Free Jazz Festival on Cabarete Beach – Nov 2018
The DR Jazz Festival is back this year to bring you the very best of Caribbean Jazz. The free live music hits Cabarete Beach on November 3 and 4. Be there. Cabarete is well-known for its wild party spirit. So, get ready to bust out your slickest dance moves and party all night! You can bet it will be a weekend to remember. In the past 21 years, the Festival has showcased talent from all over the world. Grammy-winners Esperanza Spalding, Chuck Mangione, and David Sanchez are just a few big names that have played the North Coast shows. You can expect a high-quality line-up from this year’s celebration. This year, the Festival kicks off in Los Establos, CapCana for a special inaugural show on August 25, followed by a night in Santiago de los Caballeros on October 26. The sweet sound of Jazz will then make its way to Puerto Plata (Nov 1) and Sosua (Nov 2), before ending up in Cabarete for 2 last crazy nights on the beach. The Festival is hosted by FEDUJAZZ and the DR Ministry of Tourism. FEDUJAZZ FEDUJAZZ is a non-profit foundation that improves the prospects of young people in the DR through music. Their free program currently provides music theory and instrument classes to 150 underprivileged kids (age 7-18). Right now in the DR, a child starting public school has less than a 10% chance of graduating high school. Studies show that engaging with a musical instrument can really improve these odds. FEDUJAZZ gets the whole family involved in the fun, and believes in the power of music to build community spirit. The Foundation partnered with the Jazz Festival two years ago, and now many of the performers offer free workshops to the local children. There are limited numbers of VIP tickets on sale, if you’re interested in supporting the Foundation and the great work it does. (Email info@drjazzfestival.com for more details.) In case you need any more convincing, I’ll leave you with the words of Marco Pignataro, one of the Festival’s organisers: ‘Jazz is truly a modern expression of democracy, which keeps renewing itself through the creative encounter of music cultures around the world.’
Comment se déplacer à Cabarete? Guagua et Carrito
À eXtreme Hotel, on attire généralement des voyageurs qui veulent vivre une expérience authentique, qui ont un goût pour l’aventure et l’exploration. En ce sens, le transport devient un élément essentiel de leur séjour. Comme notre priorité est de nous assurer que vous passiez les meilleurs vacances possibles, nous sommes toujours là pour vous aider à planifier vos transports et faire en sorte que vous pouvez vous rendre là où vous en avez envie. Cette série de trois articles couvre comment se déplacer à Cabarete. Bien que Cabarete soit une petite ville en soi, il y a tant d’endroits à visiter qu’il est indispensable de savoir comment utiliser les différents moyens de transports. Il existe plusieurs options pour différents besoins, et il est important de savoir discerner les avantages de chacunes de ces options pour vous permettre de vous déplacer sans tracas, à (très) petit prix et surtout pour vous permettre de sauver du temps et profiter pleinement de votre temps ici. La première partie du guide explique comment se déplacer à pied et comment utiliser les motoconchos à Cabarete. La deuxième partie du guide couvre le transport en Guagua et en Carrito. La troisième partie du guide détaille comment utiliser le transport privé en taxi et le transport par bus sur de grandes distances. Les guaguas et les carritos sont les deux moyens de transports publics que l’on peut utiliser en République dominicaine. Semblables en termes de prix et de trajets parcourus, il existe néanmoins des différences qui rendent l’un ou l’autre moyen de transport plus adapté à vos besoins. Les Guaguas Les guaguas (prononcés «gwa-gwa») sont des minivans privées (le chauffeur est propriétaire du véhicule) qui agissent comme principal transport public de masse entre les villes et les villages. Ces véhicules officialisés possèdent une porte coulissante sur le côté droit d’où l’on embarque et descend. Ils peuvent normalement asseoir entre 10 et 12 personnes incluant le chauffeur, mais il n’est pas rare que plus du double de personnes y rentrent. On peut les reconnaître facilement parce que leur trajet (fixe) est inscrit sur le pare-brise en avant (généralement deux noms de villes qui représentent les points de départ et d’arrivée). Les guaguas n’ont pas d’horaire où d’endroits fixe où s’arrêter: ils récupèrent et laissent des passagers là où les gens se trouvent ou veulent descendre. De ce fait, il suffit de leur envoyer la main lorsqu’on en aperçoit un sur le bord de la route pour qu’il ralentit et s’arrête pour nous laisser monter. Il n’est pas rare de devoir attendre entre 1 à 20 ou même 30 