Casa Marina Bay- All Inclusive Las Galeras

... lots of energy, to say the least. I would like to propose a couple of projects to get it going in a more productive direction though sometimes! 3) My Brigada Verde (environment youth group) has become more motivated since returned from the regional conference last weekend. The Yaritza, Massiel and Ileidy, the three girls who attended the conference, gave a charla (presentation) during our ...

This weekend I travelled with six other girls to the Samaná peninsula. We arrived Friday afternoon and it poured down rain for the rest of the night. We also had an hour-long debate about which hotel to stay at because our original plans turned out to be much more expensive. But we ended up at a fairly nice place right on the beach. To my surprise there are a lot of businesses run by foreigners in ...

... attribute their interest to the growing tourism industry in Samaná and to the unique history of the peninsula of Samaná. Samaná was settled by freed African American slaves in the 1840s along with others including folks from England, France and Haiti. Before the time of Trujillo, English was the language of the people in Samaná; therefore, many of the other folks speak English and sing English church songs as their native tongue ...

... Domingo. The overdevelopment and tourist aspect of some of these beach towns really make it hard to meet and hang out with the local people. Also, it's off season so the towns are much more quiet than normal. Overall it's nice to have peaceful calm surroundings. I met an architect, Jessica, originally from Santo Domingo working in Las Terrenas on a few new homes and office buildings. She didn't seem to like Las Terrenas and spent much of time working ...

... Spanish native peoples, and more. The history of the area is absolutely fascinating. Here's some of what I know: The early history is that native peoples have lived here for centuries before the invasion of the white folks. There are caves with drawings and sculpture as evidence in the National Park, Los Haitises. In January 1493, Christopher Columbus arrived at Playa Las Flechas, (just down the road from me!). The Spaniards loosely ruled ...

... musclé! Pour la soirée, programme culturel: cérémonie de départ. Discours du président de la communauté, du gérant des cabanes, chants, danses. Nous aussi, on doit présenter qch: la chanson des champs elysés et une petite danse bretonne feront très bien l'affaire ;) La soirée continue avec des danses, tous les hommes se sentent obligés de nous inviter à danser mais on sent que personne s'amuse, et surtout pas nous! On pretexte de la fatigue et on regagne nos cabanes.

... of the current distempers infecting this nation are now negotiating a free trade deal with the USA and have promised that if the gringos and their economic elixers are allowed to flow freely across the Dominican Republic, the American Dream will migrate south and provide all the material talisman so cherished by people here. If only it were that simple, and if only people weren't so easily duped by the promise of their very own bling. In truth, I have to say ...

... on display - ¨No Armas, No Drogas, No Menores¨. Loosely that translates to No Guns, Drugs or Minors. It is a little on the quiet side and the crowd is slightly strange. An apparent hooker is flirting with a strange couple and their male friend. A local rushes at Goatgirl to ask her to dance, professing his love for her. She tells him he is crazy. We move on from our strange hotel in the morning, to a beautiful split level apartment on the beach nearby. It is tres ...

The Ranch's large open truck, which doubles as a people mover for tour groups, took us back to the main road and into El Cedro. It was better than being on a Moto Concho, but the driver seemed to take pleasure in making us fly through the air over the bumps. Here we must wait for the next Gua Gua to come past heading to the town of Miches. Another friendly Dominican experience occurs when a local woman walks out with two plastic chairs for us to sit on ...

... keen to chat to us - I guess 12 years out h**e with limited contact must make you slightly batty and open to conv**sation. Many daytripp**s and tour groups come through h**e to have lunch and ride horses on the empty beach. But at night th**e are only a few custom**s, and today we are the only ones. Goatgirl impresses the local girls working th**e by giving them Salsa lessons. Surprisingly they don't really know how to do it until shown. She has them laughing ...