Well.....ok, so it looks like I haven't posted in about a full 2 months. Oops. But in my defense, for a full two weeks of that time period I was in the US for vacation, and you all know what that's like anyway. The rest of the preceding month basically just consisted of me getting excited for being in the US - i.e. hot showers, access to foods that are not rice and beans, etc.
In any case, the weekend I got back here (which was...ok close to a month ago) I had my biggest adventure yet (sure to be my biggest adventure here, period!)I went with Lindsey, Ani (two of my good friends here that are also DREAM volunteers) and Nico, another friend of ours who also works with DREAM at Summer Camp -more on camp later...perhaps I'll save that for another post - to Pico Duarte, which at 10,300 ft is the highest peak in the DR, AND the entire Caribbean. We'd been wanting to do the hike for a while, and finally had found 3 days we had free together. We'd heard the hike takes multiple days, but you could do it in three - including travel to and from La Cienaga, the town where the trail starts - if you hustled.
Our day started when we woke at 4:30am on Friday morning- the trip would require several different legs/bus rides, and we wanted to arrive in La Cienaga by early afternoon in order to start the hike. Here's the thing about the DR. It's impossible to accurately plan ANYTHING. Like, for example....a hiking trip that requires A LOT of planning. Caribe Tours, one of the country's big commercial bus lines (which, I must say, does unexpectedly have some of the nicest buses I've ever seen in my life) is what we would use to ride from nearby Sosua to Santiago, then from Santiago to La Vega, then from La Vega to Jarabacoa, where we would catch a guagua (public bus overflowing with people) to La Cienaga, where we would hopefully find a guide (Pico Duarte is in a National Park, and you can only enter the park to do the hike with an official, certified guide. This is strangely, as we would find, one of few things policed in this country) that would be willing to start the hike with us that afternoon. We were also hoping to find Peter, a Peace Corps volunteer fabled to live near the trail head, who we figured could help us set everything up with a guide, etc.
So when on the side of the road at 10 minutes of 5 in the morning, still not having caught a Carrito (public car) to take to the bus station, we realize we might not make it...which is precisely when a really nice young man in a really not nice/barely functioning rickety pick up truck stops and picks us up. He is going to work at a mechanic shop (ironically enough) in Sosua, and is happy to give us a ride. Ani, Lindsey and I piled into the front seat, where I spent the next 15 minutes just praying we would make it to Sosua in one piece, let alone Pico Duarte. We made it to the bus station with time to spare, and our driver even drove far past his mechanic shop to drop us off right at the station, and then of course refused that we pay him anything. This reminded me what I love about this country, and how kind people can be to total strangers. Things were off to a good start!
It was in Santiago where things started to go downhill...Nico, who was supposed to meet us at the bus station after picking up our tent from a friend nearby, was an hour and a half late, meaning that we would miss the next bus to La Vega and thus the bus from La Vega to Jarabacoa - we would now certainly not get to the trail head by early afternoon as planned...which was problematic because if we didn't start the hike Friday afternoon, we really wouldn't be able to make it to the summit and come back in time to be in Cabarete late Sunday night (we had to work Monday, boo). But we also really had no idea if there was a certain time trips stopped leaving from the office at the trail head, etc. (again, impossible to plan anything - no schedules, etc. - even the Caribe Tours bus schedule online was completely inaccurate). Basically it would be tragic if we spent 6 hours traveling to La Cienaga, only to find out that we couldn't possibly do the hike within our time frame, so we were trying to avoid this situation at all costs.
In any case, Nico comes and we get on the next bus to La Vega (scene of the craziest Carnival in the country, which you may remember from a previous post) where we decide that it will be better to take a carrito into town to catch a shuttle bus to Jarabacoa rather than wait an hour for the next Caribe Tours bus. This was a great idea, but once in the shuttle bus, Lindsey realized she didn't have her wallet, which contains all the money she's brought for the trip, her phone, etc. Trouble. We determine that it must be in the carrito, that someone has probably found and taken it, but that the carrito will eventually go back to the Caribe Tours bus station so we should return to the bus station to look for it, and just get on the Caribe Tours bus afterall.
We do this, find the carrito, but.....no wallet. This is tragic...but not something that we'll let get in the way of us summitting the highest peak in the Caribbean, obviously. We all convince Lindsey that she must come, cheer her up, and soon enough we're headed to Jarabacoa.
Once there, we find that we can't get a guagua to La Cienaga for another hour and a half...at this point we are pretty sure that we won't get there in time to start the hike today, and are resolved to the fact that we will have to just do a portion of the hike on Saturday. However, we run into a guy waiting for the guagua who tells us all about the hike, that his neighbor is a guide, that we can still start it today, etc. He is incredibly helpful and gets on the guagua with us, has it stop at a supermarket, where he helps us get the food we need for the trip. He tells us the name of his neighbor who is a guide in La Cienage, and we are off. Things seem promising at this point! The landscape as we drive to La Cienaga is gorgeous - rolling farmland, hills, valleys - everything a lush green. Very different from other parts of this country I have seen.
As we enter La Cienaga it has started to rain. Our guagua driver stops at the house of the guide that was recommended to us, but he cannot do the trip - we end up picking up another guide that the driver knows along the way, and he takes us all to the park office, from which all the trips leave.
We find things at the office miraculously organized and well run (I don't think I've ever used those words before in reference to anything in the DR!) and somehow, within about 45 minutes, we have a guide, sleeping bags, all the food we need, a mule, and are packing up to head out on the trail. It's about 4:30 or so at this point; we will hike for about an hour and a half to the first camp, spend the night there, and then hike for about 9 hours the next day to get to the second camp, or the top of Pico Duarte if it's clear enough/not raining.
The first part of the hike is absolutely gorgeous - it's like hiking through a jungle, and with amazing views of the mountains, valleys, and farms around us. We cross a few streams on rickety wooden footbridges which seem shaky but do the trick.
We get to the first camp -a small building/hut with a few different rooms, and a small, covered outdoor fire pit. Having a roof is great at this point, as it's now steadily raining and fairly chilly (probably in the 60s...but it gets even colder the next day! eek!).
The next morning we are up at 6, and hiking by 7 (after our amazing guide, Yendri, makes us delicious hot chocolate - at this point we officially love him). The weather looks good, but Yendri tells us it's been raining every afternoon (rainy season...maybe not the best time to plan this trip...). We hike for about 8 hours through mostly really difficult (ie VERY uphill) terrain, but on about hour 7 - at which point we seemed to be in a completely different climate, and nearly above the trees -now pines instead of palms - the massive thunderstorm came. Thunder, POURING rain, 40 degree weather...the whole nine yards. We raced through it as fast as we could to get to the camp where we would spend the night and then leave from for the peak in the morning (as at this point there was no way we would make it to the top in the rain/clouds/0 visibility, etc).
The trail was now completely flooded, with water rushing over it at every point; I was also now, despite my raincoat, pretty much completely soaked and worried that the entire contents of my backpack - including half our toilet paper store - were soaking wet as well. When I finally saw the camp we were headed to come into view I could almost feel the hot campfire on my freezing cold hands...