minutes avant que passe un Guagua, donc vaut mieux s’armer de patience. Généralement, les guaguas sont opérées par un chauffeur qui conduit le véhicule et un «cobrador» (un assistant «collecteur») qui s’occupe de remplir le véhicule à son plein potentiel en assignant une place aux passagers. Les cobradors se chargent aussi de récolter l’argent des paiements pour les trajets. Pour ce qui est du coût, les guaguas sont certainement le moyen de transport le plus bon marché. En effet, il n’en coûte qu’entre 25 à 50 pesos dominicains pour se rendre partout de Cabarete jusqu’à Sosua. Il vaut mieux avoir l’argent exact pour payer puisqu’ils n’ont pas toujours de change. Les guaguas fonctionnent du lever au coucher du soleil, et sont certainement un moyen de transport original et très amusant de se déplacer à Cabarete. Ça reste en soi un expérience très authentique qu’il faut essayer au moins une fois pour avoir une meilleure idée de ce que représente de vivre en République Dominicaine. Carrito (Caro publico) Les carritos sont des taxis publics (véhicule est la possession du chauffeur) qui, sur le même principe que les guaguas, suivent une route prédéfinie du point A au point B et vice versa. Ils sont facilement reconnaissable puisque la plupart des véhicule sont des Toyota Corolla et possèdent un enseigne sur le toit rappelant celui des taxis nord-américains ou européens. Sur cette enseigne se trouve leur route, normalement allant d’un village ou d’une ville à une autre. Comme les guaguas, les carritos s’arrêtent partout où il y a des gens qui veulent monter ou descendre. Ils n’ont donc pas d’horaire fixe et peuvent prendre entre 1 et 15 minutes avant d’en rencontrer un. Vous pouvez leur faire signe de s’arrêter en leur envoyant la main. Ils risquent également de vous klaxonner si vous attendez ou marchez sur le bord de la rue pour que vous les voyez. Si jamais vous en appelez un de la main et qu’il ne s’arrête pas, c’est probablement parce qu’il est rempli à pleine capacité. En effet, l’espace est plus limité dans les carritos que les guaguas et il arrive que l’on doive en passer plusieurs avant d’en trouver un avec de la place (surtout en fin de journée). En contrepartie, les carritos se rendre plus vite en destination puisqu’ils font moins d’arrêts (moins de passagers à bord). Ces voitures peuvent normalement loger 5 personnes avec le chauffeur, mais vont généralement en loger 7 (une personne de plus sur la banquette arrière et une autre partageant le siège passager à l’avant). Lorsque vous montez, après vous être assis et que le véhicule ait commencé sa course, pensez à payer le chauffeur avec le montant exact ou avec de petits billets. Lorsque vous arrivez à destination, simplement laisser savoir au chauffeur de s’arrêter là où vous désirez. Si jamais il vous arrive d’être la dernières personne en arrière du côté gauche du véhicule, ne sortez pas de la voiture par la portière gauche au risque de vous faire frapper par le trafic sur la route. Au contraire, les gens assis sur la banquette vont tous se lever un par un pour vous laisser sortir par la droite. Contrairement aux guaguas, les carritos roulent jour et nuit. À n’importe quel endroit sur la route principale de Cabarete à Sosua, le coût d’un carrito est de 30 pesos dominicains (plutôt 40-50 après le coucher du soleil). Les carritos sont également le
Paseo Domino circuito artistico
*Paseo Domino circuito artistico. Zona Colonial *Lugares interesantes para visitar en Santo Domingo durante el mes de Mayo *Arte y Naturaleza Empezaré por decir que ayer fue un grandioso dia. Fue mejor de lo que esperaba. La fundación Domino ONG de Santiago de la cual soy miembro desde hace ya un buen tiempo, nos organizó un paseo a Santo Domingo el Sabado 21 de Mayo. Este viaje tenía como propósito principal empaparnos con información artística y contemporánea sobre algunos punto claves de la Zona colonial. La fundación Domino ONG está enfocada en lo que es el arte y la Eco-forestación del país. Su ideal va muy de la mano con el propósito socio- ecologico que tenemos en Extreme Hotel, Cabarete. Uno de los lugares que visitamos fue el Centro de la imagen donde se está presentando la Exposición fotográfica llamada “Historias de Medio Ambiente”. Esta cuenta con piezas de mas de 10 diferentes artistas fotógrafos dominicanos los cuales se enfocaron en resaltar la belleza natural de República Dominicana y también la deforestación agresiva que hay un muchos lugares importantes de la isla. A Través de esta propuesta, se pretende educar y concientizar a los visitantes del Centro de la imagen de como cuidar la naturaleza y sus recursos. Otro increíble lugar que visitamos fue El Centro Cultural de España donde tienen la Exposición “Cervantes: Este que veis aquí”, en conmemorativa del 400 aniversario de la muerte de