Hello Cica!!!

Another natural paradise surrounded by the Caribbean Sea is precisely this stunning island bordering Haiti.... It's impressively wild and unspoilt in some areas, absurdly exploited in others.... But what makes it wonderful are the salsa and the rum, which, believe me, flow like rivers... In fact, not only is it drunk by everyone, but it's also very cheap to buy... a bottle costs only one American dollar... and then, let me tell you as a teetotaller... it's really sweet, which unfortunately goes down very easily... Punta Cana is in fact a very touristy area... endless stretches of brightly white beaches blend wonderfully with the slender coconut palms.... and watch out for the coconuts, if one of those falls... well!!! You can really get hurt... The sea is spotless and very warm.... But the one that stayed in my heart was that of Saona Island... blue, crystal-clear, limpid...

so much so that you could spot the schools of barracuda circling around... and waiting for a good meal!!! What's more, the whole crossing was done by boat, through a magnificent nature park carpeted with mangroves, and right here the guide told of the presence of a large female bull shark that only left the bay at dawn to hunt.... Hmm!!! Legend??.. Who knows... Meanwhile I was so spooked that I didn't dare dive in straight away... Saona is a little islet that, believe me, is worth seeing and staying on for at least a day, to be able to sleep under the little dwarf palms and get to know the local inhabitants.... I even met a guy who had been to Italy and worked for a couple of discos in Romagna........ The situation smelled a bit off to me.. then I realised he was a dealer (a rather cosmopolitan one).. and I said.. good..

good..!!!! Yes, because get used to the idea that in Central America many people, inside and outside the hotel, will try to convince you to buy cocaine at rock-bottom prices... and I advise you to firmly refuse, because the penalties for drug use (especially for tourists) are very harsh.... My excursion to Santo Domingo, passing through Boca Chica, was a real torture.. absolutely beware of those who promise to take you to Santo Domingo at prices lower than those agreed by the hotel.... Why?? Guys, believe me, I'd have paid double the money not to spend that day.. that way.... Well then...... Imagine one of those little vans meant for 10 people.. Well!! There were 15 of us... Imagine such a small van with so many people racing at over 100 an hour (corners and all the bumpy stretches included)..

then imagine the little van with 15 people under the hot 3 pm sun in traffic with no air conditioning.... And then... finally... imagine the same van racing at 100 an hour with 15 people and the headlights off (because it's a RRRRRRAAAAATTTT) at night (no air conditioning) on the bends and bridges... do you realise??? At the risk of dying... So, dear fellow travellers.. it isn't worth doing excursions outside those offered by the hotel where you're staying... because inevitably it'll be a rip-off.. unfortunately that's the very bad memory I have of the capital.. The only positive aspect is having seen Christopher Columbus's house... but otherwise Santo Domingo is a very industrialised city... certainly not a mirror of Caribbean civilisation...

In short, the Dominican Republic (apart from Santo Domingo) with its wild beauty, the rhythm of Caribbean salsa, the rum that seems like nectar, is a place to visit, to live... to dream... Enjoy.... From Manuela