Blogs from Dominican Republic, Central America Caribbean - page 34

... doch wenn man total einquetscht im Flieger sitzt, ist man froh sich bei einer Zwischenlandung einmal die Beine vertreten zu duerfen. In Santo Domingo, Dominikanische Republik, hatte ich ungefaehr eine Stunde Aufenthalt, bevor es dann nach San José, Costa Rica, weiterging. P.S.: Grosse Erwartungen an das Flugzeugessen habe ich ueberhaupt nicht, doch diesmal waren die Mahlzeiten wirklich richtig mies! Denkt also daran, wenn ihr mit Condor fliegt, solltet ihr euch schon von vorneherein selbst verpflegen! :-) ... read more

You know your priorities have changed when you look into a toilet bowl that hasn’t been flushed - because water has yet to return to fill the cistern - and think, “That’s a nice turd.” Though my digestive situation has improved a bit, I’m still a bit jealous of all ye of solid fecal matter. No worries though; I’m not sick, it’s just that the dirty chinos who make the best fried chicken on the planet - El Pica Pollo - never change their oil, which is always the color and viscosity of motor oil. And this is obviously why that chicken tastes so good, but it’s also why the American’s queasy bowels erupt in earthquakes; inevitable tsunamis follow for half a week. And it’s worth every sitting. Plus, since you already got the shits, you ... read more

It’s early in the AM as we head down to the Hotel Meliá to meet Kate Wallace for a birding trip to the Jardín Botanico. Kate, a former volunteer, runs Tody Tours (http://www.todytours.com), specializing in trips within the Dominican Republic. While she ordinarily charges $20 per person, she did this for free. All we had to do was chip in for the cost of transportation in a mini-van. Thanks a bunch, Kate!!! We had a three-hour hike in the park, observing quite a few new birds and some old friends (birds) that we commonly see in Florida. Among the birds seen were lots of Palmchats, Hispaniolan woodpeckers, Antillean Mango hummingbirds, Vervain hummingbirds, Snowy egrets, Common Moorhen, Purple Gallinules, Red-legged thrushes, Least grebes, Hispaniolan parakeet, Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo, Broad-billed tody (much like a hummingbird, and endemic to the ... read more

We discovered a nice pastry shop just a block west of the Hotel Duque, and that is where the Duffs, Braxtons and Millers headed early the next morning. The café con leche was superb. Then we loaded ourselves into a mini-van at the hotel and headed to the northwestern part of Santo Domingo (Altos de Galá area) to the Jardín Botanica Nacional. This garden (7.7 sq miles) has a 4-kilometer (2.4 miles) asphalt-paved walking trail. It is well maintained and patrolled by helpful park rangers who are there to assist visitors and to prevent plant theft. Throughout the park are extremely tall, thin (you can put your hands together around the trunk) guanito (Coccothrinax argentea) palms. Some 300 species of orchids are present. A small river runs through the park, along which much bird life and ... read more

It's really laughable after the fact, but Mary and I almost didn't make it to the Dominican Republic Peace Corps 45th Anniversary Reunion. I misread the airline schedule and we showed up at the Tampa Airport just as the plane was in final loading stages. HOWEVER, lo' and behold ... there was a later flight and a later connection. But, we arrived five hours later than planned (it was 12 hours total), completely exhausted. Fortunately I was able to send an email to the Hotel Duque de Wellington (approx $62/night compared to the official reunion Hotel Meliá at $120 or so) and Rigoberto, the hotel driver, picked us up. All we could do was to call Lowell Braxton in his room and say, "See you downstairs for breakfast." We found that our AC sounded like an ... read more