti. It is a private resort leased to Royal Caribbean International. Royal Caribbean International has contributed the largest proportion of tourist revenue to Haiti since 1986, employing 300 locals, allowing another 200 to sell their wares on the premises, and paying the Haitian government US$6 per tourist.

The resort is completely tourist-oriented, and is guarded by a private security force. The site is fenced off from the surrounding area, and passengers are not allowed to leave the property. A controlled group of Haitian merchants are given sole rights to sell their merchandise and establish their businesses in the resort. Although sometimes described as an island in advertisements, it is actually a peninsula contiguous with the island of Hispaniola. The cruise ship moors to the pier at Labadee capable of servicing the Oasis class ships, which was completed in late 2009.

Dominican Republic

One more card for today, a map card of the Dominican Republic.



The Dominican Republic is divided into thirty–one provincias (provinces; singular provincia), while the national capital, Santo Domingo, is contained within its own Distrito Nacional ("National District"). The division of the country into provinces is laid down in the constitution and enacted by law. The latter is currently Law 5220 on the Territorial Division of the Dominican Republic, issued 1959 and frequently amended to create new provinces and lower–level administrative units.

The provinces are the first–level administrative subdivisions of the country. The headquarters of the central government's regional offices are normally found in the capital cities of provinces. The president appoints an administrative governor for each province but not for the Distrito Nacional. The provinces are divided into municipalities (municipios), which are the second–level political and administrative subdivisions of the country.



What makes this card so interesting is that it was actually mailed from Haiti! There's no actual stamp but you should be able to read the cancellation. It took this card almost three months to arrive, but to be honest, I'm surprised it arrived at all, considering all the problems and issues Haiti has been having (and still has). I do hope things will get better there soon.