Tracey and I enjoying a La Bohemia Especial at La Comparticion Camp on Pico Duarte
Damn. So much has happened, but really nothing has happened. here's a breakdown of the last two months.
Damn. So much has happened, but really nothing has happened. here's a breakdown of the last two months.
Early October:
Absolutely tired of work, so I decided to leave for Ontario early. This allowed me to catch Steve's and AK's reception and catch up will all the boys (except Josh) and their girls. It was truly good to see old friends again... really the oldest friends I have. I also caught up with my brother and sister, father and step mother, my mother and step father. Grandpa was still in Stratford hospital and Grandma was and still is standing strong.
Mid October to early November.
Tracey joined me in Ontario and we left shortly after for Dominican Republic. I caught a nasty illness the night before leaving and had a horrid time travelling there. We nearly missed the plane in T.O. ... seriously, they closed the plane doors the moment we entered and started to taxi just as we sat down and put our belts on. (By the way to my American friends... your homeland security seems a little bit overboard but then again I don't have the concerns that your government says you should have).
For the rest of the journey I constantly passed in and out of consciousness and often would wake with a jolt. Tracey said I would look around at everything including her as if I had no idea where I was or even who she was.
We arrived in D.R. in good time. We went straight to our resort... Sun Village and I immediately passed out.
Sun Village is a gorgeous resort. I truly felt it was made just for me. This place had it all, my kind of music, nine pools, five places to eat, gym, spa, juice bar, and a terraced layout. The people who worked at Sun Village were incredible. The only bad thing about the place was that we didn't stay there long enough.
After resting for three days I felt well enough for Tracey, our friend from Jasper Dieter (who had been there for a week earlier), his Dominican squeeze, her daughter, and this random guy named Nido... all in a super compact car called a Hyundai picanto. We met Nido the day before on the beach and he agreed to ride with us to Paradise Island.
Driving in D.R. is a great time. All you have to remember is to relax and move out of other peoples way. Larger vehicles have the right of way. You can pass when there is oncoming traffic... they will move out of the way for you... just like you will move to the shoulder of the road for them. People can pass you on the right or left, or even on the left when you are turning left... the key is to relax and remember that you are no longer driving in Canada.
It turned out to be a terrible idea to drive to Paradise Island. It took much longer than we expected. The main highway was covered in potholes. We lost a part of the vehicle in one of them, but the car still worked so we didn't bother to check it out. I remembered the rough gravel road from the year before that takes us to the small village where we catch a boat to Paradise Island. The area (by the way) is called Punta Rucia. The road was ten times rougher than I remembered, maybe it was because we were in the smallest car I've ever driven in. Tracey and I have driven some extremely rough logging roads in BC and Alberta, but this road should not have been a road... and certainly not a road for our little car. Surprisingly the car made it through and back!
Paradise Island wasn't all that great. The water was rough and there wasn't much sun. Dieter's lady friend wasn't having a great time so we had to leave. Furthermore we needed to get the rental back and time was running short.
Nido drove us back to the resort in our car as he would be able to get us back in time... and in time he did. For a gutless car it did quite well.
We hired another car on the 24th to drive to Jarabacoa to start our trek to the highest summit of the Caribbean - Pico Duarte. We got lost in Santiago, I got directions at a clothing store. The shop keeper closed her store and went with us back to Santiago and pointed us in the right direction.
We then proceeded to our destination with no further difficulties.
Upon reaching Rancho Baguette, Tracey and I left dieter there and checked out one of the local waterfalls. sadly, I forget its name but will post it when I remember it.
On the 25th we were awaken at 5 am to prepare for our trip up Pico Duarte. Our goal was to climb to 1850 meters to 275o meters, descend to 2450 meters, and complete the last 700 meters before sunrise the next day. The drive through this region of the country was beautiful. The people here live in small farming villages and are quite poor by Canadian standards. 
The local law requires all people entering the National Park to be accompanied by a guide. We had five guides and seven mules. The hike was not particularly difficult, but it would have been a lot tougher if we had to carry our own gear. The trail up the mountain is heavily eroded. Dominican guiding is very different to how we guide in Canada. At the start of the trail, our guide pointed to the trail head and said "Follow that trial. I'll catch up later". We never saw him again for two hours. By that time we were a bit worried as we did not have any food with us and only a litre of water to share.