...which is exactly what I felt for about the next 5 hours, as all of us huddled around the fire for the rest of the afternoon. About half of the stuff in my bag was soaking wet, which seemed to be the case for everyone. Luckily though, the rain had spared the tp. Our sleeping bags seemed dry as we laid them out and set up our tent, until we tried to get in them later, and realized that they were cold and damp (at best, a couple very wet in places)...While I am notoriously prone to the use of hyperboles and superlatives, this was definitely one of the coldest and most uncomfortable nights of my life.
Unsure if I had actually slept or not, our guide woke us up at about 5:30 to head to the summit (about 1.5-2 hours hike from our camp). By the time we were ready to go and had some hot chocolate in our systems we came to the realization that we were already more than an hour behind schedule if we wanted to assure that we got back to Cabarete that night (Sunday). We would have to hike the 2 hours to the top, and then hike down the entire trail that took us, cumulatively, about 11 hours to hike on the way up....chances of us getting back to La Cienaga in time to catch a guagua to Jarabacoa, and start the journey back to Cabarete (which had taken us about 5-6 hours, including layover time, on the way there) were slim to none. But we had come so far! Everyone had mixed feelings, and we almost turned back...buuuuuuuut finally came to the rational decision that there was absolutely no way we could have hiked for 8 hours the day before, traveled so far to do this hike, and NOT even see the top of Pico Duarte.
So we were off. We would see how quickly we could get down, and try our best to do everything possible to get back to Cabarete that night...if not, we would deal with that when it happened.
It was a beautiful, crisp and clear morning. We would have great visibility from the top. After about an hour and a half of tough hiking......we finally saw the summit! A pile of large rocks with a wind-torn Dominican flag and a bust statue of Juan Pablo Duarte (instrumental in establishing Dominican independence) himself. It was an unbelievable view from the top - we were above the clouds, above all the other peaks around us that had seemed so enormous as we hiked through them. It's rumored that on the clearest of days you can see both oceans from the top, though we were unable to...next time! It was such a strange feeling to know that no one in an entire region of the world was at that moment higher than we were. This was definitely the highest I had ever hiked, and the view sparked in me a familiar re-alignment of perspective and priorities which I always tend to feel when looking at a view from a dramatically high point.
We were so glad we had decided to make it to the summit, and couldn't believe we had almost turned around.
But then....we turned around. We BOOKED it back down the trail. Our guide had said that if we got back down by 4pm, we should be able to call a guagua to take us to La Cienega and we could get back to Cabarete that night. This gave us about 7 hours to get down. Which we did! It was a miracle that it didn't rain on us - even as we descended from the summit we saw dark clouds fast approaching. It seemed the entire way down that we were racing against the rain - hearing thunder, feeling a few drops - it seemed constantly about to pour for the entire trip down, and I was dreading being wet and cold for our multi-leg/multi-hour trip home.
As we rolled up to the office at the base of the trail, it was 4pm, we were somehow completely dry, and there was somehow (well, thanks to Peter, our new Peace Corps friend) a guagua waiting there for us to take us back to Jarabacoa. Thrilled that it seemed as though we could get back to Cabarete and sleep in our own beds at last, we temporarily forgot about our insane hunger (we had run out of food after breakfast, and hadn't eaten all day...I was feeling borderline delusional at this point, and had been fantasizing about a snickers bar for the last 2 hours of the hike down).
Just as it had seemed to on the way there, everything somehow fell into place on our way back. We caught each bus in succession, and arrived...still hungry for a real meal but having downed some snacks...back in Cabarete by about 10:45pm. I think that Sunday was officially the longest day of my life! But more than worth it.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Semana Santa = loco, Carnival tambien. Pt. 2
This is a HUGE night for me. 2 posts!! So we go from Carnival to Semana Santa...Semana Santa was sweet for a few reasons 1) Bill was back in town, 2) I got 3 days off of work and 3) We went to Santo Domingo, and 4) I spent a freaky number of hours in a casino.
So I had been really excited to travel to Santo Domingo (about a 5 hour bus ride from Cabarete)to see a "real city" in the DR. Everyone had said that it would be super quiet and calm during Semana Santa (because everyone leaves the city and comes to Cabarete, which turns into a scary-massive party) so it seemed like a good time to go.
We arrived first in the Zona Colonial, the oldest part of the city, to check out our hotel - a quiet little 4 room bed and breakfast that I am now obsessed with, which overlooked a little park/plaza and had really fun modern furniture. The Zona Colonial is where many historic sites/museums are, lots of restaurants and shops (many of which were actually closed during Semana Santa which was sort of sad/sort of good for my bank account). The neighborhood was beautiful (lots of well preserved old historic stone/coral stone buildings and balconies spilling over with flowers), not as touristy as I thought it would be, and generally much more relaxing than I expected for the most popular neighborhood in the city. Many buildings and streets reminded me of Spain.
Highlights included a middle eastern falafel restaurant (you can't imagine what it's like to come across that after seeing plate after plate of white rice/beans/chicken - especially when you don't even eat chicken). Heaven! The restaurant was gorgeous - had a big, 2-level open courtyard seating area in a restored colonial building.
An unexpected find was Santo Domingo's Chinatown! Bill and I ended up there after sadly traveling to the outskirts of the city (also past the country's first Ikea! I somehow managed not to enter that place) to the botanical garden which gets rave reviews, only to find it closed for Semana Santa. Snooping around for some yummy (at best, edible at least!) Chinese food we took a chance on a restaurant that seemed crowded and like it had an extensive menu. It was so good! Honestly I think some of the best Chinese food I've had (I know I'm prone to superlatives but I swear it WAS seriously good). They even had tofu! In any case, if you catch the trend, basically we ate a lot of good and fun food in Santo Domingo.
I will say that the city was a little less developed than I thought though...I was expecting skyscrapers and real museums, none of which I found...the Museo de Hombre Dominicano was probably the biggest disappointment/terrifying thing to happen to the international museum community. Supposedly housing the most extensive collection of Taino (indigenous group that inhabited the Caribbean pre-Columbus) artifacts in the world, it essentially looked like the exhibitions were installed somewhere between 1950-1958, after which point the entire museum's staff quit, were not replaced, and someone just decided to keep the museum open because it was there. A bit scary, especially for the budding anthropologists among us...
The Museo de Arte Moderno did have some cool stuff, but i think I might have also been able to lift a painting off the wall and walk out the door with it...I guess I basically realized that the Dominican government/upper class is not yet prioritizing cultural landmarks.
What they did seem to prioritize, much to my delight, were tacky casinos on the waterfront! Since I wouldn't stop talking about card counting and the book Bringing Down The House, Bill finally agreed to hit the tables (he was dying to.) This was hilarious, especially because the first casino we went to had 2 ATMs, both of which were not working, and they refused to give us money using a credit card without a passport. Never thought I would see a casino where it was seriously difficult to access a bank account, but not entirely unsurprising for the DR - it's all part of the charm!
