Galletas de Ajo

This is one of my favorite salty snacks in the Dominican Republic: garlic bread chips. They are way better than German bread chips. Not as hard and also more delicious. Also this brand is better than others I've tried... It's where my boyfriend had a part-time job as a student.

 

Almost got a forbidden Souvenir

This is Taina, my boyfriend's mother's turtle pet. She is very old but still quick on her feet. Besides she loves to climb into bags and underneath the laundry.

If we weren't looking for her, I might have taken a forbidden souvenir in my hand luggage...

I can imagine how the police would have reacted...

"Oh you didn't notice the turtle in your bag? Yeah. Sure... She wanted to come by herself... Turtles climb into carry on bags all the time..."

I'm glad, I checked before we left... ;-)

 

Juan Dolio Beach

The best beach around Santo Domingo is Juan Dolio. It's even better than Boca Chica... The beach is cleaner and more quiet than Boca Chica. I even like it better than Punta Cana (Bavaro).

But see for yourself...

This is how you get to the beach, if you're in Santo Domingo. The bus stop is in La Duarte, close to the bus stop to Punta Cana:

Astrapu Bus Stop
Calle Jose Martí
10214 Santo Domingo

This is how the bus stop in Santo Domingo looks like. The last stop is San Pedro where also most of the people go. Therefore, it's important to tell the driver where you would like to go.

Go inside. This is how the ticket office looks like.

The bus is clean and has air-condition. It's also quite large and comfortable. I can highly recommend it.

Be sure to buy the ticket before you enter the bus. The ticket costs 110 Pesos, which are about 2€. Furthermore, tell the driver where you would like to go so he will stop and tell you. The trip lasts about 45-50 minutes depending on traffic. Sit on the right-hand side, if you want to enjoy the scenery. It is quite beautiful, as the route is along the coast.

This is where the bus stops. The bus to Santo Domingo stops on the other side of the road. Be careful when you cross the street! It's dangerous.

When you follow this street and turn left, there's the beach.

Enjoy your stay! There will also be an upcoming blog post about wooden figures which you can buy at the beach...

 

Exotic fruits

These are nispero and zapote, exotic fruits from the Dominican Republic.
From the outside they look a bit like kiwi but they taste completely different. Somehow like papaya but sweeter. They taste similar but zapote is much bigger, almost like a honey melon.
They also taste great as juice or batida (milk mix).

New In... Jewelry

50% on all pieces of the jewelry store "Mariale Accesorios" en el Conde of Santo Domingo. Who could possibly say no?

I don't wear these at work but when going out I love these big earrings...

 

Mr. Crab says hi

Electricity was back within 24 hours. So last night was bliss! :-)

Aren't they cute? I found these little guys at the beach of the Barcelo Bavaro Beach Resort.

The latter walked between my feet when I had breakfast. Before I could take a picture, he tried to get away but I got him before he disappeared.

 

Blackout for over 12 hours

Yesterday we had a really bad thunderstorm. There were so many lightnings that I couldn't count to the thunder because I didn't know to which lightning it belonged. I haven't seen any thunderstorms like that in my life...

As much as I love thunderstorms, I do not like the blackout following the event. Damn, it's freaking hot and the fan wouldn't work...

At least the sun is shining again today but I hope electricity will be on again today... Did you know that the water circuit is connected to the electricity? It's good that my boyfriend's mom has a generator so some of the electric devices still work, such as the internet and the fridge. We also have several containers of water to be able to shower and brush our teeth. Until now I had no idea why we had so many containers in the bathroom...

 

Outdoor Gym

How cool is this outdoor gym with ocean view? It's located at the Malecon in Santo Domingo.

No air conditioning needed. There's wind. Unfortunately, there are no weights but it's still better than nothing...

Outfit #22 New In... Black Tops

Besides mint tops I also bought black airy tops. As I'm into mint recently, I paired them both with my mint pants.

The only downside of these airy tops is that I have to hand wash them.

 

 

Outfit #21 New In... Mint Tops

I love airy colorful tops and blouses. It's simple but still elegant.

These two beauties I've found in el Conde in the Dominican Republic for less than 5€ each. Perfect for my vacation...

 

 

 

 

New In: black purse

Since I'll start working soon, I thought I'll need a more business appropriate black purse. So here's my new baby :-)

I'm so fond of it - the purse is quite sturdy and well-made, although of course it's not made of real leather.

