Bermuda's national soccer team to Haiti for the World Cup qualifying match.

Here he recounts his first trip to the politically troubled country.

We flew into the Port-au-Prince International Airport not knowing what to expect after all the media coverage being given to a country in political turmoil.

It might have been different had we not been part of the Bermuda soccer team tour party. But the ease with which we got through immigration gave us a favourable first impression of the French speaking island of Haiti.

The 20-minute drive to the team hotel in the capital, driving along Martin Luther King Avenue, gave us our first look at how hard poverty has hit this, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Only the bare necessities existed as natives sat along the roadside selling their wares, from fruit to breads to arts and crafts.

In a country of some eight million inhabitants, Haiti relies on football as a distraction from its problems, politically and economically.

Visitors, if distracted by the obvious congestion and poverty, can easily arrive and leave without fully understanding the island's past or the tremendous pride the people take in their country.

Since their first democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted last September by the military, Haiti has been diplomatically isolated with the threat of sanctions only worsening poverty on the island.

Our hotel, the Holiday Inn Plaza, had not catered to a group as big as the 30-member Bermuda group since last October. And manager Mr. Gordon Kirk, who hails from British Columbia but has been living in Haiti on and off for 27 years, saw to it that we got first-class treatment.

One of the first things he advised us not to do was venture away from the hotel at night after 10 o'clock.

With cable television in each room and a pool in a garden setting there was plenty to keep the Bermuda players entertained.

And if that was not enough, former North Village teammates Messrs. Shawn Goater and Dwayne Adams were always good for a laugh or two as the other players rallied around them.

Relaxing for the first couple of days was the way some of the players choose to prepare for the match. But by Friday evening a noticeable difference was seen in the players' attitudes as they began to focus on the task ahead.

"I know some folks were concerned about how loose they were but they didn't need to get tight too soon,'' manager Mr. Gary Darrell said in a post-match interview.

"Had they gotten too tight too soon maybe half the team would have been burnt out from anxiety, thinking about football and trying to find out what would make them function properly. I had absolutely no problem with it.'' The only way to appreciate how fanatical Haitians are about football is to see it first-hand and that is what the players saw at their first training session when a couple of hundred spectators turned up at the national stadium to see the Bermuda team train.

They were sticking up two, three or four fingers at the Bermuda players are they got off the bus to make their way into the stadium. The gates were locked behind the Bermuda team, leaving the crowd locked outside.

On the morning of the match the tension was evident as the players ate breakfast.

"When they came in for breakfast there was very little chatter,'' Mr. Darrell said of the pre-game mood. "When the pre-game meal was finished they all left. They were in there about an hour and everybody was tuned in. I depend a lot on the players to take care of each other and accept responsibility.'' The military presence was seen for the first time at the game as soldiers in army gear and carrying rifles patrolled around the field.

With ZBM-TV commentator Mr. Rick Richardson and cameraman Mr. Russ Ford we travelled ahead to the stadium before the team and the crowds had already begun filing into the ground more than three hours before the match.

The noise before the match was deafening as loud music blared from speakers.

The atmosphere must have been scary to the players for even I was starting to feel tense and nervous, so important was this tie.

Other than getting the desired result the highlight of this trip for the players, I'm sure, was making a visit to a children's ward at the local hospital to donate blankets and taking a drive into the beautiful hillside where the more affluent resided, with their expensive homes overlooking Port-au-Prince.

Bargaining for arts and crafts was also an experience as street vendors bargained with potential buyers.

The Boulevard pair of Messrs. Roy Stevens and Neil Robinson led the way in the hunt for bargains, making their best offer and letting it linger until the bus started to take off. Then the locals, in desperation, accepted with reluctance their bid.

Generally, the people of Haiti are extremely friendly.

The worst experience was in trying to get out of the country after the Haitian Football Federation failed to pay the team's departure tax.

All in all it was a good first visit to Haiti -- and maybe not my last.

WORK OF ART -- Internationally acclaimed Haitian sculptor, Sanon, whose work is sold widely in Europe, works on another priceless piece outside his studio on the drive to Petionville.

FRUIT VENDOR -- This Haitian woman sells her fruit and vegetables in downtown Port-au-Prince.