Report from the DR [final]

The most interesting part of Santo Domingo is the Colonial Zone. It's also the most touristy, you'll need to beat the "tour guides" and t-shirt vendors off with a stick but the sights are worth the trouble. On one of my first trips there I wandered off El Conde (the main drag in the Colonial Zone) and happened upon a restaurant that has become my favorite.

El Meson de Lu is a a family operation. Luis, the owner, is usually there in the evenings. His wife tends bar, and his daughters run your drinks to you. When I first started coming to the restaurant they kept cartoons playing loudly on the TV to entertain the youngest daughter; thankfully (I guess) she has moved on to pop music shows.

There are a number of constant items on the menu. You can always get a great piece of grouper, fried or grilled, and there are garlic beef dishes. The rice and beans are a small miracle. The type of beans changes, but the wonderful creaminess doesn't. The amount of pork added to the beans is always just right. Last night I ate some fantastic goat, a special listed on the chalkboard. It had been braised and stewed, and it took me a long time to clear my plate. I find that when I've got really good food in front of me I naturally eat very slowly- a big deal for me, I tend to eat way too fast.

If you're in Santo Domingo, check this place out. The menu is in Spanish only. Luis speaks English well, but his wife and kids don't. I wouldn't worry; they are friendly and ordering has never posed a problem for me. The Mrs. can come off a bit dour, so don't read it as though she's inconvenienced by you.

Diagonally across the street is Meson De Bari, another good restaurant. It's not hard to eat well in this town.

Meson de Lu (sometimes you'll see it called Meson de Luis)

Calle Hostos #201

(809) 689-4640

mesondeluis@hotmail.com

Report from the DR #7

I finally made it to my favorite restaurant tonight. It was a long quest, though; it was preceded by several rainstorms, a few Presidentes, and some couples from Boston that bought me various drinks. I'm going to fill you in on this restaurant tomorrow- for now I'll leave you with a (sort of crappy Iphone) photo of a great rainbow. I was sitting outside Harry's at the Plaza de Espana when this appeared.

Report from the DR #6

The journalists and relief workers have left our hotel, and in their place are a handful of folks trying to locate family members. There are worried phone calls at the pay phones.

Today was a rain-out, so a planned excursion to my favorite local restaurant has been postponed until tomorrow. Truth be told, our hotel restaurant really is good, and the menu is always so bizarrely translated that I would hate to miss an offering. If I had gone out tonight I wouldn't have had the chance to eat this:

When I'm in a hotel room for this long there are only two possible outcomes: I go crazy or I get productive. I never know which it will be, but on this trip is is decidedly the latter. I've dreamed up a new cone, done lots of work on two projects yet to be announced, and have been formulating frequent buyer incentives. I've been reading dissertation proposals and sketching my own. To top it off I've been practicing AND managing to get into the sun. I'm making myself nervous. The next thing you know I'll be living in a shack whipping up a manifesto.

Report from the DR #5

As I said, this hotel has filled up with relief workers (and media teams) and they are plotting how to get over to Port-au-Prince. Today's New York Times has an article about this issue.

Report from the DR #4

Tomorrow's concert has been cancelled. Just as well- it's not really a concert sort of mood down here. This hotel has filled up with relief workers and journalists. A steady stream of people lugging camera equipment has been coming through since last night, and it doesn't take much eavesdropping to get a picture of what's going on; they are here to collect themselves before heading to Haiti. I can't guess how many journalists have flooded into that country. Strange days. Getting online here is becoming more and more difficult as the island's little bandwidth is devoured by the new arrivals.

On the lighter side, I took a picture of one of the offerings at tonight's buffet. Dig in!

Here we see a Little Gay Ice Cream Bike.

Report from the DR #3

I've decided to write about one of my favorite places to visit in Santo Domingo. The last time I went was in March of 2009. Bryan was down to visit and my buddy Jen was here playing with the orchestra, so I had the fun of showing them this spot for their first time.

Los Tres Ojos is a park just to the side of town. A literal translation is "the three eyes" and this refers to three partially enclosed ponds. Some webpages say it really refers to "three caves" and that mostly makes sense, but I prefer that it speaks of the water formations.