In any case, we hopped to another, got lots of free drinks and some free late night grilled cheese, I won a fair amount of pesos playing slots, and then slowly lost them all at the blackjack table, but not before we met some really hilarious characters. I have to say that a Dominican casino at 3:30am is probably one of my most favorite images I'll remember from my time here (ok maybe one rank below 'most favorite'). But really a treat!
In any case, I really don't have a gambling problem (Bill, quiet please), and the bottom line was that we had a great trip, and returned to Cabarete just in time to see the craziness of the last Saturday night of Semana Santa unfold...
More soon!
So I had been really excited to travel to Santo Domingo (about a 5 hour bus ride from Cabarete)to see a "real city" in the DR. Everyone had said that it would be super quiet and calm during Semana Santa (because everyone leaves the city and comes to Cabarete, which turns into a scary-massive party) so it seemed like a good time to go.
We arrived first in the Zona Colonial, the oldest part of the city, to check out our hotel - a quiet little 4 room bed and breakfast that I am now obsessed with, which overlooked a little park/plaza and had really fun modern furniture. The Zona Colonial is where many historic sites/museums are, lots of restaurants and shops (many of which were actually closed during Semana Santa which was sort of sad/sort of good for my bank account). The neighborhood was beautiful (lots of well preserved old historic stone/coral stone buildings and balconies spilling over with flowers), not as touristy as I thought it would be, and generally much more relaxing than I expected for the most popular neighborhood in the city. Many buildings and streets reminded me of Spain.
Highlights included a middle eastern falafel restaurant (you can't imagine what it's like to come across that after seeing plate after plate of white rice/beans/chicken - especially when you don't even eat chicken). Heaven! The restaurant was gorgeous - had a big, 2-level open courtyard seating area in a restored colonial building.
An unexpected find was Santo Domingo's Chinatown! Bill and I ended up there after sadly traveling to the outskirts of the city (also past the country's first Ikea! I somehow managed not to enter that place) to the botanical garden which gets rave reviews, only to find it closed for Semana Santa. Snooping around for some yummy (at best, edible at least!) Chinese food we took a chance on a restaurant that seemed crowded and like it had an extensive menu. It was so good! Honestly I think some of the best Chinese food I've had (I know I'm prone to superlatives but I swear it WAS seriously good). They even had tofu! In any case, if you catch the trend, basically we ate a lot of good and fun food in Santo Domingo.
I will say that the city was a little less developed than I thought though...I was expecting skyscrapers and real museums, none of which I found...the Museo de Hombre Dominicano was probably the biggest disappointment/terrifying thing to happen to the international museum community. Supposedly housing the most extensive collection of Taino (indigenous group that inhabited the Caribbean pre-Columbus) artifacts in the world, it essentially looked like the exhibitions were installed somewhere between 1950-1958, after which point the entire museum's staff quit, were not replaced, and someone just decided to keep the museum open because it was there. A bit scary, especially for the budding anthropologists among us...
The Museo de Arte Moderno did have some cool stuff, but i think I might have also been able to lift a painting off the wall and walk out the door with it...I guess I basically realized that the Dominican government/upper class is not yet prioritizing cultural landmarks.
What they did seem to prioritize, much to my delight, were tacky casinos on the waterfront! Since I wouldn't stop talking about card counting and the book Bringing Down The House, Bill finally agreed to hit the tables (he was dying to.) This was hilarious, especially because the first casino we went to had 2 ATMs, both of which were not working, and they refused to give us money using a credit card without a passport. Never thought I would see a casino where it was seriously difficult to access a bank account, but not entirely unsurprising for the DR - it's all part of the charm!
In any case, we hopped to another, got lots of free drinks and some free late night grilled cheese, I won a fair amount of pesos playing slots, and then slowly lost them all at the blackjack table, but not before we met some really hilarious characters. I have to say that a Dominican casino at 3:30am is probably one of my most favorite images I'll remember from my time here (ok maybe one rank below 'most favorite'). But really a treat!
In any case, I really don't have a gambling problem (Bill, quiet please), and the bottom line was that we had a great trip, and returned to Cabarete just in time to see the craziness of the last Saturday night of Semana Santa unfold...
More soon!
Semana Santa = loco, Carnival tambien. Pt. 1
Hi all! ahhh. So it does appear to have been over a month since my last post! Let's just say I'm really adapting to the Dominican cultural trademark of being just a bit late all the time...
So I'm just coming off a little Semana Santa (which basically amounts to a country wide spring break, aka a MASSIVE party in Cabarete...we're talking reminiscent of MTV Spring Break Cancun. Not that I would know what that looks like, honestly, but I'd imagine it was something like Cabarete beach looked 2 weekends ago...) extravaganza. While we're on the topic of parties Dominican style, I actually want to include a note about Carnival, which came and went a couple months back without a blog post.
I don't really remember when I went to Carnival, but it was sometime in February. It's a festival that happens countrywide (though in some towns more than others) during every weekend of the month. The town of La Vega is the Carnival mecca of the DR, so naturally I had to check it out.
After a sleepy bus ride I arrived in La Vega in the early afternoon, along with some companeros from Cabarete. My first experience in La Vega marked the single most ridiculous car/ car-ride I have ever seen or experienced (and that's saying a lot coming from someone living in the DR). The car I got into at the bus station - a public car that would take us to the center of the Carnival action in town - had no back bumper (I forget what else it was missing, but it definitely should have been taken off the road about a decade ago), was probably about 40 years old, and appeared actually somewhat dangerous (again, saying a lot coming from someone who routinely experiences Dominican public cars/buses) due to the fact that the front dash was nothing more than a mass of unprotected wires, spilling out into the passenger seat area. It was way too funny, and frustrating that I couldn't appropriately document it with a photo from the backseat (which I was probably sharing with 5 or so people at the time) because I thought it would be a bit too obvious and perhaps offensive to the driver to suggest that I thought his car was a hilarious spectacle.
In any case, while I thought we would be driving Flinstone style any second, the car somehow got us to the center of town and we headed towards the loud music. So in short...Carnival was a huge party with a lot of beer and Brugal rum being sold under tents along the roads of La Vega. In the Carnival tradition, there is somewhat of a constant parade of costumed groups walking through the streets. These are mostly men. These men are also carrying rubber balls on the end of ropes. With these rubber balls they are also violently smacking the asses of bystanders (or, more specifically, anyone in the road...if you are on the sidewalk - where god knows I stayed - you're not really fair game). If you do get hit, some dude winds up and nails you with this rubber thing as hard as he can, and you end up with a welt/bruise on your butt/thigh that makes it look like you are in some sort of seriously abusive relationship. I'm still a little fuzzy on the details of where this tradition comes from or why anyone thinks it's fun/acceptable, but I think it might just have to do with the volume of rum consumption during Carnival.
