STAYING IN LUPERON

Well, we have decided to stay in the Luperon area for the time being  

 Luperon is actually one of the best hurricane holes. The hurricanes usually are passing east or west of the great mountains of Dominican Republic. Pico Duarte, the largest mountain in Dominican Republic  is around 10000 feet and the last hurricane ( 3 years ago)  which tried to pass across the mountain degraded itself to a 50 knot wind. Of course there is always the monster storm, but. we’re feeling comfortable about staying here. The bay is very deep with many additional nooks and crannies bordered with Mangroves. The decision was easy, the country is beautiful, the people are very poor but very friendly and there is an air of anti-Caribbean here, no big fancy yachts, no big resorts, no major tourist destinations; and it is cheap! Chicken are for sale at Ruth’s pollo, the veggies are local and delicious. I am trying to get local fresh milk, as the cows are everywhere, even in town. 

Since we arrived here we went to the waterfalls, which is about an hour drive from Luperon. The country is hilly, very green, despite the dryness ( it does not rain much in the summer here, winter is their rainy season) with many fields of sugar cane,  tons of cows and goats, bananas and papaya trees.

The waterfall was a lot of fun, a bit too organized for us, but how do you go down 27 falls without a guide, especially we had to jump up to 40 feet in beautiful clear pool. I made my first movie with my Hero camera which came out absolutely terrible!  So the falls will be in our memories, unless we go back with friends or family. It was a lot of fun en famille.

We have been diving locally, not really the best. As everywhere else in the world, the coast has been overfished and the visibility can be a problem. 

Luperon is a wonderful little village and we are starting to make friends. There is Nathalie on her French steel boat, there are the writers (a couple of writers working online editing jobs at anchor).  There are probably 20 boats with people spending the hurricane season and 20 more boats completely abandoned, their owners back to the grinding machine, i.e.  making money in the US, Europe or dead!. I have also helped Lydia, the lavenderia  (she does laundry in town) and her daughter with my back pain treatment.  Lydia usually does the laundry right in the street with huge plastics containers and waddles clothes all day. All the laundry is dried right on the street on immense clothes lines encroaching on the neighbors. Some days I can watch my underwear drying downtown while shopping. Luperon!

There are also Yoga classes on the incredibly beautiful defunct and closed yacht club. We go there early in the morning and Chante, a 68 years old singlehander is teaching, with the breeze blowing wonderfully throughout the abandoned ballroom.

There is something about the Dominican that is very charming. First it is their “joie de vivre”, the ability to be content with very little. They have not much but share it easily, and nobody is hungry. They eat a very traditional meal made of  beans and pollo and milk is locally produced. Right now it is the season of avocadoes and pineapple is all year around.

 Cars are a luxury item, so most families drive around in 50 cc motorcycles, little bikes that are designed to carry only two people at a time.  But not in Dominican Republic.  Sometimes even a couch is strewn across the back of the mopeds. They carry children, large propane tanks, washing machines; anything, and most of the time, nothing is attached, everything is held by one hand. The drivers drives only with one hand. Babies are held across the handlebars! and sometimes entire family pile up to four, flying down the road.  It is quite remarkable, their ability to survive perilous positions, and they do it all the time. I guess we have become so cautious, so within the rules, that we have forgotten that sometimes even if things seem hopelessly dangerous, everything is OK. It is all about perception. Of course driving at night is absolutely scary because of the cows (a lot of them are black) and drunk driviers.

We are having a very simple life at the moment,the food is beautiful, the fishermen are catching great snappers and the chickens are plentifull. Days are passing in a flash, and we can only appreciate how lucky we are to be here.

Virginie