Bahia Las Ballenas Las Terrenas

... Brigada Verde meeting that was very inspirational. I hope to plan a couple of charlas in celebration of Earth Day, April 22, 2009. Finally, I'm waiting on approval for grant money for the stove projects, but when that happens, I'll be in a new direction there too. Okay, I promise to write more later, but I just wanted to give you all a taste of what's going on in Samana. Sincerely, Jennifer

... bought us special Dominican coconut bread on the way. Whale-watching was a 5 hour endeavor...quite fun but I think I'm covered on whale-watching for the next 20 years. The boat was soooo rocky and several people were getting sick. It wasnt helped by the fact that the crew started playing a recording of a male whale singing...because that in itself resembles the sound of vomiting. Thankfully, i am not ...

... this. I have learned and continued to be reminded that I am not Dominican, as much as I may look it! I am looking forward to a short vacation to Ohio during the month of November to refresh me, give me a new perspective and to reconnect with friends and family. It is also sure that I will be rooting the Buckeyes onto victory as we beat Michigan on November 22nd! Best wishes and Happy Holidays to you and your family! Love, Jennifer

I've decided to spend 3-4 days in Las Terrenas before returning to Santo Domingo. I've noticed it's a heavily developed area in Dominican Republic with many expats from France, Italy and Germany. In fact, when I held a conversation with a local Dominican women she assumed I was French! Major restaurants and buildings in the area seem to be owned by many French people so she just assumed. Although the beaches are beautiful here I find myself missing ...

... Dominican Republic for two centuries, finding more use in the port of Havanna, Cuba. These centuries did three things: first, made way for pirates to utilize the mangroves and islands nearby as hideouts, second, it created a mulatto society of Spanish settlers, Africans, and pirates, and third, divided the colony of Hispaniola between France and Spain, with the western half becoming Haiti. 1n 1795, Spain traded the Dominican Republic to ...

... glom on to americanos like me who don't refurbish the echoes of the punditry or regurgitate the artisan bilge that pass as public opinion and patriotic propriety in L'America, for they surely aren't bludgeoned daily with the spin generated by the image-makers and cheesemongers who assure us the US is a veritable colony of Heaven where french fries ought to be called freedom fries. But we dropped our general disconent with the global pug ...

... on to their underaged friends its seems. Security is one guy near the street with what appears to be a Machete. But that isn´t that strange, considering most hotels or businesses here in the DR have a guy with a shotgun standing out front of them at night. If the Carwash is rocking, don´t bother knocking. With the Latin music finishing and the Reggaeton kicking in, we head to the same Dance Bar as last night. The Merengue, Bachata and Salsa music finished soon here as ...

... final destination for the day - La Galleras. My stomache begins to turn as we start the ride. It settles for a while, but tends to return. It is a 45 minute drive to La Galleras, bach town on the DR's north coast. I have been lucky so far because in almost a year I have really not had signifcant tummy troubles on a travel day. Today, however is different. The drivers tell us they know where we can rent a great house. If its a big place, it is worth looking at ...

... an eternal 30 minute bus ride from our resort. Once again the windy roads got me nausceous before having stepped on the boat. Our busdriver stopped at an overlook and we thoroughly enjoyed the view over the jungles and the the ocean in the distance. Once we arrived in Sanchez we had to climb aboard a speedboat and took off towards Los Haitises - a quick 20 minute ride ...