We just had a moderate earthquake in the Dominican Republic. A 5.1 earthquake shook the area around the Coutui, San Francisco, Fantino area this morning at around 10am with the epicenter in Las Guaranas between Angelina and Pimentel. I’ve felt 3 tremors so far this morning, one of them came with a sharp jolt in the middle of the trembling.

This is the first stronger quake I’ve felt here since the one that hit Port-au-Prince Haiti in 2010. While small quakes in the 3.1 – 3.3 range are very frequent in the Punta Cana, ahd Higuey, we don’t often fell them in the middle of the country.

That I have seen in this area there has been little or no (more…)

There have been more reports of ongoing protests at the entrance of the Barrick mine near Cotui. The march was called “peaceful” however if you have ever tried navigating a road anywhere near protests (locally called a “huelga” pronounced wel-ga) you probably know that peaceful is a matter of opinion.

Police with tear gas and shotguns have been stationed all the way to Cotui at many of the intersections. Needless to say if you have business that takes you out of Cotui in the direction of the mines it might be a good idea to hold off until the demonstrations are wrapped up.

Even if you are not near the actual protest, during these times people have a tendency to start getting worked up and small skirmishes and arguments can happen anywhere in the area and in nearby towns (like Cotui), when you start to hear yelling and screaming pay attention to what is happening hear you. (It can be tough at times to tell the difference between a friendly domino game and an argument here at times)

Dominican Republic Huelga

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