Dominican Republic - Part 2

Our motorcycle adventure from Puerto Plata to Luperon cont.

As you will see in the video clip, the small motorcycle is a major mode of transportation in the towns of DR. However, there is a catch. Driving a motorcycle in the DR is not for the faint of heart. We were told by our rental agent that most tourists return the vehicle within fifteen minutes as the drivers are rather aggressive. Needless to say, Jeff was right at home!

Our 125cc motorcyle

Another still prevalent mode of transportation is the Donkey.

And on down the road to Luperon...

Is this a school or a cattle crossing?

This outdoor fish fry is right next door to the fateful "Mama Juana" stand.

Sadie and Family

While it is a major producer of baseball superstars, the Domincan Republic is certainly not a major tourist hotspot. That's probably what appealed to me most about it.. no pretense, no glamour, no glitz. The DR's beauty and appeal is natural and uncontrived. The people live humbly but with great pride and mucho gusto!

When Jeff fell victim to “Mama Juana” (see his blog), Peter biked to the pharmacy to get medicine. There he met Sadie, an “abrogado” (lawyer) who was helping his parents at the pharmacy that they own. Peter who speaks conversational Spanish quickly ingratiated himself with Sadie and his parents. Sadie offered to show us around once Jeff recuperated.  Jeff recuperated after a scary two day ordeal and Sadie made good on his offer. 

The first day, Sadie and friend took us via tram to the mountain peak in Puerto Plata, "Pico Isabel de Torres"

 

With Peter's heartfelt translation efforts, we all quickly hit it off with Sadie. We met his family, attended their "store front" iglesia (church) service down the block from their house, and had dinner at his house.

Here Sadie is driving Jeff, Peter and I back to the boat while his wife, two children and aunt-in-law are jammed into the front seat. From what we saw, jamming people into cars and onto motorcycles is standard operating procedure. Three to four people packed onto motorcycles and seven to ten people packed into cars is the norm.  

Sadie took us to local restaurants.

Almost every evening Sadie would bring varying permutations and combinations of family members to see our boat. They were so enthusiastic and excited to see "Grace", it was great fun to have them

Sadie's dad on one of two horses that he keeps across the street from his house.  

We had fun on the horses!

You can see Sadie's parent's home behind me. We learned how to play the DR version of the game "Dominoes" there and quickly became addicted. 

Our Dominican Republic experience was pure magic. Jeff getting really really ill, combined with Peter's love for other cultures along with a gift for communication mixed in with a Dominican Republic family that wanted to reach out and learn as much about us as we about them, made this an experience that we will not soon forget. 

A wondrous journey to all,

Pam