In any case, that was the scene - tons of people in a big parade, and some in weird costumes or trying to sell weird things. For example, someone tried to sell me the opportunity for them to wrap their--oh, I'd say 15 foot --giant, live bright yellow snake around my neck for a photo for 100 pesos (aka $3). Not sure if everyone here is familiar with how I feel about snakes, let alone potentially deadly ones, but the guy was waaay off in suggesting that I would pay for that photo. Instead I took one with a man who looked like he had jumped in a bucket of tar...but probably black paint...and attached a really long tail to himself, along with some other freaky werewolf-like features. I definitely paid him, especially after he ran at me waving his tail in my face and yelling "money! money! money! money!". Never a dull moment here!
So I'm just coming off a little Semana Santa (which basically amounts to a country wide spring break, aka a MASSIVE party in Cabarete...we're talking reminiscent of MTV Spring Break Cancun. Not that I would know what that looks like, honestly, but I'd imagine it was something like Cabarete beach looked 2 weekends ago...) extravaganza. While we're on the topic of parties Dominican style, I actually want to include a note about Carnival, which came and went a couple months back without a blog post.
I don't really remember when I went to Carnival, but it was sometime in February. It's a festival that happens countrywide (though in some towns more than others) during every weekend of the month. The town of La Vega is the Carnival mecca of the DR, so naturally I had to check it out.
After a sleepy bus ride I arrived in La Vega in the early afternoon, along with some companeros from Cabarete. My first experience in La Vega marked the single most ridiculous car/ car-ride I have ever seen or experienced (and that's saying a lot coming from someone living in the DR). The car I got into at the bus station - a public car that would take us to the center of the Carnival action in town - had no back bumper (I forget what else it was missing, but it definitely should have been taken off the road about a decade ago), was probably about 40 years old, and appeared actually somewhat dangerous (again, saying a lot coming from someone who routinely experiences Dominican public cars/buses) due to the fact that the front dash was nothing more than a mass of unprotected wires, spilling out into the passenger seat area. It was way too funny, and frustrating that I couldn't appropriately document it with a photo from the backseat (which I was probably sharing with 5 or so people at the time) because I thought it would be a bit too obvious and perhaps offensive to the driver to suggest that I thought his car was a hilarious spectacle.
In any case, while I thought we would be driving Flinstone style any second, the car somehow got us to the center of town and we headed towards the loud music. So in short...Carnival was a huge party with a lot of beer and Brugal rum being sold under tents along the roads of La Vega. In the Carnival tradition, there is somewhat of a constant parade of costumed groups walking through the streets. These are mostly men. These men are also carrying rubber balls on the end of ropes. With these rubber balls they are also violently smacking the asses of bystanders (or, more specifically, anyone in the road...if you are on the sidewalk - where god knows I stayed - you're not really fair game). If you do get hit, some dude winds up and nails you with this rubber thing as hard as he can, and you end up with a welt/bruise on your butt/thigh that makes it look like you are in some sort of seriously abusive relationship. I'm still a little fuzzy on the details of where this tradition comes from or why anyone thinks it's fun/acceptable, but I think it might just have to do with the volume of rum consumption during Carnival.
In any case, that was the scene - tons of people in a big parade, and some in weird costumes or trying to sell weird things. For example, someone tried to sell me the opportunity for them to wrap their--oh, I'd say 15 foot --giant, live bright yellow snake around my neck for a photo for 100 pesos (aka $3). Not sure if everyone here is familiar with how I feel about snakes, let alone potentially deadly ones, but the guy was waaay off in suggesting that I would pay for that photo. Instead I took one with a man who looked like he had jumped in a bucket of tar...but probably black paint...and attached a really long tail to himself, along with some other freaky werewolf-like features. I definitely paid him, especially after he ran at me waving his tail in my face and yelling "money! money! money! money!". Never a dull moment here!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Adventures in Samana!
Hi all,
So sorry for the posting delay. I guess in the future I will just eliminate this initial apology and we can all start living the truth, which is that I post once every few weeks, apparently. My excuse this time is that I have been busy having fun with gringo visitors! The first of which was my (really awesome) boyfriend, Bill.
After 2 flight cancellations and 5 days passed, he finally made it to Cabarete! And thus began our adventure...we had been planning to travel to the Samana peninsula, about 3.5-4 hours east of Cabarete, to what is famed to be pretty much the most beautiful part of the D.R., and which is famous for the humpback whales that hang out there during the month of February. After we successfully rented a car capable of making the drive (there are potholes like you've never seen before in this country) we set off on a rainy Thursday. While stopping at beaches along the way as planned wasn't so fun in the wind and rain, the drive was still breathtakingly beautiful. Much of it is right along the coast, next to nearly unpopulated beaches and through lots of rolling farmland and fields full of palm trees. It's also really fun to make this drive because you pass through so many small typical Dominican towns on the way. And you can buy really good freshly harvested roasted almonds along the side of the road, which are addicting.
After passing through the town of Samana, chowing on some empanadas and avoiding aggressive whale-watch promoters in the process, we hit up a fruit stand along the side of the road where we purchased what was probably the best pineapple I've ever tasted, grabbed some Presidentes grandes, and arrived at our hotel Ballenas Escondidas "Hidden Whales". After reading several enticing Trip Advisor reviews, along with the words "beautiful private beach" and "infinity pool", we had chosen Ballenas...while the private beach was indeed gorgeous - probably the most gorgeous I've ever experienced - (we spent the evening there, swimming and watching whales breach from the shore) our accommodations were a bit whack. i.e. we had about 2 out of 4 legitimate walls, no separate bathroom, and were being grossly overcharged. After some unpleasant words were exchanged with the French (had to mention it) owner of the hotel - we will not repeat what we called her - we left the next morning in search of a new place to stay.
We decided to press on to Las Galeras, which is the town furthest out on the tip of the peninsula. A small fishing town, it's super quiet, laid back, and beautiful. I'm so glad we ended up coming here! We easily found a great little hotel (with an incredibly nice owner...Italian), and almost just as easily walked onto the grounds of the all inclusive resort down the beach where we proceeded to play croquet and ping-pong to our hearts' delight.
The next day we went on a horseback riding trip, which was UNREAL. Not only because I could bask in my love of horses big time, and see Bill riding one ("I think I want to become a cowboy..." came about 5 minutes into the ride), but because we went to the most incredible beach. After riding for about half an hour, we arrived at Playa Madama, only accessible from the riding/hiking path we took, or by boat. It was incredibly beautiful, and the weather had finally cleared. After a swim we got a little tutorial on coconuts (the milk is NOT inside them, you have to make that...and you pretty much need a machete to harvest one yourself), and headed up a path to see the amazing view from the cliff overlooking the beach/inlet. Then we headed toward a cave, outside of which our guide dug for Taino pottery shards, which she claims to have found there before...she showed us some she had previously found, which did seem legit, and were apparently a minimum of 500 years old. The cave was really big, and we saw a bat! And also one of the scariest looking arachnids I've ever laid eyes on, which I'm still trying to wipe from my memory.
