Dominican Journal: Arrival

The timing on the flights to New York and Santo Domingo worked well. I was able to eat breakfast in New York and lunch in Santo Domingo after getting some sleep on each flight. These photos were taken on the second flight, one shot of the clouds, one of my seatmates, and one of the Samana peninsula on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, my destination.

The scene at the Santo Domingo airport taxi stand Saturday was chaotic, with a large number of uniformed employees competing for my attention. I walked to the desk and spoke to the man in the middle with my broken Spanish. He summoned another man who led me to the curb where a man wearing no uniform drove up in an unmarked car and to take me to my bus stop. Somewhat concerned given the circumstances, the ten-minute trip concluded with no problem and I paid the $13 agreed to at the taxi stand. A bus company employee helped me with my luggage, showed me the waiting room, and gave me a $9 ticket for the two-hour trip across the mountain to Las Terrenas.

At 4pm I got off at the first stop as directed by my hosts, where I encountered several men trying to persuade me to hire them for a ride. Fortunately the confusion prompted by my poor Spanish was relieved when Nico walked up and took me to his old Nissan pickup to take me to my apartment at El Flamboyan, the complex of five apartments owned and managed by Nico and his wife, Wilma, Dutch expats. To see its location on Google Maps, search for “El Flamboyan Apartments, Mariano Vanderhorst, Las Terrenas, Samana, Dominican Republic.”

These photos capture their lush, beautiful garden. My one-bedroom, fully furnished apartment is proving to be more than adequate and Nico and Wilma are very gracious, friendly, and helpful. They served me a simple meal the first night. The next two mornings they took me shopping in “the village” and helped me get oriented.  “We want to make you independent,” Nico said. “That’s better for you and better for us.”

My main concern is transportation. We’re about 30 minutes by foot from the center of town and the only taxis are “moto conchos,” motor scooters and small motorcycles. Being as large as I am, I’m a little concerned about how comfortable I’ll be on the back of those small vehicles. And it would be difficult to carry many purchases. But I’ll probably do one large shopping trip each week with Nico and otherwise do a lot of walking (which would be good for me!).

Saturday night we picked up Olga, a Russian friend of theirs, and went to the Etno Mixto 2013, a fascinating fair celebrating the multiculturalism of the area. It was like a San Francisco street fair, but on the beach at night! About ten countries were represented by food booths featuring their cuisine. A few advocacy organizations, mostly environmental, had booths with literature. At about 11pm the main stage presented a wide variety of music and dance presentations, including a history of rock-and-roll.

A fun, relaxing time with lots of friendly vibes. Despite the fact that it is partly a marketing scheme for tourism, I appreciated the affirmation of multiculturalism. To see photos and one video of the fair, click here.

Sunday afternoon Nico and Wilma took me for a walk on the beach which is about 300 yards from their complex. Being a bit removed from town, this beach is not crowded. It was high tide during our walk so there weren’t many spots to lie on the sand at that time. A reef at the nearby Point Bonita produces a very calm surf. A good number of people were in the water all along the coast. I haven’t gone in yet, but I’m sure it is as warm and shallow as I remember the beach near the village from my visit in 1987. I took these photos during our walk.

Close to our end point, we stopped at a restaurant for a drink. It turns out that the German owner lived for two years in Tepoztlan, where I owned property and visited during the winter until recently. He’s fluent in English and friendly, so I look forward to visiting with him again. When Nico asked him to compare Mexican and Dominican people, he said Mexicans are more stressed out and Dominicans here are happier and more carefree, with a great sense of humor. So far, I agree.

Nico said that the Samana peninsula is known in Santo Domingo as “the last pirate’s nest” because the police here are so lax to enforce laws like the seat belt requirement and drinking while driving. I suspect they are loose about other laws too. Because the English had more African slaves on the north coast, the population here is much darker than elsewhere in the Dominican. With San Francisco losing its African-American population, I find it refreshing to be amid so many dark-skinned people, for the stereotype is true. Black people do have more soul.

Along the Playa Bonita coast, there are many private homes, hotels, and apartments for short-term and long-term rental. I captured two in these photos. Nico guessed they cost $200 per day, considerably more than the $25 per day I pay. We’re three hundred yards from the beach, but I can live with that!

Now that I’ve bought some white tank tops to better handle the heat (highs range from 86 in February, 91 in August, 89 in October, and 88 in November; lows from 65 in February to 74 in August), learned to guard against sand fleas and mosquitos near sunset, located a massage therapist ($30 per hour, appointment tomorrow), and got my home organized, I hope to start working on my autobiography tomorrow.