If you are planning to visit Dajabon to check out the Haitian market there it would be a good idea to put that trip on hold. The market is all but shut down this week and protest are being held in the city due to the Dominican Government restricting access into the Dominican Republic from the Neighboring Haitian town of Quanaminthe into Dajabon.

At this point there doesn’t appear to be much violence in the protests on the Dominican side, mostly the burning of tires (a Dominican Favorite activity when upset) and crowds gathering that need to be dispersed. Still, it is not recommended for foreigners to be in the area when there are protests, it doesn’t take much for them to turn violent and foreigners if present are an easy and visible target.

Haitian Market

One of the main reasons foreigners check out Dajabon is for the Haitian market that is open twice a week on (more…)

I was reading about a hot air balloon accident that happened a few days ago and it got me to thinking about the safety of many of the excursions and other tourist (and non-tourist) activities in the Dominican Republic. This particular incident was with a Hot air balloon company in Higuey called DomBall. Apparently they had a “rough” landing and had to come down in a sugar cane field. None of the 12 passengers were hurt and in the end “all is well”. But this got me to thinking of the many other potentially life threatening activities available here and the general regard for safety concerns I normally see here.

Let’s start with a joke. In this joke it was mentioned “I’m not saying I want to kill all stupid people, I’m just suggesting that you remove all the safety labels from common items (i.e. ‘CAREFUL the coffee in this cup is very hot!’) and let nature run its course.” This kind of illustrates what seems to be a general attitude in this country.

Let me give just a few examples of things I’ve seen

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The National Meteorological Office issued alerts today (10/22/12) for several towns due to saturated ground and a tropical wave that will be coming through today. Barahona, Azua, Bahoruco, Pedernales, Independencia, San Juan de la Maguana and Elías Piña provinces were all among towns in the weather alert.

This latest storm is expected to cause rivers and streams to rise and possibly bring floods and landslides to the affected areas. Along with the rain, thunderstorms are expected.

Caribbean Thunderstorms

The Dominican Republic has some of the most impressive thunderstorms I have ever seen. I like to sit out on the (covered) deck and watch the storm go past. But, along with a good light show, is a greatly increased chance of damage to your inversor (inverter), power regulator, batteries and other electrical equipment in the house.

I have a cut off switch for my house where I can disconnect the incoming power line (whether we are currently getting power or not) before it reaches any of my equipment to protect them from power surges. These storms have in the past either came in faster than I expected or happened while I was out of the house and I ended up needing to do a bunch or expensive repairs, so I am pretty diligent about using this switch now.

If you haven’t got one installed it’s a good idea to do so. All you need to do is put a double pole, single throw, knife switch in line with your incoming power which you pull down when a heavy storm like the one that caused this alert, passes. A little prevention can save you a day or two without battery backup while you inversor gets repaired as well as quite a bit of expence.

Something you have to get used to while driving the rural streets of the Dominican Republic and sometimes even the streets of the larger towns, is sharing the streets with livestock. The term “when the cows come home” refers to the way a cow (usually) just ambles along at a slow pace, and really takes meaning when you find yourself coming up to a herd in the street that is completely unaffected by your desire to pass.
In most cases the owner of the herd is nearby and will try to get the animals to move to one side of the road so you can pass, this has various degrees of success depending on what is distracting the cows at the time. So, this often means weaving through the cows if you’re on a motorcycle or waiting till they pass if you’re in a car.

Weaving through a herd of cattle can be a little nerve wracking at first. Some of the bulls are very large and as you sit on your bike, you find yourself looking up to the head of the Bull or at best eye to eye with a set of horns. Considering that he might take offence to you getting between him and his harem this isn’t exactly the most comfortable place to be.

Really though, the animals are quite used to people and motorcycles and if you don’t do anything to startle them, you are usually pretty safe. I just try to take it slow and anticipate which direction the individual cows might decide to take.

Accident Laws

Accidents are frequently caused by animals in the streets, especially at night. With few street lights in the rural areas you often don’t see the animal until you are very close. While the speeds people travel here are relatively slow compared to the States (usually 20 – 40 mph), this can mean a lot of damage and at times death when there is a motorcycle accident.