It retails for only 1700 DOP, about 29.50€, in Villa Con in Santo Domingo. For this price you can't expect real leather. But nonetheless it's very lovely.

 

 

 

 

The boutique is:

Comercial Villacon

C\ Manuela Diez No. 86, Esq. hemanos Pinzón

Villa Consuelo, Santo Domingo, RD

Tel: +1 809 538 4591

 

I can't wait to wear her back in Germany. But for now, I'll be enjoying beautiful sunshine in the Dominican Republic...

 

 

Larimar Jewelry Collection

Larimar is a turquoise gemstone from the Dominican Republic.
My collection started with a pair of earrings which you have seen in several of my Maid of Honor outfit posts (<< click 1 >>, << click 2 >>). I got them as a give-away, when I bought a painting...

That's how I fell in love with these gemstones... My boyfriend gave me the ring and the necklace as a present. The Larimar and Amber necklace was my own gift to myself ^.^
I love my little collection of Larimar. It's a great gift for other people as well and really not that expensive, either. Earrings as above can be found for 100-350 Pesos (2-7€), depending on the quality and where you buy. It is cheaper at the Zona Colonial but the workmanship isn't as great as in the touristic mall. It also depends, if you want to have silver or some cheaper material. Necklaces are more expensive (starting from 5€). Rings start at around 8€.

 

These are my German glasses by the way. They look just like the other ones from Taiwan but in black instead of brown... Anyway, I love matching jewelry, especially if it has such a pretty color.

 

Getting around in Santo Domingo

Now, it might be a little confusing but I wasn't done with my posts about the Dominican Republic. Today, I'd like to blog about transportation within Santo Domingo.

There's a very neat subway system, the Metro. It's clean, air-conditioned, and safe. The first line opened in 2009. Since it's fairly new, there are only two lines but there are supposed to be 6 lines in total, when everything is done. You can find further information in Spanish on the official homepage << click >>.

 

You can buy a plastic card for recharging purposes or buy one-way paper tickets, which look like this. One ride costs 20 Pesos, which are like 0.40€.

 

As I said, it's very safe. On each ride that we went, there were police officers with us.

 

Line 1 goes from north (Villa Mella) to south (Centro de Los Heroes). The stations are:

• Mamá Tingó
• Gregorio Urbano Gilbert
• Gregorio Luperón
• José Francisco Peña Gómez
• Hermanas Mirabal
• Máximo Gómez
• Los Taínos
• Pedro Livio Cedeño
• Peña Batlle
• Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte
• Juan Bosch
• Casandra Damirón
• Joaquín Balaguer
• Amín Abel
• Francisco Alberto Caamaño
• Centro de los Héroes

 

Line 2 goes from Ave. Luperon to Puente de la 17. I think, it's from west to the center. The second half of line 2 will continue to the east of santo Domingo. The stations for line 2 are:

• María Montez
• Pedro F. Bonó
• Francisco G. Billini
• Ulises F. Espaillat
• Pedro Mir
• Freddy Beras Goico
• Juan U. García F.
• Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte
• Cnel. Rafael T Fernandez D.
• Mauricio Báez
• Ramón Cáceres
• Horacio Vásquez
• Manuel de Jesus Galván
• Eduardo Brit

 

There are also other possibilities to travel around the city. Of course you can take a taxi. If you take a taxi from a company and don't travel too far, it's 150 Pesos, which are 3€. That's still very affordable. It doesn't matter if the cab has air-conditioning, it's the same prize.

Then, you can be a bit more adventurous. You can take a collective taxi, which can be recognized by the sign on the car that also tells you its route. They normally transport 6 people, 4 in the back and 2 next to the driver.

 

If you're lucky, your collective cab might look like a normal car. Otherwise, you might be traveling in something like this...

 

Sometimes I'm surprised, how the cars are still able to drive... You think, it'll pass the German TÜV? ;-)

Because of these seats, I always wear leggings or jeans so that my skin doesn't touch anything... I don't wanna know about all the bacteria.

Anyway, one ride costs 25 Pesos (0.50€). These cars run everywhere and very frequently. They have certain routes and they stop whenever you tell them. If someone is fat or wants a bit more comfort, they pay for the amount of seats, they need.

 

Chimichurri

The best burgers in the world can be found in the streets of Santo Domingo. They are called Chimichurri. (Btw. Chimichuri in Argentinia is a sauce for steaks.)
As long as you have a firm stomach, you know, one that can handle food from the streets of developing countries, I would highly recommend eating this! Of course this is nothing for vegetarians...

