Back in the summer of 2010, work brought my husband and me to the Dominican Republic, a place, I have to be honest, I never wanted to go.
Why? Well, in Europe this country is one of those “it” places to travel to and literally everybody is frequenting it. Whenever something is popular, I immediately start being skeptical. I don’t know what it is but I have always swum against the current and I never simply followed the guidelines of a group.
So, I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of spending two weeks over there. You might say that this is a problem only spoiled girls can have and you may have a point. After all, I was going to spend 2 weeks in the sun, but something just didn’t feel right to me.
Most of the Europeans who travel to the Dominican Republic don’t go there to explore this historic country. Their agenda consists of partying, getting a tan, eating and relaxing. While there is nothing wrong with this, this is not my style. So, I didn’t want to stay at a resort where all I was going to see was the pool and the bar. Whenever I visit a new country, I want to explore it and get a feel for the people, the culture and the vibe of it all.
So, we ended up staying at a hotel in Sosúa, which is a town near Puerto Plata and considered not to be too touristy. Well, it’s at least not as crowded and well-known as other areas of this part of the Dominican Republic. We thought we could experience the real Dominican life, at least to some level, here.
The first few days were quite nice. There was not really a beach though, which was quite disappointing. We made the best of it and spent some time relaxing near the pool, enjoying the sun and the amazing weather and simply unwinding from the stress and the heartache of the weeks before. My grandmother had died only a few days prior to our vacation and I was still in shock. So, it felt good to spend some quality time with my husband.
After a while, I started to feel really, really sick. But we didn’t want to let this ruin our plans and still continued to explore Sosúa and its surroundings. So, we went to Ocean World, I kissed a dolphin (which was amazing! I have always wanted to swim with dolphins!) and tried to pretend that everything was fine. But it wasn’t. I felt sicker and sicker throughout the day and I was in horrible pain. There was no way around it, we had to make the adventurous trip to the emergency room of a different country. While we were waiting for the only physician to get out of surgery, I was thinking about this country and its people.
I have to admit that this was my first trip ever to such a poor country and I had quite a few encounters that I still remember vividly. One day, we were driving around the area of Puerto Plata, discovering the villages of the inhabitants. The poverty was not easy to handle, but at the same time, we were charmed by the happiness and the friendliness of the people. They didn’t have much, but they had their enthusiasm and lust for life. I would later notice the same attitude in the Cameroonian.
Is there a correlation between poverty and happiness?
I often think back to those vacations and to the people I have had the pleasure of meeting and wonder whether there is a correlation between happiness and the lack of material possessions. I don’t make a secret out of my love for gadgets, cloths, shoes, books, nice furniture etc., but I think that all this clutter can often overshadow what’s really important in our life: family, friends, laughter, love, fulfillment and simply being alive. So, there is something we can all learn from those people who master the art of living much better than most of us who were born financially privileged.
There are, of course, horrible sides of such poverty. On our way back home from Ocean World, I saw a tiny boy on crutches, begging for money. I will never forget the desperate look in his big, dark eyes and the despairing words he said. It broke my heart to see this boy and his fate has haunted me many nights since.
Back to the emergency room.
It was determined that I had an infection, partly due to the contaminated water and my weak immune system (due to my eating disorder). I was prescribed heavy medication and off we went. We were lucky enough to have a Dominican friend with us keeping an eye on everything that was going on. She told us that it is still common practice to scam tourists and charge huge amounts of money for tiny procedures. Still, it was anything but cheap to be examined for 5 minutes. That was one of the moments to be grateful for the insurance we have.
Despite the medication and the attempt to stay away from contaminated water, I didn’t get better and our friends started to feel sick too. So we made up our minds and decided to check into one of those awful resorts after all.
I was so sick and drugged that I hardly remember the long car ride to the Blue Bay Villas only vaguely. But I recall thinking I was in heaven when I saw the lobby of our new place. I was simply glad to be at a place that was safer for my health. It took me a few days to recuperate, but once I did, I couldn’t stop wanting to escape this resort.
I will share more of my vacation in the Dominican Republic in my next post. So, be sure to check back in!
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