Dominican Style

Santo Domingo: here we come!

We set off from Milan, and after an absurd route (London-Miami-Santo Domingo) we land in the Dominican capital. From Italy we booked the flight and, through friends, an apartment from the 18th to the 30th in Punta Cana. So as soon as we arrive at the airport, my friend Antonello and I book a hotel. They take us to Boca Chica, hotel Milanello, but the owner tells us he's willing to give us the room only if we stay at least a week; at this point we refuse and go nearby, to the hotel Sans Soucis. The room is decent, $25 a night, we settle in and take a walk around. The town is a tourist trap, easy women and shady guys hound us on every street corner. We pop down to the beach and this is where I see "Caribbean flour" for the first time. The sand is white, fine and cool as if it were flour; the beach is full of coconut palms and the scenery is truly Caribbean.

Anto and I are a bit tired and go back to the hotel. It's been an exhausting day and tomorrow we set off for Punta Cana.

Arrival in Punta Cana

We take the "guagua", the local minibus, and move on to Higuey, then La Romana and finally Punta Cana (Bavaro). The trip is characteristic, it's like the neighborhood minibus, bachata and merengue in the background and the passengers humming along. The driver picks up passengers on the fly, a little nod and he stops. We arrive at Bavaro and ask some guys with a motochocio (Dominican moto-taxi) for a ride, and they take us to Cortecito to Tonino's bazaar, the Italian who will rent us the house. The apartment is in a small building watched over by the guard "Bigote" and his colleague "Lento", who explain to us that only one apartment with a fan is left, because the ones with air conditioning were taken by the entertainers from the village next door, who, since it's packed, have moved the entertainers into our building. The situation seems unfavorable but it won't turn out that way.

The sea is 20 meters from the apartment, and next to it there's a mini-market followed by various restaurants and bazaars.

Discovering Popeye

A day enjoying the fantastic beach and the crystal-clear Caribbean sea. It's just like in the postcards, a true Paradise. We join the tourists from the "le Carabele" village and make use of all the resort's comforts, since the entertainers know us and treat us as if we were part of the village. From our apartment, passing through the village, you reach Popeye, a kiosk that will become our home. The kiosk doesn't look great but the background music and the locals will win our hearts. The bartender known as "Flaco" will be our shadow for almost the whole vacation, and then there's mamma Teresa, Jahaira, and Anna who will teach us to dance. In the evening we go to dinner at Capitan Cook, a restaurant with tables on the beach, where they weigh the fish still alive and cook it in front of us. Lobsters and prawns to our heart's content!

The tales of the Vicentini

The day passes in total relaxation between the beach and some Caribbean dancing at Popeye. In the evening dinner at another restaurant, the Cortecito. Everything is a bit quiet in the evening, and trying to depress us are the tales of two Italians who live in our building. They tell us that if you want to dance you have to go to the village discos, the girls are all prostitutes and nightlife doesn't exist.

dominican style

Antonello and I don't get discouraged. The days pass always in company at Popeye, Flaco suggests we go dancing with him in the evening and so we accept. In the evening we'll go by taxi to a kind of dance hall where only Dominicans go. What a blast, even though the place isn't the greatest you can admire the Dominican lifestyle which, with a fria (cold beer) and a bit of merengue, seems to have conquered the world.

Handsome Cocco!

At the village we take part in the coconut aperitif. In fact, every morning some guys climb like monkeys to the top of the palms and with a machete knock down the ripest coconuts so as to prevent them from falling on tourists' heads by themselves. Once the plants are cleaned, they prepare the cocktails by cutting the top off the coconut and mixing the coconut milk with rum! A delicacy.

The Camel

Flaco takes us to check out a new place, it's called Camello. Here too people drink and dance, but unlike Popeye there are also parrots and camels, on which we'll take a tour along the beach.

Hooray for Flaco

The days pass between sun, Popeye and Camello, where we'll make friends with the bartenders Jadisa and Alba. In the evening, Flaco will always take us to new places. So much for the monotony the Italian guys told us about.

Lobsters again

Jadisa and Alba have the afternoon off and we take the guagua to Bavaro, where the major villages and the largest shopping centers are clustered. In the evening Antonello and I will have dinner at Matrù, a small restaurant where they say they serve the best lobsters in the area and at a reasonable price. It will be exactly like that! Once dinner is over we join our friends at Camello.

Farewell evening with the Vicentini

The guys from Vicenza are leaving the next day, so we organise a farewell evening. Dinner at Cortecito Beach and then everyone off to dance at Mangù, the best disco in the area. Here we'll meet some girls from New York who will make us die laughing with their Sicilian-American accent.

La Romana

With Flaco we decide to go to La Romana. We take the guagua and in about 90 minutes we'll be at our destination. With the motochocio we'll go to the sea in a place completely unknown to tourists. An unspoilt beach frequented by a few Dominicans. In the afternoon we'll wander round the city market in search of some bachata and merengue CDs.

Female sex tourism

A routine day: sea, sun, bachata, and in the evening dancing at Mangù again. In these clubs you can see dozens of European and American women picking up black Dominican guys. I didn't think there were so many women practising sex tourism, some even going a bit too far on the dance floor in front of everyone.

Bachateros

We go to say goodbye to our American friends Arina, Antonietta, Shelly and Jastin, who are also leaving. Their village is a bit far away and the taxis don't joke around with their fares. By now Antonello and I have become good dancers, and in the evening at the camello you dance till it's a pleasure.

Goodbye Punta Cana

It's time to leave this enchanted place. Flaco, Bigote, Lento, Xavier, Alba, Jadisa, Tonino, Anna, Jahaira, the guys from Vicenza, the Americans and so many other people have filled our days with happiness, and this enchanted place with its slow rhythms marked by bachata will stay in our hearts forever. We say goodbye to everyone reluctantly and set off for the capital. Tonino gave us the address of a friend of his who has a hotel in the centre, and that's where we're going. The capital is very different from Punta Cana. First of all it's more modern, and the people are less friendly. By taxi we'll go to the Guacaira Taina, a disco in a cave, where they also put on local folk shows.

The colonial zone

We get up early and take a guide who will show us the colonial area. The historic centre is very beautiful, with monuments in honour of Columbus and Spanish residential houses; time passes quickly and it's time to head for the airport. Just time to check in and we realise there's a strange atmosphere, no more bachatas and no more merengue. Adios land of warmth and carefree living; in the end it doesn't take much: a fria and a merengue and life goes on.

Santo Domingo-Miami-London-Milan

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