It contains bun, cabbage, carrots, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, meat, cheddar cheese, bacon, and lots of ketchup and mayo... There's also some undefined sauce. It's definitely an explosion for the senses of taste and smell.

Every time, I come to the Dominican Republic, I need to eat this. My stomach has been trained by the night markets of Taiwan since childhood. But even I have standards. I only buy from people that look relatively clean and who have some kind of organization. Cooling boxes are a big plus, while flies and cockroaches ar a big no go... Pretty self-explanatory, right?

I would say, this is better than what some gourmets offer in their high class restaurants. Btw, it's something Anthony Bourdain missed out, when he filmed in the Dominican Republic. I love his tv serie, although it always makes me hungry (for food and travel)... ;-)

Boca Chica Expreso

Boca Chica is a wonderful beach close to Santo Domingo, about 30-45min by bus.

Getting there isn't all that difficult... But before you spend your money on a taxi, better take the "Boca Chica Expreso". Only 70 Pesos (1.40 €) for the Expreso, 50 Pesos for the normal bus (1€), also called Caliente. You pay on the road, so you can still get out of the bus, if you don't like its condition. I would recommend the Expreso because it's faster as it doesn't stop everywhere...
The busses run from 06:00-20:00. The Expreso runs every hour, the Caliente every 15min.
The bus station is located in "la Duarte".

View Larger Map

Bus station

It's best to get an air-conditioned bus. They can be recognized by their closed windows. They are mostly cleaner than those without air-conditioning, as you can see below.

Clean Air Conditioned Bus

The bus below isn't an Expreso and also has no air-conditioning. As you can see, it has also seen better days.

Open windows = no air condition

The bus station in Boca Chica doesn't have any sign, so keep in mind where you left the bus. It's also where you enter... Furthermore, the staff can easily be recognized by their red polo shirts.

Beer

The Dominican beer to go is "Presidente". There are normal 0.3l sized bottles but also really large 1l beer bottles like the one I hold in this picture. Since I don't really like beer, I can't tell you if it's good. It's not as bitter as Becks but that's about it... It's beer...

 

The Bavarian "Löwenbräu" beer is also sold in the Dominican Republic. Just that Dominicans think it's from Hamburg.

 

The information about Bavaria is hidden inside the pink circle...

 

Update: Bavaro Express

In my post from 2011 << click >>, I first wrote about the Bavaro Express Santo Domingo. Since I'm in Santo Domingo again, I want to give you an update.The oneway ticket from Bavaro to Santo Domingo now costs 400 Pesos, which are about 8€. The ride only takes 3.5 hours instead of 4 because there are new highways, no potholes anywhere anymore. It is extremely comfortable, clean and air conditioned. The buses are really on time, we even drove 10 minutes early.

The buses run more often as well. The updated schedule for both ways each day is:

• 07:00
• 09:00
• 11:00
• 13:00
• 15:00
• 16:00

Seen at the station "Friusa (Bavaro)".

Größere Kartenansicht

The Bavaro Express now passes Bavaro, Veron, Punta Cana airport (PUJ), and Santo Domingo airport Las Américas (SDQ) in both directions.

If you come from Santo Domingo and want to go to a hotel in Bavaro, just ask the driver to stop there. Sometimes it's good to know the old names of the resorts. They switch owners and names every now and then. It's hard to keep track of them. Anyway, the last station will be Friusa, Bavaro.

Going to Punta Cana Airport (PUJ) takes 2h45min from Santo Domingo.

Here are the bus stops on the way to and in Santo Domingo:

• Parador la Lechosa
• San Pedro de Macorís
• Boca Chica en la Estación Shell
• Aeropuerto Las Américas
• Puente Juan Carlos
• San Vicente
• Venezuela
• 27 de Febrero con Josefa Brea
• México con José Martí (station in la Duarte)
• La Gómez (main station at Calle Juan Sanchez Ramirez #31)

You can buy tickets at La Gómez and México con José Martí. It's also where you enter the bus in Santo Domingo.

The telephone numbers are:

• 809-682-9670 La Gómez in Santo Domingo
• 809-682-5881 México con José Martí in Santo Domingo
• 809-453-1473 Veron
• 809-552-1678 Friusa, Bavaro

There are also busses to other destinations.

