Blogs from Cabarete, Dominican Republic, Central America Caribbean - page 2

Who would have thought that a near-abandoned castle in the middle of a swamp would be the best night sleep I’ve gotten, 11 days into this trip? I slept like a baby, with my own bed and even a pillow to comfort me! It’s a bright blue sky morning here in Cabarete and for the first time in 11 days, the only sound I woke up to this morning was the birds chirping outside our private castle balcony. We arrived to Cabarete yesterday, and after a quick lunch most of the students ran directly into the Caribbean sea, washing off a weeks worth of grime. We really are staying in a castle. It is a hostel about a 15 min. walk from the main drag that is built to look like a castle. It’s the slow ... read more

Science, spearheaded by Darwin, traces the origin of man to a group of hunter-gatherers in the hot and humid cradle of the African savannah. This is probably why we like beaches – because they remind us of our common homeland. After a few days in such weather we can report how the human body conforms perfectly to this theory. Originally, we had different activities planed until we actually arrived to the first beach. The hot and humid air, so much nicer to the skin then the cool dry air-conditioned air in the office, immediately took over our bodies and soles. No longer did we want to DO anything except lay idle on the beach. All our daily activity was degraded into hunting-gathering enough food for our existence - an activity easily achieved in our "savanna" filled ... read more

St. Patrick’s Day Party & Parade on Cabarete Beach The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the Western Hemisphere was in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. The second, and now by far the largest, started in New York City in 1762. The one here in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, is eight years old. It may not be the biggest or the oldest, but it is on the beach and that makes it the best. It is organized by Jose O’Shay’s Irish Pub, the starting point of the parade. The St. Paddy’s Day celebration officially starts at 11:00 AM, but some of the Irish-for-a-day show up early to lie on the lounges on the beach and eat breakfast brought to them by O’Shay’s waitresses. Breakfast brought to you on a lounge, in the sun, next to the surf --- ... read more

The Pulga’s Tomatoes Last weekend I made my usual trek by guagua to the Saturday Pulga, 200 meters or so east of the Texaco east of town. I bought what was perhaps the largest beefsteak tomato I have ever seen from Deb Suwala, Cabarete's own “first water” organic farmer. It was a one pound plus monster of some heirloom variety with a deep magenta color and a dark purple capping. I also bought a Black Russian type and a yellow. Picked ripe. Everyone of them. None of this half-green foolishness. I put them in the refrigerator as soon as I got home. A few hours later I got hungry and sliced into the Black Russian and ate. I said to myself, “This is the best tomato I ever had.” And that is saying something, because I ... read more

It is 6:30 AM. The aroma of vanilla and cinnamon from baking pastry wafts through the early morning, off-shore breeze as it reaches toward the shore of the bay. The aromas linger with the salt mist that rises from the breaking waves on the golden sand shore. Flapping banners of surfing schools and clubs mix with the rustle of palm fronds. Pre-dawn coolness quickly dissipates before the rising sun. Two men set up lounge chairs and shade umbrellas as a runner passes, waves and calls out, “Hola!” At the east end of the bay, fishermen slide their dinghies into the water and head out to the reef. These are the only motorized craft allowed in the waters in the fifteen miles that stretch along this part of the Dominican Republic’s north shore. They will have returned ... read more