Tracey joined me in Ontario and we left shortly after for Dominican Republic. I caught a nasty illness the night before leaving and had a horrid time travelling there. We nearly missed the plane in T.O. ... seriously, they closed the plane doors the moment we entered and started to taxi just as we sat down and put our belts on. (By the way to my American friends... your homeland security seems a little bit overboard but then again I don't have the concerns that your government says you should have).
For the rest of the journey I constantly passed in and out of consciousness and often would wake with a jolt. Tracey said I would look around at everything including her as if I had no idea where I was or even who she was.
We arrived in D.R. in good time. We went straight to our resort... Sun Village and I immediately passed out.
Sun Village is a gorgeous resort. I truly felt it was made just for me. This place had it all, my kind of music, nine pools, five places to eat, gym, spa, juice bar, and a terraced layout. The people who worked at Sun Village were incredible. The only bad thing about the place was that we didn't stay there long enough.
After resting for three days I felt well enough for Tracey, our friend from Jasper Dieter (who had been there for a week earlier), his Dominican squeeze, her daughter, and this random guy named Nido... all in a super compact car called a Hyundai picanto. We met Nido the day before on the beach and he agreed to ride with us to Paradise Island.
Driving in D.R. is a great time. All you have to remember is to relax and move out of other peoples way. Larger vehicles have the right of way. You can pass when there is oncoming traffic... they will move out of the way for you... just like you will move to the shoulder of the road for them. People can pass you on the right or left, or even on the left when you are turning left... the key is to relax and remember that you are no longer driving in Canada.
It turned out to be a terrible idea to drive to Paradise Island. It took much longer than we expected. The main highway was covered in potholes. We lost a part of the vehicle in one of them, but the car still worked so we didn't bother to check it out. I remembered the rough gravel road from the year before that takes us to the small village where we catch a boat to Paradise Island. The area (by the way) is called Punta Rucia. The road was ten times rougher than I remembered, maybe it was because we were in the smallest car I've ever driven in. Tracey and I have driven some extremely rough logging roads in BC and Alberta, but this road should not have been a road... and certainly not a road for our little car. Surprisingly the car made it through and back!
Paradise Island wasn't all that great. The water was rough and there wasn't much sun. Dieter's lady friend wasn't having a great time so we had to leave. Furthermore we needed to get the rental back and time was running short.
Nido drove us back to the resort in our car as he would be able to get us back in time... and in time he did. For a gutless car it did quite well.
We hired another car on the 24th to drive to Jarabacoa to start our trek to the highest summit of the Caribbean - Pico Duarte. We got lost in Santiago, I got directions at a clothing store. The shop keeper closed her store and went with us back to Santiago and pointed us in the right direction.
We then proceeded to our destination with no further difficulties.
Upon reaching Rancho Baguette, Tracey and I left dieter there and checked out one of the local waterfalls. sadly, I forget its name but will post it when I remember it.
On the 25th we were awaken at 5 am to prepare for our trip up Pico Duarte. Our goal was to climb to 1850 meters to 275o meters, descend to 2450 meters, and complete the last 700 meters before sunrise the next day. The drive through this region of the country was beautiful. The people here live in small farming villages and are quite poor by Canadian standards. The local law requires all people entering the National Park to be accompanied by a guide. We had five guides and seven mules. The hike was not particularly difficult, but it would have been a lot tougher if we had to carry our own gear. The trail up the mountain is heavily eroded. Dominican guiding is very different to how we guide in Canada. At the start of the trail, our guide pointed to the trail head and said "Follow that trial. I'll catch up later". We never saw him again for two hours. By that time we were a bit worried as we did not have any food with us and only a litre of water to share.
Tracey and I surprised the guides with the mules as we nearly beat then to our camp area. 
Usually they are able to get to the camp and have supper waiting for us. Instead we sat around the camp for nearly an hour wait for Dieter and another German fellow to arrive. 