Miguel de Cervantes. Con exposición de pinturas de 21 artistas Dominicanos. También, la Exposición “Guano”, de Engel Leonardo. Artista Dominicano. Mientras íbamos en recorrido por la Zona Colonial, nuestro ‘Tourist guide’ Miguel Piccini (quien se conoce el lugar con todo y historia como si fuese la palma de su mano) nos mostraba los diferentes tipos de arquitecturas de los edificios y calles de la ciudad Colonial. Finalmente, llegamos a Casa Quién para la exposición “Gloria”. La cual reúne narrativas sobre experiencias que enfrenta la mujer dominicana desde temprana edad, desde la perspectiva de un grupo de talentosas mujeres artistas. Y “Botánica”: Exposición y bazar con propuesta naturalista y alternativa. Para los amantes del arte y la naturaleza, si están buscando deleitarse con buenas propuestas artísticas y conocer más sobre obras dominicanas mientras se recrean caminando por ‘La zona’, les recomiendo estos magníficos lugares mencionados. Estaran disponibles todo el mes de Mayo. Vale toda la pena… o la felicidad ir. Gracias a la Fundación Domino por la maravillosa experiencia! :) <3
Recipe: Vegetarian Pastelón
It’s Harvest Time at Taino Organic Farm! Twice a week the eXtreme team gets their hands on a whole bunch of fresh, organic greens and veggies to cook up or eat raw at the hotel! The latest harvest brought us a beautiful basket of tomatoes; avocados; cilantro; plátanos; peppers; and leafy, spicy greens. I love cooking for and sharing Dominican food with my fellow eXtremers so I decided to challenge myself by making a traditional Dominican dish using mostly the food we had harvested and little else. Dominican food is traditionally meat heavy so it was a bit of a challenge but I finally decided on one of my favorite dishes—pastelón de plátano maduro. A cross between a shepherd’s pie and lasagna, pastelón combines sweet, ripe plantains with savory ground meat and melted cheese. Mmmm! This is a vegetarian version I put together on the fly using some veggies we had on hand. It’s not quite how my Abuela makes it, but it’s still pretty good! VEGETARIAN PASTELÓN serves 6 10 ripe, yellow plantains 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets 1 medium sized carrot, julienned 1½ medium sized green peppers, julienned 1 small cubanelle pepper, diced 6 large garlic cloves, minced 1 small white onion, minced 1½ chicken bouillon cubes, crushed 12 slices of cheddar cheese ¾ of a stick of butter a healthy fistful of cilantro a healthy pinch of dried oregano olive oil salt and pepper to taste Peel and cut plantains into chunks. Fill a large saucepan with water, a pinch of salt, and put over high heat. Add the plantain chunks to the water and bring to a boil. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt a small pat of butter and a small drizzle of olive oil. Sauté the oregano, cilantro, chicken bouillon cubes, onions, and garlic for one minute until the onions become semitransparent. Add carrots, broccoli, and peppers and sauté for ten to twelve minutes. Lower the flame and cover with a loosely fitting lid for five minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. When the plantains have turned a golden yellow color and are easily pierced by a fork (approx. 25-30 mins), drain the saucepan and reserve a quarter cup of the cooking liquid. In a bowl combine the plantains, the cooking liquid, and the remaining butter and mash until the plantains are a soft, consistent texture. In a baking pan, spoon half of the mashed plantains and spread it into a thick, uniform layer. Spoon the veggies onto the layer of plantains and spread. Cover in six slices of cheese. Spoon the second half of the plantains and spread evenly. Cover the pastelón with the last six pieces of cheese. Set your oven to broil and put the pastelón in for five minutes or until the cheese on top has melted. We suggest you serve your pastelón with a salad of avocado, tomato, diced red onion, and a drizzle of olive oil over some spicy, mustard greens just like we did! Bon Apétit, or as we say in the Dominican Republic: ¡Buen Provecho! Notes: -We used broccoli and carrots but you can use cherry tomatoes, corn, or any veggies that don’t release too much liquid or your pastelón will bubble up around the edges. -We also used the stalks and leafy bits of the broccoli but you can discard these if you don’t like them. -You can use any kind of cheese you like; we especially like cheddar and Swiss but a bag of grated cheese works, too! -For a healthier version, nix the butter and chicken bouillon cubes and replace with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
Santiago: the perfect getaway from your vacation getaway
