The journey was over multiple craters in the streets and winding mountain roads where there were very few guardrails. At one point while sitting in the back seat of the van, I looked down and saw the tops of palm trees between the big hole in the road. I thought to myself, “I should really be afraid”, but the Xanax I took to get on the plane was still working and I promptly fell asleep!
Cabarete reminded me of a warm weather version of Hampton Beach or Salisbury. It was very dusty and tons of construction everywhere. Our hotel was small and pretty with a very attentive staff. There were very few guests as the week before Christmas is one of their slowest. There were two other families from Massachusetts staying there also, so we were able to communicate with them freely.
The main street was filled with shops and eateries. You couldn’t walk 10 feet before being accosted yet again by someone trying to sell you something. During this time I perfected my “NO, gracias”.
The beach was across the street and it was the warmest water I had ever been in. You just walk right in. There was no seaweed that I could see and rocks on the beach were scarce. It was a very pleasant experience.
Every day I ate the same breakfast, “A Dominican Breakfast” which included fried salami, (not too bad), eggs, mashed plantains (didn’t really like too much), delicious fresh juices, passion fruit being my favorite. It’s called "chinola" in the DR. The coffee was also good and strong. The restaurant staff was amazed at how much we drank. Our favorite restaurant was Jose O’Shea’s Irish Bar and we were able to catch the Pat’s game on Sunday. Here we are eating breakfast in the hotel:
On Monday, we had booked a tour of some of the more popular beaches and areas of interest to tourists such as a cocoa bean farm that also included samples of fresh lime, coconuts and star fruit. Coconuts have to be one of the most versatile fruits; you can use the outer netting as a strainer, the hard shell for jewelry, eat the pulp and drink the milk!!!
One of the spots we toured was the “Blue Lagoon” from the movie with Brooke Shields. It looked more like a tropical quarry to me. From a distance the water looked murky, but when you get up close, it’s actually quite clear. Part of the entertainment was watching a young native climb a tree that stretched out over the lagoon and proceed to dive in. I’m guessing this dive was about 25 feet? This boy also climbed the cliffs and took a running dive into the water. Enter Joan and Marc Perreault…. as I watched in horror, they climbed the cliffs to dive. I just couldn’t look-I’m thinking head injury, so I climbed up the cliff alone and waited by the touring van. I heard the screams and claps as the dives were completed. I did not speak to the kids for about an hour.
Here's Joan swinging into the water:
...and here's the cliff - yeah, that one way up there!:
Back at the hotel, one of Juana’s Peace Corps friends, Bianca, came to stay with us for a day. She was a lot of fun. She truly enjoyed having her first shower in quite some time as the village were she lives was out of water because of heavy damage by tropical storms.
By the end of the week, I felt comfortable walking around in the daytime and purchasing items in the small grocery store that we frequented. But I was truly looking forward to going to Joan´s site and seeing where "Juana" lives and meeting all of her friends and co-workers.
The ride was about 2 ½ hours and very peaceful. We passed many farms animals, especially goats, horses, burros, cows and pigs. Many were being escorted down the road by workers getting them to a new pasture.
Passing each town was so interesting. I was amazed how small children (toddlers) literally played on the edge of the road and nobody was alarmed. They are so used to living on road’s edge that they are good about watching out for passing cars. One thing I learned in the DR is that cars, not people, have the right of way. It’s just another way of living. Most homes are constructed along the roadway, as are the shops. Fried chicken is available every block it seems and you don’t even have to get out of the car! They bring it right to you.
My first impression seeing Joan´s site was a tired town with many run-down areas. It was hot and dusty without a lot of cars or motorbikes. Joan’s house was about how I pictured it-three rooms plus a bathroom, all made from cement (whatever the material is) and a tin roof-rusted! My biggest surprise was no running water!! She had a clean well right in front of the house, but you could not drink it. It was only for cleaning and bathing. When I was 10, I spent an entire summer in rural Ireland and at that time, there was no running water, we also used the well, although that water was drinkable.
In Joan’s barrio (town) there is a little colmado every 5th house or so. That is a little store where you can find basically anything you need for a day. No large quantities here. I loved them!!!
Most of the time we spent in her town was spent visiting Joan’s friends, neighbors and co-workers. They were all so kind and friendly to us. You could not pass a house without someone yelling, “Juana, Juana” and inviting us to come in. We actually had to travel down streets that avoided her friends sometimes as a 10-minute trip easily turned into a 2-hour visit!!! Now I understand the term “Dominican time” that Juana has used. Everything takes twice as long because people definitely are less in a hurry and you know so many more people because of the small community atmosphere that you have to update everyone on what you’re doing and where you’re going.
Niña is a great friend to Juana. She is a little older and has four children. Her husband works construction. Niña cooks for Juana and helps with local idiosyncrasies. She cleaned her house prior to us getting there so everything would look good. She prepared us a delicious breakfast and made homemade chicken soup from one of the chickens in her back yard! She couldn’t do enough for us and was so generous even though by our standards she has very little in the way of material goods. In return, Juana helps Nina with her English. It’s amazing what can be accomplished with less. I will let Larry describe Christmas in his blog. Here is Niña:
With Niña and her kids in front of Juana's house:
One thing that really impressed me about Dominicans is how clean they are and how well dressed. Women dress very stylishly and are constantly having their hair done. Men rarely have facial hair, are always neatly groomed and fashionable. Most American dress much more casually. Another Dominican thing is having guns in the open. We encountered armed gas station attendants, military road blocks with guns and a guy sitting in front of me at a dance with a large pistol sticking out of the back of his pants. It’s unnerving to see, but I guess you do get used to it. At the roadblock, they more or less are looking for kickbacks from natives rather than hassling tourists.
I didn’t realize how much work Juana has done and how hard her position really is, but, what a tremendous experience. The last day of my DR trip, I couldn’t wait to leave. I started to miss hearing English, reading the Globe, US coffee and my Alzheimer’s patients. This morning I was on the web searching for non-stops to the DR in the summer. My appreciation for the DR and what Juana does there took a while to set in. I thanked God for my daughter and family, my ability to have taken this trip and for the life I have here in the US. Take care all, Mary
