"I spent an interesting first day taking a bus to Milot, a small town at the foot of the mountain with an un usual round church at the far end; the only building by King Christophe still in use. Beyond the dome roofed church stood the remains of the once lavish palace, now just a shell of a building having been destroyed by an earthquake. I stopped for a while first to visit the church then to paint. After, I started the hard climb to the citadel. The track first passed some huts where locals tried to sell me a ride up on a horse that looked less capable of making it to the top than I did! After that the muddy track narrowed and began to climb steeply through the jungle, and it was nearly 2 hours before I came out into the open and the citadel appeared before me. On reaching the citadel I pushed open the big iron door and walked up through a tunnel that led into a large central courtyard. It seemed as if I was seeing it just as it had been left, with cannons and cannon balls rusting away, and grass and vines growing frrom its 20' thick walls as nature slowly took over. As I walked round I felt I could have been the first visitor in years. I spent about 3hrs exploring the many galleries and enjoying the breath taking views in all directions from its ramparts. Two local boys came in for a while then left, apart from them I had the place to myself." - MH