Normally it drives me nuts to be confused for an American...but when it means a four day vacation just cause they can't figure out when Thanksgiving is then I don't get nearly as upset.
I decided to take the opportunity to relax in an area of the Dominican renowned for beauty in Las Terrenas. There is a great deal of really cool things to do here...I am going back. I focused mainly on sleeping, learning (but not mastering) Othello and reading a lot. The beauty was incredible but I was more in the mood to relax.
The vacation started out as if it were doomed. After "waking up" (the jury is still out on whether or not my eyes were open) at 7:00 to catch the bus we were informed that said bus wasn't running due to protest en route . Our holiday seemed in dire straits. Transportation on the island however is never a problem, as long as you are packing pesos. The seven of us piled into a cab and decided nothing would stand in our way. Somehow I scored the coveted shotgun seat where I immediately passed out. As the story goes I kept resting my arm on the emergency break, apparently this worried our driver greatly?!? After a "brief" nap (or long drive depending who you ask) we arrived in Las Terrenas and I was immediately attracted to the quaint little beach town, complete with its thatch shopping mall and sleepy restaurants. We acquired accommodations and the day of rest continued. After a great dinner at the much spoken of Vietnamese restaurant (perhaps the only one on the north shore of the island), we surprisingly enough relaxed, before sleeping.
The early night led to an early morning which started off with a good breakfast before heading to Punta Bonita. "What's Punta Bonita?" you ask, well it is 13KM of uninterrupted beach that boasts the kind of powdery white sand that you see nowhere but in tourist brochures. Unlike so many of the beaches here it is also almost completely undeveloped. On this day we had the entire stretch completely to ourselves and we swam and enjoyed the gorgeous day. We likely saw a grand total of about six others on the beach for the whole day. Truly a dream. We ate an incredible lunch and then the adventure began...
Our motoconcho driver had arranged with us to have a friend of his with a taxi to get us from the beach and take us over the mountain at three o'clock. Dominican time works very similarly to Thai time and three o'clock is a big window, but with the bus departing at 4:30 we had to make a decision. We began the trek towards a road, at this juncture Louis and Collette flagged down a truck who agreed to take us to the road as he was heading in that way anyway to get gas. When he dropped us off at the corners the motochonchos spidey sense started tingling, "here is a group of suckers that can make me a buck!" Unfortunately for them, we were able to offer a saviour with a pickup some cash to get us to the bus. In order to do this he was going to have to drive like mad up and then down the mountain. Something we thought we were prepared for. The drive was going well, and through the country villages and over the hills had spectacular views, that words can not justify. Things were looking up, and what a funny story we would have to share upon our return home....
...sputter....sputter....cough...."are you kidding me!" Nope. No gas.
Here we sit on a steep incline, with a faulty parking brake, under a major time crunch and not a drop of gas to be found. We used rocks to prevent the truck from rolling down the mountain and had no choice but to pray. At this point (and I swear to God I am not kidding) there appeared about six vultures that were circling over our heads. An omen, was this the end for our heroes?
Well one thing that I will say about the Dominican people is that they are genuinely concerned for each other and every single vehicle that went buy offered assistance to us. A guardian angel pulled up on a scooter and went to get a gallon of gasoline. So we weren't going to die here, but making the bus on time was looking ever more doubtful. In a flash the guardian angel returned with gas and combined with a stick and a pop bottle funnel we had fuel and were on our way. After the driver masterfully performed the jumpstart in reverse we were on our way. We thought he was going quick before this! We sped along the mountain road up and down the steep grades and darted around the hairpin turns with a brief honk to let anyone on the other side know that we were coming through.
Somehow, someway like so many things in my life everything worked out and we made the bus, indeed even had a moment to stop and collect our thoughts before boarding the very well air-conditioned giant that sped through the village streets blaring Spanish music.
Despite the beautiful and relaxing time that was Las Terrenas, I felt like a key role in a Kerouacian adventure remembering more from the road then from the destination. Thanks to my traveling companions (Louis, Angelle, Dominique, Josee, Collette and Vince) for being nice and for some hilarious memories.
cheers,
mark
(All pictures taken by Louis and Josee Ouellette)