As we headed back to Cabarete, we were both so glad that our first hotel hadn't worked out (understatement) and that we ended up exploring Las Galeras; it was soo beautiful and the town was a nice quiet change from Cabarete's noise and road pollution. There were amazing views that we could now take in with clear skies and sun on the drive home, and we made it back to Cabarete just in time to to meet my aunt and uncle for a tasty dinner (not to mention the bikini contest on the beach, which both Bill and my uncle Hugh seemed to enjoy a bit too much). I'll just end the post here so we can avoid the next day's fiasco with our budget car rental place.
More soon!!
Un abrazo grande,
Laura
So sorry for the posting delay. I guess in the future I will just eliminate this initial apology and we can all start living the truth, which is that I post once every few weeks, apparently. My excuse this time is that I have been busy having fun with gringo visitors! The first of which was my (really awesome) boyfriend, Bill.
After 2 flight cancellations and 5 days passed, he finally made it to Cabarete! And thus began our adventure...we had been planning to travel to the Samana peninsula, about 3.5-4 hours east of Cabarete, to what is famed to be pretty much the most beautiful part of the D.R., and which is famous for the humpback whales that hang out there during the month of February. After we successfully rented a car capable of making the drive (there are potholes like you've never seen before in this country) we set off on a rainy Thursday. While stopping at beaches along the way as planned wasn't so fun in the wind and rain, the drive was still breathtakingly beautiful. Much of it is right along the coast, next to nearly unpopulated beaches and through lots of rolling farmland and fields full of palm trees. It's also really fun to make this drive because you pass through so many small typical Dominican towns on the way. And you can buy really good freshly harvested roasted almonds along the side of the road, which are addicting.
After passing through the town of Samana, chowing on some empanadas and avoiding aggressive whale-watch promoters in the process, we hit up a fruit stand along the side of the road where we purchased what was probably the best pineapple I've ever tasted, grabbed some Presidentes grandes, and arrived at our hotel Ballenas Escondidas "Hidden Whales". After reading several enticing Trip Advisor reviews, along with the words "beautiful private beach" and "infinity pool", we had chosen Ballenas...while the private beach was indeed gorgeous - probably the most gorgeous I've ever experienced - (we spent the evening there, swimming and watching whales breach from the shore) our accommodations were a bit whack. i.e. we had about 2 out of 4 legitimate walls, no separate bathroom, and were being grossly overcharged. After some unpleasant words were exchanged with the French (had to mention it) owner of the hotel - we will not repeat what we called her - we left the next morning in search of a new place to stay.
We decided to press on to Las Galeras, which is the town furthest out on the tip of the peninsula. A small fishing town, it's super quiet, laid back, and beautiful. I'm so glad we ended up coming here! We easily found a great little hotel (with an incredibly nice owner...Italian), and almost just as easily walked onto the grounds of the all inclusive resort down the beach where we proceeded to play croquet and ping-pong to our hearts' delight.
The next day we went on a horseback riding trip, which was UNREAL. Not only because I could bask in my love of horses big time, and see Bill riding one ("I think I want to become a cowboy..." came about 5 minutes into the ride), but because we went to the most incredible beach. After riding for about half an hour, we arrived at Playa Madama, only accessible from the riding/hiking path we took, or by boat. It was incredibly beautiful, and the weather had finally cleared. After a swim we got a little tutorial on coconuts (the milk is NOT inside them, you have to make that...and you pretty much need a machete to harvest one yourself), and headed up a path to see the amazing view from the cliff overlooking the beach/inlet. Then we headed toward a cave, outside of which our guide dug for Taino pottery shards, which she claims to have found there before...she showed us some she had previously found, which did seem legit, and were apparently a minimum of 500 years old. The cave was really big, and we saw a bat! And also one of the scariest looking arachnids I've ever laid eyes on, which I'm still trying to wipe from my memory.
As we headed back to Cabarete, we were both so glad that our first hotel hadn't worked out (understatement) and that we ended up exploring Las Galeras; it was soo beautiful and the town was a nice quiet change from Cabarete's noise and road pollution. There were amazing views that we could now take in with clear skies and sun on the drive home, and we made it back to Cabarete just in time to to meet my aunt and uncle for a tasty dinner (not to mention the bikini contest on the beach, which both Bill and my uncle Hugh seemed to enjoy a bit too much). I'll just end the post here so we can avoid the next day's fiasco with our budget car rental place.
More soon!!
Un abrazo grande,
Laura
Friday, February 12, 2010
Motos in the hills
The past week here has been really great. Some really cool experiences last weekend, and am predictably a little late in reporting on it but 'better late....'etc.
After a beautiful morning run last Saturday (weekend mornings are essentially the only time when it's possible to run on the main road - aka the only road, aka the paved road - without feeling like you instantaneously contract some type of lung cancer). The air pollution is pretty much off the charts here, as all motos (small motorcycles - the primary form of transportation here) seem to have major exhaust problems that go unfixed, so it's really a treat to run on the road with minimal traffic. Since there are no sidewalks here it's also a treat to run on the shoulder of the paved road and not worry as much about getting flattened by some unruly (aka any and every) vehicle.
In any case, post-run I traveled with Lindsey, another DREAM volunteer, on the guagua (public transportation...usually a van which may or may not have a functioning door and may or may not have additional passengers hanging out the door. But it lets you out wherever you want so is thus FAR better than any bus system in the US) to the neighboring town, Sosua. We were headed to the town of Nazaret to volunteer at an elementary school's library. Nazaret is way up in the hills just inland from Sosua. Lindsey had been volunteering there every Saturday morning for the past few weeks, managing a Saturday reading program for kids in grades 2-4.
Once in Sosua the fun started...we hopped on motos (helmets on of course!) and headed up a steep and winding dirt road up to Nazaret. Now I had thus far been pretty terrified of motos and will frequently spend the entire duration of my ride considering what the physical consequences to my body would be if I flew off the moto at any given point. Usually my mind calculates somewhere between broken limbs and eminent death...however my helmet IS really legitimate (don't worry Mom) so maybe I'm exaggerating. All fears aside, this trip was amazing. We went really slow, and kept winding up and up this dirt road through what were now pretty rural villages in hills and valleys. Lots of farmland, cows, and amazing views. It was so quiet - a really nice change from the traffic and hustle of Cabarete.
We arrived at the school after about a 15 minute climb to the top of the hill on which the school sits. The school is technically private and was founded by missionaries, but is entirely run by Dominicans, and has an entirely Dominican teaching staff as well. It was truly a beautiful setting, and the school and classrooms were bright and cheery (in stark contrast to the Dominican public school classrooms I have seen at the school in my neighborhood, which are largely dark, dim, sparsely decorated, and fairly depressing).
Shortly after we arrived, there were kids lined up outside waiting to get into the library...kids lined up to read! How cool! They were all various degrees of Completely Adorable, and were very well behaved as well. We worked with 3 different sections in three different class blocks, helping them read when necessary and also helping them create cute name tags.
It was really great to have the opportunity to see yet another school/school model here, and also the community - I certainly never would have ended up at the top of that dirt road in the hills otherwise, and it was wonderful to experience a completely different setting/community than Cabarete. I hope to go back soon!
The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing...got some great surfing in, and got a little too much sun (turns to tan, turns to tan)....pretty much par for the course here in Cabarete.