Santiago de Los Caballeros—the DR’s second-largest city and one of the oldest establishments in the Western Hemisphere, founded by the brother of Christopher Columbus back in the year 1495. Only a few hours’ journey from Cabarete, today Santiago is the perfect place to get away from your vacation getaway for a few days during your visit to the DR. Simply hop on a guagua to head to Puerto Plata (45 minutes, RD $50) to catch one of the many busses that head south every hour to Santiago (80 minutes, RD $130), and spend a day or two exploring the sights and scenes of a city which locals refer to as La Ciudad Corazón: “Heart City.” So-named for it’s central location in the heart of the El Cibao Valley, Santiago is known for it’s charm and rich cultural history, and is a place where friendly locals still embody the laid back, undemanding lifestyle and cheery charisma so typical of the Dominican people. It’s also home to one of the country’s most popular baseball teams – Las Aguilas Cibaeñas, and scoring a pair of last-minute tickets to a Friday night game was one of the highlights of our visit! It all started early on a rainy Friday morning, after our search for an eco-village described as a “rustic mountaintop retreat” supposedly located somewhere along the road between Puerto Plata and Santiago completely FAILED, and our curiosity (and lack of a backup plan) led us to follow the highway the rest of the way on our motorbike into downtown Santiago to see for ourselves what the city had to offer. As it turned out, we had such a great time that I honestly don’t think we could have planned better experience even if we had tried. After riding into the densest, busiest part of the city center and negotiating a couple of tense traffic scenarios, we pulled over to ask where we could find a cheap hotel. We were directed to a small street just south of the intersection of “30 de Marzo” and “27 de Februar”—yes, the streets here are named after random (or possibly important) dates of the year—where we quickly found a small hotel named “Hotel Shalom,” featuring rooms starting at just 300 pesos. After realizing we didn’t have enough clothing to stuff into all of the holes and cracks in the walls and windows of our room, we came up with a novel solution for dealing with the mosquitoes which seemed abundant enough that they might have posed a problem: With all the money we saved on lodging, we were able to absolutely SPLURGE on a taxi (100 pesos) to the stadium downtown where we treated ourselves to a pair of front row tickets (100 pesos each) to the big Friday night game between the Aguilars and the Estrellas. It was a delightful game and for the first time in my life I witnessed a grand slam at a baseball game! We found that even though there are seat numbers listed on the tickets, nobody abides by these, and seating seems to operate on a first-come first-served basis. So if you do go to a game, make sure to get there early and grab good seats. Also, bring some coins to spend on the interesting treats that are sold by vendors walking up and down the stands, such as delicious peanut-cookies (10 pesos; highly recommended), bags of popcorn (we didn’t buy any), lollipops (5 pesos), and nachos (35 pesos; didn’t buy any either). We left the stadium during the bottom of the 8th inning to avoid what probably would have been a crowded, hectic street battle to find a taxi ride back to our hotel (80 pesos). The next day was Saturday, and after taking our bike to the shop and replacing the old battery (now the headlights, horn and auto-ignition switch all work perfectly!), we cruised up to El Monumento a los Heroes de la Restauracion de la Republica, set high up on a hill just east of the downtown area, with incredible views over the entire city: It also turned out to be a lovely place to catch the sunrise on our last day in town, although we can’t 100% guarantee you won’t get mugged if you show up there with your expensive camera in the wee hours of dawn. Later in the day, we spent some time at the nearby Fortaleza San Luis, a highly recommended art/artifacts museum/fortress that functioned as a military stronghold from the late 17th century to the 1970s when it was converted into a museum. It’s a great place to spend the hottest part of the day admiring an impressive collection of Taino artifacts displayed alongside the artwork of modern-day Domincan artists: We spent the rest of the day walking past the shops along Calle del Sol, wandering through street markets, observing a lively political street-rally, watching children from orphanages receive belated Christmas gifts being distributed out of large vans owned by a local organization, chatting with friendly locals, and watching the scenes of life unfold in a community living under the Rio Yaque del Norte bridge. At night we wandered the narrow streets and alleys past food vendors and watched as daytime shops closed down and transformed into homes and living quarters for the workers and their families. The next morning, after ducking into Catedral de Santiago de Apostol to escape a morning rain shower and observe Sunday mass from the back row of the chapel, it was almost with a hint of sadness that we left Santiago and headed back to paradise. Perhaps of all the things that amazed me about our visit was the fact that the entire time we were there, the only “foreigners” we saw seemed to be the Haitian immigrants sharing the hallway with us in the hotel where we stayed. But even at the main places of interest downtown where one would expect to see foreigners snapping photos, we were the only tourists in