One typical case that recently happened in my area was a motorcyclist traveling at night who hit a horse in the street. This accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. (more…)

If your travel plans this week include checking out the Capital, Santo Domingo you should note that there is a protest, often called a huelga meaning strike, planned for Friday, Oct 12, 2012. Even if the protest remains peaceful that will mean heavy traffic jambs in the area with people blocking the streets and quite often burning tires and other objects in the street.

This protest is planned and there will probably be a heavy police presence so much of the damage and fires will likely be avoided, the congestion will not. You should try to arrange your travel plans so that you are no where near these two areas at any time on Friday the 12. It is not safe for foreigners to be caught in the local huelgas and protests.

There are two areas that will be directly affected by this protest:

• In Front of the Congress Building, with the official start of the protest beginning at 9am Friday the 12th
• At Parque Independencia, with the official start of the protest beginning at 5pm, Friday the 12th.

Past Protests and Huelgas

Huelgas and Protests are very common in the Dominican Republic. (more…)

A 5.1 earthquake struck near Barahona Dominican republic today (Saturday, July 7, 2012) at about 4:32 pm. the quake was felt as far away as San Francisco de Macoris. The depth of the quake was about 19 kilometers.

There have been no damage reports at this time. Other cities that were nearby the quake epicenter were Pescaderia (1 mile away), Cabral (3 miles away), Santa Cruz (4 miles away and Vincente Noble (9 miles away).

I just read an interesting news story from CBC news. Most of us from the US don’t give a lot of thought to asbestos dust when changing our brake pads. If you are working on a newer car in the States, the likelihood of coming across brake pads containing asbestos (a class-A carcinogen known to cause a form of lung cancer and Mesothelioma a cancer of the stomach and chest, which is only caused by exposure to asbestos) is probably pretty slim. An article from CBC News (more…)

One of the major drawbacks to living in or traveling to a “developing country” is the crime and the inconsistency of law enforcement. If you have been here for a while or have read the news about the Dominican Republic you likely know what I am talking about. As foreigners, we stand out as targets. The majority of the local population don’t have a lot of money, and in the opinion of most residents of the DR, all foreigners or extranjeros are rich.

Dangers traveling from the Airport

Recently there have been alerts from the US Embassy in Santo Domingo about persons in taxis, public cars and guagua being stopped and robbed by people dressed as Police while traveling from the Las Americas International Airport near Santo Domingo to nearby hotels and even when traveling to private homes. This is one report which involved Airline Employees traveling to a hotel (more…)

The DR will be electing a new president this Sunday. The main two candidates are Danilo Madina (the purple flags) and Hipolito Mejia (white flag and the slogan “llego Papa”). While over the last many months there have been times where the streets are blocked with supporters of one group or another, things have really reached an almost religious fervor today.

So, what does this mean for the foreigners in the DR right now? Well, if you are living near a school you can expect it to be pretty crazy around the school all day Sunday which is the day of the voting. Monday you can expect parties by supporters of the winning candidate and plenty of drinking and lamenting by the losing party so expect the craziness to continue through Monday.

In addition, to the election on Sunday there will be the Partying in the streets. If you have been here a while you probably realize that people will use almost any excuse to party and that usually means blocked off streets and a lot of drunk motorcyclists and motorists.

I’m going to put the next few days as good days to stay home and relax and let the craziness pass.

National Non-work Days

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It’s party time again in La Vega Dominican Republic. While it always kind of seams like there is a party going on, the month of February brings it to new heights. Each weekend during the month of February there will be parties going on throughout most of the Dominican Republic but the most famous area is Carnival Vegano in Le Vega.

The carnival is known for its costumes and in particular the masks. Groups of people spend month creating elaborate costumes called “diablos cojuelos” , or Devils with the competition centering around who can create the most grotesque masks.

Part of the celebration include “vejigas”. Originally dried cow bladder but now can be made out of almost anything similar. These are used to whip people in the streets. (more…)