The other day the Chiris headed north to Las Galeras, our favourite spot in the country, and here is my report.
We took the San Francisco route rather than our usual route via Cotui because of concerns about the state of the road between Piedra Blanca and Maimon, and the Cotui-Pimentel stretch.
I can confirm the reports in the other threads that the road is cut from El Pozo, a few kms before Nagua, until Matancitas, just after Nagua. The detour is tough going, about 30-40 mins on dirt tracks through rice fields and small villages. It's to be avoided at night: recently the Caribe Tours bus got held up and its driver and passengers robbed on that stretch.
WARNING! The detour is signposted on the northbound route, but coming back from Samana there is nothing to indicate that the road is cut, so unsuspecting drivers will drive right up to the damaged bridge, turn back and drive several kms back to Nagua, through the town, and out again until Matancitas, where there is no sign to show where the detour starts. Mr Chiri, who is usually a calm and unruffled fellow, was seething with fury at the time lost and having to drive through the ricefields again.
We had a little scare on our arrival at Samana town on Thursday evening. Mr C had started to feel a little dizzy, so we interrupted our trip to Las Galeras and paused for a drink in Le France, our favourite restaurant. He didn't get any better, so we headed for the hospital, where he was received by the emergency staff, put on a drip (what else?) and allowed to rest for about an hour. As state hospitals go, it was not bad at all, and the treatment he got was swift, sympathetic and appropriate. The place was clean enough, and although the equipment was old, it was far better than I would have imagined. The problem was a combination of low blood pressure and dehydration, and to be on the safe side the poor chap needs to get himself checked up here in SD this week.
The weather wasn't great, thanks to EL NORTE, the north wind that affects the north coast in the winter months. Call me aplatanada, but it did not get warm enough for me to want to go anywhere near the beach, let alone the water. We did manage a couple of hours in the shelter of the Land Rover, sitting fully clothed while the children ran around on the sand. It was a little like a typically English day trip to Brighton. I should have knotted the corners of my bandanna and taken a photo of Mr Chiri in his deckchair.
It also rained a lot, mainly at night, which put a damper on the new year celebrations, but we managed to have fun seeing 2005 in anyway.
Las Galeras is looking good, despite the damage from tropical storm Jeanne back in September. There are a lot of new initiatives and many existing businesses seem to have been improved. Most obvious was Paradiso Bungalows which had fallen into disrepair: they've been renovated and the owners have set up a restaurant on the corner which I thought was good quality and value for money. The gorgeous Hotel Todo Blanco is on the market, but still operating. If I had a million dollars...
The most exciting development comes in the shape of a sustainable community tourism project called Guariquen. They've been in existence for a couple of years now - funded by the Italian government and the European Union, and implemented by a group of locally resident Italians - and some of their ideas have now become reality. They carry out training for local people in different aspects of tourist related activities, they've been improving the local infrastructure - water supply, and they've identified a couple of new tourist attractions which enhance the potential of the area. Tourists on their way to Playa Rincon can now visit an 'Iguanario' and 'Laguna Salada' - a small iguana park which will eventually become a small zoo for local species, and a salt lake which we could not reach because the track was too muddy. It looks like an excellent place to visit, but make sure you go when conditions are dry. The project has built a deck and a sheltered area, and it is said to be a peaceful and serene spot. Both sites are managed by local people: the Iguana park by a local community association and the lake by the people who own the land around it.
Guariquen also managed to get funding from the European Union (ECHO) in the aftermath of Jeanne, and rebuilt over a thousand houses that had been destroyed or damaged in Loma Atravezada, a remote rural area beyond Playa Rincon.
I was delighted to sort out a volunteer placement on the project for my Gap year student.
I could go on for much longer about Las Galeras, but I'll stop here.
Happy New Year everyone!
We took the San Francisco route rather than our usual route via Cotui because of concerns about the state of the road between Piedra Blanca and Maimon, and the Cotui-Pimentel stretch.
I can confirm the reports in the other threads that the road is cut from El Pozo, a few kms before Nagua, until Matancitas, just after Nagua. The detour is tough going, about 30-40 mins on dirt tracks through rice fields and small villages. It's to be avoided at night: recently the Caribe Tours bus got held up and its driver and passengers robbed on that stretch.
WARNING! The detour is signposted on the northbound route, but coming back from Samana there is nothing to indicate that the road is cut, so unsuspecting drivers will drive right up to the damaged bridge, turn back and drive several kms back to Nagua, through the town, and out again until Matancitas, where there is no sign to show where the detour starts. Mr Chiri, who is usually a calm and unruffled fellow, was seething with fury at the time lost and having to drive through the ricefields again.
We had a little scare on our arrival at Samana town on Thursday evening. Mr C had started to feel a little dizzy, so we interrupted our trip to Las Galeras and paused for a drink in Le France, our favourite restaurant. He didn't get any better, so we headed for the hospital, where he was received by the emergency staff, put on a drip (what else?) and allowed to rest for about an hour. As state hospitals go, it was not bad at all, and the treatment he got was swift, sympathetic and appropriate. The place was clean enough, and although the equipment was old, it was far better than I would have imagined. The problem was a combination of low blood pressure and dehydration, and to be on the safe side the poor chap needs to get himself checked up here in SD this week.
The weather wasn't great, thanks to EL NORTE, the north wind that affects the north coast in the winter months. Call me aplatanada, but it did not get warm enough for me to want to go anywhere near the beach, let alone the water. We did manage a couple of hours in the shelter of the Land Rover, sitting fully clothed while the children ran around on the sand. It was a little like a typically English day trip to Brighton. I should have knotted the corners of my bandanna and taken a photo of Mr Chiri in his deckchair.
It also rained a lot, mainly at night, which put a damper on the new year celebrations, but we managed to have fun seeing 2005 in anyway.
Las Galeras is looking good, despite the damage from tropical storm Jeanne back in September. There are a lot of new initiatives and many existing businesses seem to have been improved. Most obvious was Paradiso Bungalows which had fallen into disrepair: they've been renovated and the owners have set up a restaurant on the corner which I thought was good quality and value for money. The gorgeous Hotel Todo Blanco is on the market, but still operating. If I had a million dollars...
The most exciting development comes in the shape of a sustainable community tourism project called Guariquen. They've been in existence for a couple of years now - funded by the Italian government and the European Union, and implemented by a group of locally resident Italians - and some of their ideas have now become reality. They carry out training for local people in different aspects of tourist related activities, they've been improving the local infrastructure - water supply, and they've identified a couple of new tourist attractions which enhance the potential of the area. Tourists on their way to Playa Rincon can now visit an 'Iguanario' and 'Laguna Salada' - a small iguana park which will eventually become a small zoo for local species, and a salt lake which we could not reach because the track was too muddy. It looks like an excellent place to visit, but make sure you go when conditions are dry. The project has built a deck and a sheltered area, and it is said to be a peaceful and serene spot. Both sites are managed by local people: the Iguana park by a local community association and the lake by the people who own the land around it.
Guariquen also managed to get funding from the European Union (ECHO) in the aftermath of Jeanne, and rebuilt over a thousand houses that had been destroyed or damaged in Loma Atravezada, a remote rural area beyond Playa Rincon.
I was delighted to sort out a volunteer placement on the project for my Gap year student.
I could go on for much longer about Las Galeras, but I'll stop here.
Happy New Year everyone!