Also had a great week with the kids at DREAM. After devising a behavior incentive system involving earning coconuts on coconut trees, they were more or less angelic. A little less so when a younger student in the morning session on Thursday picked up a giant dead spider he found somewhere in the center and ran around shoving it in the faces of all of us teachers. Sent my arachnophobia level (already fairly high) pretty much through the roof....needless to say there was a major coconut reduction for his class.
After entertaining the idea of heading to Santo Domingo this weekend to see Aventura (the biggest band in the country it seems) live, tickets proved hard to come by at this late stage in the game and I will be hanging in Cabarete after all. So far surfing, as well as traveling east to the town of Nagua to watch the Cabarete futbol team play a game on Sunday are on the agenda...
More soon!
Hasta pronto...
Laura
After a beautiful morning run last Saturday (weekend mornings are essentially the only time when it's possible to run on the main road - aka the only road, aka the paved road - without feeling like you instantaneously contract some type of lung cancer). The air pollution is pretty much off the charts here, as all motos (small motorcycles - the primary form of transportation here) seem to have major exhaust problems that go unfixed, so it's really a treat to run on the road with minimal traffic. Since there are no sidewalks here it's also a treat to run on the shoulder of the paved road and not worry as much about getting flattened by some unruly (aka any and every) vehicle.
In any case, post-run I traveled with Lindsey, another DREAM volunteer, on the guagua (public transportation...usually a van which may or may not have a functioning door and may or may not have additional passengers hanging out the door. But it lets you out wherever you want so is thus FAR better than any bus system in the US) to the neighboring town, Sosua. We were headed to the town of Nazaret to volunteer at an elementary school's library. Nazaret is way up in the hills just inland from Sosua. Lindsey had been volunteering there every Saturday morning for the past few weeks, managing a Saturday reading program for kids in grades 2-4.
Once in Sosua the fun started...we hopped on motos (helmets on of course!) and headed up a steep and winding dirt road up to Nazaret. Now I had thus far been pretty terrified of motos and will frequently spend the entire duration of my ride considering what the physical consequences to my body would be if I flew off the moto at any given point. Usually my mind calculates somewhere between broken limbs and eminent death...however my helmet IS really legitimate (don't worry Mom) so maybe I'm exaggerating. All fears aside, this trip was amazing. We went really slow, and kept winding up and up this dirt road through what were now pretty rural villages in hills and valleys. Lots of farmland, cows, and amazing views. It was so quiet - a really nice change from the traffic and hustle of Cabarete.
We arrived at the school after about a 15 minute climb to the top of the hill on which the school sits. The school is technically private and was founded by missionaries, but is entirely run by Dominicans, and has an entirely Dominican teaching staff as well. It was truly a beautiful setting, and the school and classrooms were bright and cheery (in stark contrast to the Dominican public school classrooms I have seen at the school in my neighborhood, which are largely dark, dim, sparsely decorated, and fairly depressing).
Shortly after we arrived, there were kids lined up outside waiting to get into the library...kids lined up to read! How cool! They were all various degrees of Completely Adorable, and were very well behaved as well. We worked with 3 different sections in three different class blocks, helping them read when necessary and also helping them create cute name tags.
It was really great to have the opportunity to see yet another school/school model here, and also the community - I certainly never would have ended up at the top of that dirt road in the hills otherwise, and it was wonderful to experience a completely different setting/community than Cabarete. I hope to go back soon!
The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing...got some great surfing in, and got a little too much sun (turns to tan, turns to tan)....pretty much par for the course here in Cabarete.
Also had a great week with the kids at DREAM. After devising a behavior incentive system involving earning coconuts on coconut trees, they were more or less angelic. A little less so when a younger student in the morning session on Thursday picked up a giant dead spider he found somewhere in the center and ran around shoving it in the faces of all of us teachers. Sent my arachnophobia level (already fairly high) pretty much through the roof....needless to say there was a major coconut reduction for his class.
After entertaining the idea of heading to Santo Domingo this weekend to see Aventura (the biggest band in the country it seems) live, tickets proved hard to come by at this late stage in the game and I will be hanging in Cabarete after all. So far surfing, as well as traveling east to the town of Nagua to watch the Cabarete futbol team play a game on Sunday are on the agenda...
More soon!
Hasta pronto...
Laura
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
La fin de semana...
My apologies for the delay with this one! I will of course blame it on my internet connection (which has actually been perfect this past week...teehee) I just HAD to report back on my insanely fun weekend with the Siegle clan here - this would be the weekend before last..oh man I'm way behind with my blogging! In any case, this involved my dad, Aunt Jerri - who is living in nearby Sosua -, Aunt Janet and Uncle Paul...that's all the Siegle siblings, plus everyone's favorite daughter/niece reunited for some glorious antics in the DR.
After hearing much hype, we decided to travel to the 27 Waterfalls on Saturday, near the town of Imbert, which is somewhere near Puerta Plata, though we seemed to get off course a few times...though did see some of downtown Puerta Plata, which is definitely a legit city. Complete with a two-lane highway, which I certainly hadn't laid eyes on since leaving the states. Not that a two-lane highway prompts drivers here to be any less reckless or observant of basic traffic laws, but....annnnnnnnnyway...
After a delish Dominican lunch at a little comedor in downtown Imbert (small, typical Dominican town) we finally made it to the 27 Waterfalls...this means we followed a dirt road off the side of the highway down to a visitor center where we were told virtually nothing about what we were about to do, beyond seeing some waterfalls, perhaps doing some hiking, and perhaps swimming in some natural spring pools - nothing in regards to what the physical requirements might be, what to expect, etc...The brochure was shockingly vague, and pretty much all the information we got was that there were three options - to see waterfalls 1-7, 1-12, or 1-27...except since it was early afternoon we didn't have time to do all 27 so it was either option a or b...My dad and I, being the loco ones, enthusiastically opted for 12, the others set to do 1-7.
We were fitted with helmets and life jackets, and set off on a flat path through some farmland, and across a few shallow streams; at this point the helmets and life jackets of course seeming far too conservative.
About 10 minutes into our walk, we arrived at the first waterfall, which ended in a beautiful pool - our guide told us to go ahead and jump in, and then we were to swim through the pool and beyond that through a cavern-like channel into which the waterfall fed...at this point we realized that we would not be hiking alongside the waterfalls, but would be essentially rock climbing UP the waterfalls (with what was probably hundreds of gallons of water shooting at our bodies) with the help of our guides who would help to hoist us up the rock faces (no ropes, no security aside from the arm strength of our guides). This was pretty much completely unsafe for anyone with shoulder issues, or really any medical issues at all, and thus a few members of our group opted to stay safe near the first waterfalls and meet my dad and I on our way back from being crazy people.
On to waterfall 12 we went...this included hoisting ourselves up a fairly large rock face with the help of a rope and our own arm strength alone...again, no security measure if we were to fall! We kept swimming through natural pools and caverns, walking on paths, through streams, and climbing up the falls until we reached number 12 - then the real fun began. On the way down we would be sliding down the natural waterslides formed by the waterfalls, and occasionally jumping off fairly high ledges (i.e. certainly the highest thing I have ever jumped off...probably 25-30 feet? It felt like about 100, but I'm just trying to be realistic).