Los Tres Ojos is a short taxi ride away. Generally your taxi driver will hang out there and wait for you to return- this town is full of taxis, so the driver would rather have the sure fare then go back on the street and hustle. When Paul visited our taxi driver took us all over town, and waited for us at each juncture. At the end of our three or so hours with him we paid him about $20 and he was thrilled. The taxis here are JUNKERS. Some don't have windows; last year we got in a minivan that had no sliding door. Don't expect a comfy ride, but do expect a hospitable driver.

Once you are at this park you'll be hustled by potential "tour guides" and people selling tchotchkes. Keep on moving, and pay your entrance fee- I think it's about two dollars. To descend into Los Tres Ojos you'll be on a staircase cut into the stone. For god's sakes, hold on to the rail!

Here are a few pictures that Bryan shot during his visit. The first photo was taken on the initial descent. This pond has a striking color, and is fresh water; there are numerous turtles and little fish.

The second pond is quite small and has a high sulfur content.

The final pond is much lower. This rickety float will take you to the far side of the cave, and is worth the 10 pesos you'll pay to the raftsman. You'll feel like Charon is tugging you across the Styx.

Here's the view once you disembark and hop through a short cave. It's damned stunning. Apparently this area was used by pirates "on the down low."

Writing this makes me want to go back for another visit. Maybe...

Report from the DR #2

I promised a post today, but I'm rescinding. The earthquake's mayhem is playing out on the news, and the internet is nearly inaccessible as the arriving media and relief efforts devour the island's bandwidth. I decided to get out of my room today; I did a good amount of practicing and compiled data out of my notebooks.... but no "real" writing.

It's very upsetting to turn on the news and see carnage only miles from where I am, and it didn't leave me in creative mood. I'll be back in the saddle tomorrow.

Report from the DR

Well, that was one hell of an earthquake today!

I’m in the Dominican Republic this week. There’s an orchestra here in Santo Domingo and they are one bassoonist short of a full deck, so every now and then they will bring me down here to fill up the section. I’ve been coming here on and off for about four years, which makes for a great way to learn more about the town, the island, and most importantly the people.

This orchestra is partially state funded, and partially supported by private donation. The Dominican Republic is a poor country so naturally the orchestra’s funding goes up and down, but unlike orchestras back in the US it seems to be a mostly stable endeavor. The people in Sinfonica are a varied assortment, which makes for interesting concerts. The first trumpet is sheer genius, and the principal oboe and bassoon are both first-rate. The fellow who plays English horn is a full-time policeman; every now and then he shows up in uniform- complete with sidearm.

During this trip I am staying at a very sketchy hotel. The rooms at the Barcelo Lina are (mostly) fine*, and there’s a lovely pool. There is also a piano bar that seems to host a prostitution ring. The hotel certainly knows that there are girls “working” the premises, and rumor has it that you can charge their services to your room. I was in the bar once when a young lady started to work on me. I let it go for a few minutes mostly because she barely spoke English and I barely speak Spanish. I figured that telling her “I like boys” would fix the situation, but she responded “Babies! I want babies too!!” and things only got worse. My dad got a big kick out of that incident.

On another trip I stayed at a fairly grand hotel called El Embajador. It may not be in its prime anymore, but the pool is massive (it once sported 5m and 10m concrete diving platforms; it’s that big) and that scores points for me. I was there for the hotel’s anniversary. My friend Paul and I were in our top-floor room when we suddenly dove for cover. Were we under mortar fire? No- the hotel was setting off fireworks and launching them from the roof. A side note- El Embajador is seen in Godfather II. When Michael is in a Havana hotel, you're seeing El Embajador.

It seems that today’s earthquake was centered in Port-au-Prince. We were on break at rehearsal when the room started to sway. The lighting rigs above our heads were swinging to and fro, but we settled back in to work. About 20 minutes later cell phones started to go off, and we learned that a tsunami warning had been issued. Rehearsal was called, and we all headed home. All is fine on this side of Hispaniola, though knowing about the circumstances just 150 miles away is very unsettling.

More on my adventures in the Dominican Republic will be written tomorrow. I’ll tell you about things far more interesting than the hotels I stay in.

*I’ve stayed at this hotel a bunch of times, and I’ve learned that you need to do a thorough walk-through every time you enter a new room. You’d be surprised at what I found in my “first” room last night. Horrible.