How We Handle Mosquitos in Cabarete
Extreme Hotel Cabarete, on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, caters to an eco friendly environment. One of the realities of living next to El Choco National Park is that there are mosquitoes during the rainy season. Dealing with mosquitoes is a fact of life in the tropics. Chikungunya, malaria, and dengue are a few mosquito transmitted diseases that have been contracted in the Dominican Republic, but there are things that can be done to help manage the mosquitoes without having to poison ourselves with chemicals. All it takes is some creative thinking to ensure that we have a mosquito tolerable environment. One effective measure that works for us is spraying an organic insecticide around the property as needed. Here’s a glance at our handy man, Oscar, spraying for us (I know you’re singing “Ghostbusters!” right now): The harmless spray contains a mixture of organic neem oil, water, and a natural detergent. Neem oil is an incredible moisturizer and is widely used today in popular products such as shampoos, toothpaste, soaps, cosmetics, and creams. It also contains vitamin E, essential amino acids, fatty acids, and compounds that offer natural medicinal and insecticidal properties. In addition to our checmical free mosquito management technique , we offer our eXtreme guests a personal mosquito swat-racket. There is a technique to using a mosquito racket. Basically the procedure is to close all your doors and windows in your room, checking to ensure that all the seals are closed so no more can get in. Next, use your racket in a gentle swinging manner to clear the room and all the corners of the mosquitoes that have managed to get inside. These are no ordinary mosquito rackets – our staff ran a trial period of testing out various rackets to see which ones were most effective in zapping away the mosquitoes. We unanimously agreed upon a mosquito racket with wires that only run one way- no crossing! This technology allows air to swiftly fly through the racket instead of being propelled forward and ultimately pushing the mosquitoes out of the way. The end result is dead mosquitoes with minimal effort, and easy sleeping nights with no mosquitoes buzzing around your ears! Here are a few handy tips for getting the most out of your zap-racket: 1) Close the door behind you! Don’t give insects a chance to fly in as you enter the room. Also, check that your screens aren’t damaged with holes or crooked frames. 2) Make sure the green light turns on when you press down on the yellow activation button. If the green light does not respond, then you need to try rolling the batteries around a bit in order to guarantee that they are receiving proper circuit supply from both ends. If the light still does not respond, then we can switch out your faulty racket with a new one from reception. 3) Mosquitoes love damp, warm areas and are often found gathered in corners of rooms. Sweep your zap-racket slowly around the corners of the room and rest easy as you hear the sweet, succulent zapping sound. An additional measure we take towards our eco-friendly bug management includes bat housing we installed on the property. A single bat can consume up to 1000 mosquitoes in a night! Citronella plants and Neem trees have also been transplanted onto our property to act as natural insect repellents. You may recognize the scent of citronella (lemongrass) in the air. It is has an energizing citrus aroma used in perfumes, soaps, and incense. We are also continuously inspecting the property for standing water. By eliminating standing water we also eliminate the bug breeding ground that comes with it. Inside the eXtreme Hotel rooms you will find big fans located directly over top of the beds. These go a long way in reducing the random stray mosquito! Due to the lightweight nature of mosquitoes, the fan makes it difficult for them to maneuver through the air. Finally, it doesn’t hurt to bring an organic mosquito repellent. You can easily concoct your own by adding a few drops of citronella or neem oil to a moisturizer. Your skin will love it after playing in the sun all day!