In any case, our guide basically just led us to the edge of a ledge as if it was nothing and instructed us to just jump off of it by pretty much walking off the side of it into the natural pool of water 30 feet below. Having no time to be scared, there I went....actually super fun, aside from the insane amount of water up my nose (this was following the previous day's kayaking trip with DREAM volunteers, during which I decided to attempt a back flip off of a trapeze rope swing into a river...needless to say, I landed on my face and got ALOT of water in my sinuses).
In any case, we made it out alive and it was probably the most fun/crazy experience of my life thus far. Also falls under the category (along with the drain-clearing chemical I purchased last week at the local supermarket, which actually produces smoke upon contact with water) of things that are totally ok in the DR and would never be legal in the U.S. Gotta love 'em!
The weekend's next big event was the following day, Sunday, when we all went to Playa Grande, which is about an hour from Cabarete. I think this was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen! I hate to say it, but this is saying a lot after living in Hawaii for 8 months...
In any case, after chomping on the most delicious almonds ever (harvested off the road and then roasted and sold at road-side stands) we headed back from Playa Grande to go to Blue Moon for dinner. This is a well known but completely obscurely-located Indian restaurant in nearby Los Brazos. After heading a few miles away from the coast and up towards the hills/mountains, we arrived at the restaurant's roller coaster-like dirt road. I wasn't sure my aunt's sweet sweet car was going to make it but with my dad flooring it somehow we made it. Just in time to see one of the most beautiful sunsets of my life. The restaurant is situated on top of a hill in a quiet rural area surrounded by hills and valleys, farms, etc. and the sun sets just behind it over the mountains.
The dining experience was definitely the most unique of my life - the restaurant only does one dinner each night, and only when they have at least 8 people. This is because everyone sits in a circular hut on cushions, and eats a meal together - off of banana leaves and with their bare hands. I obviously had a field day with this and had food all over myself and my hands...but it was so delicious that I didn't care. They made their own chutneys, raita, etc....the whole meal was a delicious Indian-with-Caribbean-flare affair, and the setting was so peaceful, quiet, and gorgeous. I can't wait to go back!
It seemed a perfect and relaxing end to a crazy few days. Thanks to the Siegle siblings for the good times!
More to come soon...
-L
After hearing much hype, we decided to travel to the 27 Waterfalls on Saturday, near the town of Imbert, which is somewhere near Puerta Plata, though we seemed to get off course a few times...though did see some of downtown Puerta Plata, which is definitely a legit city. Complete with a two-lane highway, which I certainly hadn't laid eyes on since leaving the states. Not that a two-lane highway prompts drivers here to be any less reckless or observant of basic traffic laws, but....annnnnnnnnyway...
After a delish Dominican lunch at a little comedor in downtown Imbert (small, typical Dominican town) we finally made it to the 27 Waterfalls...this means we followed a dirt road off the side of the highway down to a visitor center where we were told virtually nothing about what we were about to do, beyond seeing some waterfalls, perhaps doing some hiking, and perhaps swimming in some natural spring pools - nothing in regards to what the physical requirements might be, what to expect, etc...The brochure was shockingly vague, and pretty much all the information we got was that there were three options - to see waterfalls 1-7, 1-12, or 1-27...except since it was early afternoon we didn't have time to do all 27 so it was either option a or b...My dad and I, being the loco ones, enthusiastically opted for 12, the others set to do 1-7.
We were fitted with helmets and life jackets, and set off on a flat path through some farmland, and across a few shallow streams; at this point the helmets and life jackets of course seeming far too conservative.
About 10 minutes into our walk, we arrived at the first waterfall, which ended in a beautiful pool - our guide told us to go ahead and jump in, and then we were to swim through the pool and beyond that through a cavern-like channel into which the waterfall fed...at this point we realized that we would not be hiking alongside the waterfalls, but would be essentially rock climbing UP the waterfalls (with what was probably hundreds of gallons of water shooting at our bodies) with the help of our guides who would help to hoist us up the rock faces (no ropes, no security aside from the arm strength of our guides). This was pretty much completely unsafe for anyone with shoulder issues, or really any medical issues at all, and thus a few members of our group opted to stay safe near the first waterfalls and meet my dad and I on our way back from being crazy people.
On to waterfall 12 we went...this included hoisting ourselves up a fairly large rock face with the help of a rope and our own arm strength alone...again, no security measure if we were to fall! We kept swimming through natural pools and caverns, walking on paths, through streams, and climbing up the falls until we reached number 12 - then the real fun began. On the way down we would be sliding down the natural waterslides formed by the waterfalls, and occasionally jumping off fairly high ledges (i.e. certainly the highest thing I have ever jumped off...probably 25-30 feet? It felt like about 100, but I'm just trying to be realistic).
In any case, our guide basically just led us to the edge of a ledge as if it was nothing and instructed us to just jump off of it by pretty much walking off the side of it into the natural pool of water 30 feet below. Having no time to be scared, there I went....actually super fun, aside from the insane amount of water up my nose (this was following the previous day's kayaking trip with DREAM volunteers, during which I decided to attempt a back flip off of a trapeze rope swing into a river...needless to say, I landed on my face and got ALOT of water in my sinuses).
In any case, we made it out alive and it was probably the most fun/crazy experience of my life thus far. Also falls under the category (along with the drain-clearing chemical I purchased last week at the local supermarket, which actually produces smoke upon contact with water) of things that are totally ok in the DR and would never be legal in the U.S. Gotta love 'em!
The weekend's next big event was the following day, Sunday, when we all went to Playa Grande, which is about an hour from Cabarete. I think this was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen! I hate to say it, but this is saying a lot after living in Hawaii for 8 months...
In any case, after chomping on the most delicious almonds ever (harvested off the road and then roasted and sold at road-side stands) we headed back from Playa Grande to go to Blue Moon for dinner. This is a well known but completely obscurely-located Indian restaurant in nearby Los Brazos. After heading a few miles away from the coast and up towards the hills/mountains, we arrived at the restaurant's roller coaster-like dirt road. I wasn't sure my aunt's sweet sweet car was going to make it but with my dad flooring it somehow we made it. Just in time to see one of the most beautiful sunsets of my life. The restaurant is situated on top of a hill in a quiet rural area surrounded by hills and valleys, farms, etc. and the sun sets just behind it over the mountains.
The dining experience was definitely the most unique of my life - the restaurant only does one dinner each night, and only when they have at least 8 people. This is because everyone sits in a circular hut on cushions, and eats a meal together - off of banana leaves and with their bare hands. I obviously had a field day with this and had food all over myself and my hands...but it was so delicious that I didn't care. They made their own chutneys, raita, etc....the whole meal was a delicious Indian-with-Caribbean-flare affair, and the setting was so peaceful, quiet, and gorgeous. I can't wait to go back!