The camp was filthy, garbage all around. There were two buildings: one shelter to sleep in (infested with rats) and a dark and sinister looking cook house. Attached to the sleeping shelter were two telephones. I found this to be incredible, however they did not work. It appears that they had been brought there a few years ago, and never hooked up.
Our guide set up our tent outside, as we didn't want to sleep with the rats and there was 'no chance of rain'.
After we were able to organize our sleeping stuff, we had dinner. Dinner consisted of chicken legs, rice and beans. The food was good, but you didn't want to see it prepared. Just as it was getting dark we started a fire inside the cook house on the cement floor. This was a smokey event that I could have done without. Very quickly, we turned in for a good night sleep and an early wake up call of 4 am to reach the summit.
After we were able to organize our sleeping stuff, we had dinner. Dinner consisted of chicken legs, rice and beans. The food was good, but you didn't want to see it prepared. Just as it was getting dark we started a fire inside the cook house on the cement floor. This was a smokey event that I could have done without. Very quickly, we turned in for a good night sleep and an early wake up call of 4 am to reach the summit.At midnight Tracey and I were awoken by a fierce wind storm. Our tent was lifting off the ground and the walls were beating us in the face. The wind was so rough that we couldn't sleep. By 1 am the wind subsided a bit and it started to rain. At this time I was relieved as I the wind was not as rough and I could sleep... a bit. Within an hour it was very apparent that the tent was not water proof at all. Rain was dripping on our sleeping bags and pooling all along the floor or the tent. By 4 am we put on our rain gear as we were fully soaked. At this time we did not hear a wake up call and assumed that there would be no push for a sunrise summit attempt. I was able to sleep for the next two hours in my rain gear. Our guide finally came to get us around 7:30 am. Although not the worst sleep I've ever had, this was definitely within the top three worst sleeps ever.
It was still raining when we got out of the tent. The guide said he was going to cook us breakfast (pork chops and potatoes) and take us to the summit if we wanted to. The wind was howling like crazy and it was poring. Unanimously we decided that there was no point to head to the summit. Furthermore, Dieter's health was failing, and our other German companion was still suffering from dehydration from the day before.
Tracey and I elected to walk down the mountain and left Dieter and the German to ride the mules as they had for the last quarter of the ascent the day before. I've never witnessed rain so horizontal in my life.
It was mixed with sleet and stung the bare skin (not that we had that much exposed). The plant life was being knocked to the ground under the force of the wind and there were many more downed trees than the day before. The trail was reduced to a mess on rocks, slick red mud and running water that was flowing like a spring stream. Areas that we stood around the day before had become large ponds, within seconds everything we had was soaked... boots, rain gear, everything!
It was mixed with sleet and stung the bare skin (not that we had that much exposed). The plant life was being knocked to the ground under the force of the wind and there were many more downed trees than the day before. The trail was reduced to a mess on rocks, slick red mud and running water that was flowing like a spring stream. Areas that we stood around the day before had become large ponds, within seconds everything we had was soaked... boots, rain gear, everything!At around 1900m we encountered a group of Norwegian students who were attempting the mountain. They were wearing running shoes, shorts and light jackets. They looked miserable, cold, and exhausted. A few looked like they were in a bit of trouble and on their way to becoming hypothermic! Upon speaking to their teachers I inquired why they were pushing on they said they hoped that it would clear up and they would still make it... I had my doubts about it clearing but didn't say anything. The on teacher asked why I looked so content and excited over this foul weather. I told him that I am a professional guide in Canada, and that I've never experienced a tropical storm before so this was a new experience for me. Really, now that I look back at the mountain climb, I'm glad that it worked out the way it did. I've climbed a lot of mountains, but I've never experienced a real tropical storm before... especially on a mountain.
As we continued down we met their Dominican guides who were not very pleased with the persistence of their clients to continue... especially due to the state some of them were in.
When we reached the bottom of the mountain, it was poring hard. We got into the truck and started back to Jarabacoa. The rain stopped and we drove back with the canvass top off the safari style truck. When we reach Ranco Baguette it began to pour again. Upon speaking to the staff at the ranch we learned that the D.R. had been hit by Tropical Storm Noel, and that it was expected to be around for a while (in fact it remained for five more days).