Bavaro Express from La Romana to Bavaro

• 05:40
• 08:20
• 10:50
• 13:20
• 15:50
• 18:20

Bavaro Express from Bavaro to La Romana

• 06:00
• 08:30
• 11:00

Further information can be found on the official homepage << click >>.

Good luck and have a wonderful time in the Dominican Republic!

 

Now Larimar Resort

As I mentioned the beaches of Punta Cana before, I would like to share our insight about the "Now Larimar Resort" with you. It was actually a great lastminute hotel deal. We spent only one third of the actual price but enjoyed full service ˆ.ˆ

The Hotel
Arriving at the hotel feels like arriving to paradise. Words cannot describe how beautiful everything was... but hopefully my pictures will bring a little sunshine to our winter ˆ.ˆ

The hotel lobby

The room and bed were huge. We even had a Jaccuzzi in the bathroom which we tried out but decided it's nothing for hot summers. If one upgrades to "Preferred Club Membership", the Jaccuzzi is outside on the balcony - but who would wanna have their neighbours peeking inside?

Hotel room

Anyway, we had a great view into the palm garden and even a little ocean sight - not much though but we walked to the beach every day anyway... There were 5 pools, 2 of them for the Preferred Club members. Water is just so relaxing when nobody else is there... I'm not sure why everyone went to the crowded pool but lucky for us - we almost had our own private pool.

And even at night it's perfect... the bars and hallways outside as well as the pools and beaches.

The Food
There were 4 à-la-carte restaurants, offering Italian, French, Japanese and American cuisine. They were all crowded every single day. Of course that's not really a surprise for an all-inclusive hotel. Where else would you go?
I like the effort, the guests have to pay by dressing up for dinner. Having a dresscode really keeps the luxarious locations together.
But still I must say, I was a bit disappointed in the Japanese and Italian restaurants. The Japanese restaurant was all about the show of the Teriyaki chefs with knives and fire. I had fried icecream flambé which gave me a great picture but it tasted horrible...
On the other hand, the American restaurant just offered the best steaks and burgers. I'm still melting thinking about them...

Dinner

Anyway, I'm a big fan of breakfast in this hotel... They have the biggest variety of dishes during breakfast, starting with all kinds of delicious fruits which are all sweeter than back in Germany (obviously), then all kinds of bread and pastries, bacon, cheese, fresh omelette and waffles but also various original Dominican dishes and drinks like Mangú (mashed plantains) and batida (fruity milkshakes). My boyfriend told me an anecdote of the word Mangú - it derives from the English sentence "Man, this is good" ˆ.ˆ

The Negative Part
I thinks the only sad part is, there was no Dominican restaurant... They should open one as well. I think, the further away the origin of the restaurant, the worse the food. In that sense, it must be easier to find a Domincan chef compared to a French chef.

Anyway, at least the snacks could be Dominican - there are such great hamburgers on the streets of Santo Domingo - but they give away crappy sandwiches and sausages during nighttime.

It's sad because there's no self-confidence - as if their own food was not good enough for the hotel guests. By few employees, we were not treated like real guests because my boyfriend comes from the Dominican Republic and somehow they were offended to serve their own kind - and I don't mean that in a good way... I wanted to complain about a waitress because she kept ignoring us and even admitted she was mad at us for whatever reason but my boyfriend was to concerned about our safety that I promised I wouldn't until we were back here. I'm normally really patient because I know the other side - I grew up in a hotel and I hate that business... but I would have never been that disrespectful. Besides, I think it's some kind of self-racism - it's the worst form of racism. For the same reason, only Dominicans are bothered at costoms at the airport. Of course Europeans also don't really understand corruption. I wouldn't even know how to get out of tricky situations...

The Positive Part
I would like to finish this post positively. Look at the beach: It always looks different depending on the time. Isn't it gorgeous? No wonder, we saw two weddings at the beach (at the white flowy thing). It's so wonderful, right into honeymoon... I could imagine getting married just like that as well ˆ.ˆ without the bunch of people that I don't wanna see and without the big planning for food and location. Well, who knows? I can't help it - I'm changing my mind about the perfect wedding all the time! 

I felt really relaxed after spending only 3 nights in that hotel. Besides some minor inconveniences, we were treated like emperors and we felt like in paradise... The sun, beach and the location made it a perfect short trip! Anyway, two weeks all-inclusive would have been too much and too boring for the two of us... but for the short amount of time, it was perfect!

Bavaro Beach

Homepage of Now Larimar Resort: << click >>