It seemed a perfect and relaxing end to a crazy few days. Thanks to the Siegle siblings for the good times!
More to come soon...
-L
Monday, January 25, 2010
The rain stops! Kids come to school! The family comes!
My apologies for the delay in getting this post out! I am getting accustomed to sometimes having internet, and sometimes not (as in the last 4 days or so), sometimes having electricity, and sometimes not, sometimes having a luke warm shower, and sometimes a cold one, etc....so I will definitely be blaming my inconsistent internet connection for sometimes not keeping up my blog, whether it's true or I'm just being lazy. You'll never know!
In any case, the last two weeks have been super busy, work- and fun- filled. I guess I'll start with a bit about our fundraiser's for Haiti because I think I left you all on the edges of your seat (it's ok to admit) as I described our plans in my last post...
So last Thursday at the DREAM center where I teach we held a pulga (flea market) where we sold donated clothes (both new and used...we got a ton of brand new stuff donated from a local surf shop so sooommmeeeone did a bit of discount shopping and didn't feel the least bit bad about it - all for Haiti!!) as well as some household items, etc...lots of people from the neighborhood came, and it was great...we made between $400-$500 to send directly to the Red Cross, which was pretty amazing seeing as we were selling all items for the equivalent of a few dollars.
So then that night was the big art show. Everything seemed to come together at the last minute, which was amazing - Cabarete is such a small community - it's amazing what you can pull together in a matter of days with the right connections - meaning DREAM's in general, not mine. We received food donations from some of the best local restaurants (including the best carrot cake that's ever touched my tongue), live music, jewelry from local shops, well renowned local painters with their work...it was so great! Local businesses also helped us to promote, which was helpful as well; the crowd was a great mix of tourists and local people too, and we made close to $1,000 which was really unbelievable. We had student drawings for sale, student-painted vases, our signature 'Hispanola Unida' handmade/student decorated shoulder bags, amazing handmade postcards that another volunteer made, some seriously great necklaces made by other teachers and friends, some coconut shell candle lamps, handmade candles...the list goes on.
It was pretty touching and emotional to see the whole thing unfold, having had less than a week to plan it, create the student-made pieces, get other artists on board, etc...Everyone who came was so generous and willing to donate, was enthusiastic about the work, wanted to learn more about DREAM, and wanted to do anything they could to support Haiti.
While the entire earthquake aftermath situation is completely devastating for our neighbors in Haiti, as with many similar situations, it also brings the best out of many people, and unity tends to surface in a big way. It's moving to observe this in a way that I think is probably extroardinarily powerful due to our proximity to the disaster here in the D.R.
Now for some not so good news... I was in the midst of taking some adorable photos of my students making pieces of art for the art show, so that I could share them with you all, when I turned my back for a second in the midst of helping an adorable child add his hand print to one of our 'Hispaniola Unida' shoulder bags (the hand prints were added in the center of a circular stencil we created with the words 'Hispaniola Unida')....when I turned around I watched in slow motion as another student knocked my brand new digital camera off the table and onto the concrete floor. Needless to say.....the photos seem to be inaccessible and I am now camera-less. Nontheless, I'm also keeping it in perspective and reminding myself that I am still alive and that my entire house hasn't collapsed...though I am also hoping that Canon will pull through with a great warranty policy that includes protection against enthusiastic and well-meaning but rambunctious 8-year old artists. Will report back...
In other news, it finally stopped raining! This was great because 1) the schools opened again, and kids started going to both their public school session and DREAM's - why they don't tend to go when it rains/looks like it will rain is beyond me, and 2) now I'm not so pale and I don't have mud from my street splattered on everything I own. Yay! Rainy season appears to be a thing of the past.
Post-art show, I also had a wild weekend with the Siegle family siblings (meaning my father and his sisters...) I think that requires a separate post, so I'll get going on that...
until soon, un beso!
Laura
In any case, the last two weeks have been super busy, work- and fun- filled. I guess I'll start with a bit about our fundraiser's for Haiti because I think I left you all on the edges of your seat (it's ok to admit) as I described our plans in my last post...
So last Thursday at the DREAM center where I teach we held a pulga (flea market) where we sold donated clothes (both new and used...we got a ton of brand new stuff donated from a local surf shop so sooommmeeeone did a bit of discount shopping and didn't feel the least bit bad about it - all for Haiti!!) as well as some household items, etc...lots of people from the neighborhood came, and it was great...we made between $400-$500 to send directly to the Red Cross, which was pretty amazing seeing as we were selling all items for the equivalent of a few dollars.
So then that night was the big art show. Everything seemed to come together at the last minute, which was amazing - Cabarete is such a small community - it's amazing what you can pull together in a matter of days with the right connections - meaning DREAM's in general, not mine. We received food donations from some of the best local restaurants (including the best carrot cake that's ever touched my tongue), live music, jewelry from local shops, well renowned local painters with their work...it was so great! Local businesses also helped us to promote, which was helpful as well; the crowd was a great mix of tourists and local people too, and we made close to $1,000 which was really unbelievable. We had student drawings for sale, student-painted vases, our signature 'Hispanola Unida' handmade/student decorated shoulder bags, amazing handmade postcards that another volunteer made, some seriously great necklaces made by other teachers and friends, some coconut shell candle lamps, handmade candles...the list goes on.
It was pretty touching and emotional to see the whole thing unfold, having had less than a week to plan it, create the student-made pieces, get other artists on board, etc...Everyone who came was so generous and willing to donate, was enthusiastic about the work, wanted to learn more about DREAM, and wanted to do anything they could to support Haiti.
While the entire earthquake aftermath situation is completely devastating for our neighbors in Haiti, as with many similar situations, it also brings the best out of many people, and unity tends to surface in a big way. It's moving to observe this in a way that I think is probably extroardinarily powerful due to our proximity to the disaster here in the D.R.
Now for some not so good news... I was in the midst of taking some adorable photos of my students making pieces of art for the art show, so that I could share them with you all, when I turned my back for a second in the midst of helping an adorable child add his hand print to one of our 'Hispaniola Unida' shoulder bags (the hand prints were added in the center of a circular stencil we created with the words 'Hispaniola Unida')....when I turned around I watched in slow motion as another student knocked my brand new digital camera off the table and onto the concrete floor. Needless to say.....the photos seem to be inaccessible and I am now camera-less. Nontheless, I'm also keeping it in perspective and reminding myself that I am still alive and that my entire house hasn't collapsed...though I am also hoping that Canon will pull through with a great warranty policy that includes protection against enthusiastic and well-meaning but rambunctious 8-year old artists. Will report back...
In other news, it finally stopped raining! This was great because 1) the schools opened again, and kids started going to both their public school session and DREAM's - why they don't tend to go when it rains/looks like it will rain is beyond me, and 2) now I'm not so pale and I don't have mud from my street splattered on everything I own. Yay! Rainy season appears to be a thing of the past.
Post-art show, I also had a wild weekend with the Siegle family siblings (meaning my father and his sisters...) I think that requires a separate post, so I'll get going on that...
until soon, un beso!
Laura
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