Dominicans seem to have a heavy infatuation for the American culture. This can be seen in the style of clothes, hair styles and choices of products they buy. Head into any small town and you are bound to see at least one if not multiple “Colmado Americano” or basically American Store, it doesn’t really matter if they actually sell anything American or not. Unfortunately, one trend that is becoming very popular in the US is also starting to become more popular here, that’s Sexting.

What is Sexting?

Sexting combines two other words, sex and texting. It describes sending sexual text messages from one phone to another, often accompanied with suggestive or more explicit images.

In the Dominican Republic technology is rather new. Many people don’t understand how it works and how permanent those pictures become. (more…)

Well, we’ve just started to get over Hurricane Irene and clean up the damage and we already have the next storm brewing. Tropical storm Katia is still quite a ways from the Dominican Republic and it is not certain whether it will get very close but it gives us something to watch. While we have reached the hurricane season in the DR there is no reason to get too excited about most of these storms, most blow over pretty quickly with little damage.

Katia is about 535 miles west by southwest of Cape Verde and will take around 5 days to reach us if it keeps it current speed and course. While tropical storm Katia only has sustained winds of about 40 mph right now it is expected to be strengthen over the next few days. Right now there is a 20-30% chance of Katia reaching hurricane force. The National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center is publishing their report here

Should I cancel my plans to visit the DR?

Many people have spent a lot of money planning for their dream vacation in the DR and are now wondering if they should cancel their plans because of hurricane Irene. While it doesn’t hurt to call the resort or hotel that you plan on staying at it is unlikely that there is a need to change your plans.

Buildings in the tourist areas, especially the resorts are constructed to withstand high winds and rain. The cute little thatch huts, umbrellas and other shelters near the beach are quickly rebuilt after a storm. During the storms businesses are shut down and locked up to protect the stores and restaurants. Islands like the DR get a lot of rain and wind at times and the business owners know how to keep things safe.

I’ve been talking with Philippe, the owner of La Residencia Del Paseo in Las Terrenas so see how things are going there. (more…)

As expected Hurricane Irene inflicted quite a bit of damage to the DR. Irene slowly moved past Puerto Plata as a category 2 hurricane lashing the area with sustained winds up to 95 mph. More than 100 families were evacuated from the Puerto Plata area and moved to improvised shelters. At least 14 houses were destroyed by the sea. A canal also overflowed in the LA Javilla area engulfing several houses and causing the evacuation of at least 15 families.

Landslides caused by the heavy rain were found on the Luperon Highway connecting Santiago and Puerto Plata causing traffic issues on this heavily used route.

Schools reopened

Both public and private schools were closed yesterday due to the hurricane. While for the most part they were reopened this morning, in some areas there are still hard rains and winds keeping schools in a few areas of the country closed.

Santo Domingo

Two of the rivers in Santo Domingo burst their banks (more…)

The latest advisory from the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center states that the Dominican Republic is now in a Tropical storm warning instead of a hurricane warning.

Hurricane Irene is currently north of Puerto Plata and starting to pull away from the DR and is in a direct route for the Turks and Caicos Islands as well as the central Bahamas on Thursday.

Even with Irene leaving large amounts of rain is expected to fall over the island of Hispaniola. As much a 15 inches could fall in the higher terrains of the northern part of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Residents still need to watch for flash floods and possible mud slides as well as poor driving conditions if they plan on traveling. (more…)

Category 2 Hurricane Irene

As of 8:30 pm Hurricane Irene was upgraded to a category 2 hurricane and is expected to continue to strengthen possibly becoming a major hurricane on Tuesday.

Wind within the hurricane are now being sustained at 100 mph with higher gusts. These hurricane force winds now extend as far as 45 miles outward from the center of the storm.

Hurricane Irene has again slowed its pace, it is now heading west-northwest at 10mph a decrease of 3 miles per hour over the last few hours. The National Weather Service does expect this forward momentum to pick up again over night and into Tuesday.

The latest storm advisory came with no new changes in the watches and warnings. These watches and advisories are from the noaa.gov site (National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service).

(more…)

Hurricane Irene Monday Evening

Donde Esta Irene?

As of 5 pm Hurricane Irene is just north of the Dominican Republic and continuing in a West by NorthWest direction on its way to the Bahamas where it looks like she is going to head right down the middle of the islands. The center of the storm is currently about 65 miles north/ northwest of Punta Cana which seemed to be spared the worst of the hurricane as it traveled north of the city.

Hurricane Irene continues to have maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and is moving at about 13 mph.

With Irene on what seems to be on a direct path to the Bahamas the Government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the central Bahamas and a hurricane watch for the Northwestern Bahama.

Hurricane Irene isn’t finished with the DR though. Wind and rain are continuing to pick up in the central portions of the country where I am located. At this point I have no word on how hard the northern coast is being hit, but the hurricane is expected to pass along the northern coast with the possibility of sever damage to the coastal cities along it’s path. (more…)

American Airlines has announce it will wave change fees for passengers affected by Hurricane Irene. This allows passengers to rebook their flights to specific location from specific dates.

Flights from these locations can be rebooked.
La Romana/Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic (LRM)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP)
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)
San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)
Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (STX)
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (STT)
Tortola, Beef Island, British Virgin Islands (EIS)

These are the applicable dates. (more…)

The national hurricane center announced in its 7am update that Irene is moving away from Puerto Rico. Over night tropical storm Irene increased in strength and was upgraded from storm to Hurricane. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at near 80 mph making it a category 1 hurricane as per Hurricane Irene Intermediate advisory # 7B at 9 am this morning.

Hurricane Irene is moving away from the North coast of Puerto Rico and is expected to reach the Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic later this afternoon to the evening. Hurrican fource winds are expected to extend out from the eye of the hurricane for 15 miles and tropical storm force winds extending about 150 miles from the eye mostly to the northwest and northeast of the center. As of 9 am Hurricane Irene is 75 miles ENE of Punta Cana moving at 14 miles per hour.

Haiti now has a hurricane watch for the north coast from Le Mole St. Nicholas east to the DR boarder. (more…)

Customers traveling through Tuesday, August 23 to/from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic may rebook flights through August 27 –

NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –

Credit: PR NEWSWIRE

Due to inclement weather forecasted to impact the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico areas, JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) will waive change/cancel fees and fare differences for Customers traveling through Tuesday, August 23, 2011 to/from the following cities:

• Puerto Rico
  • San Juan (SJU)
  • Ponce (PSE)
  • Aguadilla (BQN)
• Dominican Republic
  • Santo Domingo (SDQ)
  • Santiago (STI)
  • Puerto Plata (POP)
  • Punta Cana (PUJ)

Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Saturday, August 27, 2011 by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) prior to the departure time of their originally scheduled flight. Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583). Original travel must have been booked on or before Sunday, August 21, 2011. (more…)