It's a dirty, smelly town, the buildings are mostly low and made of cement, dripping with rain or condensation and stained with black fungus. The roofs are corrugated iron. The roads are narrow and filled with potholes. The temperature is unbearably hot and the humidity is stifling. The area receives four metres of rain during the unrelenting gray of the rainy season.
Garbage is strewn along the sides of the streets.
The drivers are outrageously incompetent and the evidence of profound poverty is everywhere. Beggars approach you in the street, often showing obvious signs of advanced disease. I heard about leprosy and river blindness at McGill, but the reality is over-whelming. The centre of the town is dominated by the presidential palace, which has been badly shelled by the army. The only relief from this universally depressing scene is the ocean, but all the beaches are fouled with filth and garbage.