Our drive back to Puerto Plata was interesting. Streets and highways were flooded... amazing what the Picanto can go through... and it was tough to see through the wind screen.We dropped off Dieter at Sun Village as he was leaving D.R. the next day. We were booked at Sosua Bay Hotel for the next eight nights. We ate at Sun Village one last time and knew we would miss this place.
When we reached Sosua Bay Hotel, we were impressed, until the power cut out several times, could only locate one bar, and found that our television did not work. This was the beginning of a very disappointing stay. Advertised on Expedia was what this resort is supposed to look like when it is finished... this is a long way off. We found one pool (supposed to be five) one bar (supposed to be 5), one restaurants (with others that opened at random times (supposed to be six), a free shuttle to Cabarette (conveniently broken our entire stay). Our reason for staying in Sosua was so that we could snorkel. With a tropical storm beating down on us, snorkeling was not an easy venture. We made the best of it and snorkeled nearly everyday at least once. We found the staff at Sosua Bay Hotel to be very unfriendly... we did not feel very welcome. On rainy days there were no activities, the bar was outside so not conducive for frequent visits. The drinks were not very good either so we did not drink much. The food was extremely greasy and something did not agree with me one night... I spent a lot of time hugging the porcelain throne. We did not complain, we lived with it, as we knew that some poor folks were losing their homes during this awful tropical depression. To make the best of it we took the public taxi into Puerto Plata and saw a lot of things we missed last year. We made two trips to an awesome clothing store (bought $200 in clothes that would have cost about $1000 in Canada), a local supermarcado, the Amber museum, and the Brugal Rum factory.
On our third last day the sun appeared. We snorkeled a lot but the water was cloudy. Still we spent a couple of hours in the ocean. 
Our second last day we took a boat out snorkeling and spent another two hours on our own. The water was becoming a lot clearer and the fish were amazing. 
The fish will eat bananas out of your hand. On our last day we were ready to 
go. We snorkeled for an hour. We spoke to other guests who felt the same was about the resort. They all complained and got much better service and amenities.. oh well.
Our second last day we took a boat out snorkeling and spent another two hours on our own. The water was becoming a lot clearer and the fish were amazing. The fish will eat bananas out of your hand. On our last day we were ready to go. We snorkeled for an hour. We spoke to other guests who felt the same was about the resort. They all complained and got much better service and amenities.. oh well.Our flight back was uneventful. We were picked up by my mother and step-father and went back to Listowel.
Early November:
Tracey and I went to a Robinson family Christmas. 
I saw a lot of family I hadn't seen in ages. Many of my cousins now have there own kids. Tracey flew back to Alberta the next day. The rest of my stay was devoted to taking care of my grandfather. I spent time with Dad after he had his Gall Bladder removed, and took Ian to the orthodontist. strangely it does not sound like I did much, but time was always filled.
I saw a lot of family I hadn't seen in ages. Many of my cousins now have there own kids. Tracey flew back to Alberta the next day. The rest of my stay was devoted to taking care of my grandfather. I spent time with Dad after he had his Gall Bladder removed, and took Ian to the orthodontist. strangely it does not sound like I did much, but time was always filled.Mid November:
After receiving a call from work, I had to return for the weekend of the 17th. Apparently they don't want me taking this much time off. I still have a month of overtime accumulated so I don't know how I'm going to get rid of it all. Since returning, I am writing this on one of the only days off I've had since November 24. Since returning to Jasper I've been swimming a lot. I am presently up to a km a day and hope that I can keep up five days a week.
December:
Well here we are now. It has snowed a lot recently and been very cold. Before all the snow fell we had been skating a lot. Now I have a new computer, and got some ice axes in the mail. The canyon is frozen and I nearly have the ski shop operating. Our friends Kat and Joe got married so we had a reception to go to. Everything has been a blur since returning so I am once again looking forward to some time off. My boss said he only wants me to work 20-30 hours a week for the winter... I can't see this happening but I will do my best to oblige.
Today:
I don't know if we are downhill or cross country skiing today, but we will do something. Yesterday we went ice climbing, it was nice to get back on the ice again.
Sorry this blog is so unorganized, but I needed to get it done. My next blogs will be coherent and more frequent.
