Dominican Republic

I just returned from a trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Not sure what I expected but I have to confess I had an amazing time. I wanted to blog about something other than doom and gloom - which sadly is the Palestinian/Israel conflict in a nutshell. As for Punta Cana, it's truly amazing in terms of natural beauty - clearly some of it was man made - but nevertheless, these man made resorts are paradise on earth. It was simply breathtaking to say the least, beautiful beaches, palm trees everywhere and tropical forest-like landscaping throughout - not to mention since these are all inclusive resorts, food and drinks galore at your finger tips. It was very impressive and interesting to note this man made paradise is situated in one of the poorest places on earth - aside from the Dominican Republic being poor, Haiti is right next door. This is the tale of two cities( or two countries) taken to extreme. All the resorts are basically walled off and entry into them is secured by guards. I had the pleasure of staying at the Paradisus Hotel resort (go figure)and the name is not an exaggeration. My wife and I had a wonderful time but while she didn't seem to mind baking in the sun day after day, I must confess after a week of fun in the sun, drinking ( dozens of bars 24/7 and my favorite those in the pool), eating ( 24/7 buffet), fishing, boating and indulging in ridiculous excess, I got tired of it around day 5. So what is a guy to do when he is tired of living in paradise?

I started to think heaven might be boring after all, god knows all the interesting people won't be there. On a more serious note, as it seems being a skeptic is my natural state, but as I was saying about the poverty there, my first thoughts were these resorts are most likely foreign owned. Granted they employ many natives and I'm sure these people employed there are grateful for their jobs and tips that come with it, I still couldn't help but wonder who owned these resorts. How is it such a magnificent place could have such a high level of impoverishment. These questions will not be answered here but it's something I thought about. There are more than economic issues at play, and besides issues of governance, and beyond beautiful natural landscape what other natural resources exist there? The poverty was so glaring on the way to the resorts that it's hard to ignore commenting on it. We didn't venture outside the resort the entire time we were there. I have a friend who is from DR and he told me before leaving about the high crime rate - and all the problems and risks if one ventures out into town on their own. Since I didn't venture out - and besides issues of crime, the reasoning was what was there to see in San Domingo or other cities worth the 4 hour trip from our location in paradise. Therefore, I can't tell anyone if crime is bad or what the Dominican Republic is like, as my stay was limited to staying inside the resort hotel all the time. I did venture to other resorts where they had stores to do some shopping - but this is the first trip I ever went into where I didn't get to travel beyond my hotel. No doubt, I was influenced greatly by what my friend told me about the place and from what I read online. You actually read interesting stuff on this topic on the web. Expats will argue racism is behind the alarmist view of DR. No one likes to be a victim of crime, and when you read of tourists being kidnapped for ransom or worse, not sure it's a black and white matter. Nevertheless, I do have some regret to succumbing to this kind of fear-mongering but then again, we both arrived home safely, not sure if I should dwell on it too much. It is odd to travel to a foreign destination and all you see are mostly Americans. To put it in a different way, it's odd to travel to a country that is black and see only white people(aside from employees there).


Not sure where I'm going with this post, was going to talk about my fishing trip and somehow it got political. Maybe I should stick to politics!