Santo Domingo I

Now I've been very lazy with my blog. But as I don't really feel like I'm travelling or doing anything new at the moment, I haven't thought about my blog.

Well, I'm back in Santo Domingo in Dominican republic. For those of you who don't know it, I went here (not to Sto Dgo, but Santiago) as an exhange student in 99/00. So arriving at the airport here, I was met by a friend from school and her boyfriend, and have stayed in their house since. Until now, that I've moved to a hotel a bit closer to the old city (Zona Colonial, which by the way was America's first city), which is easier as I will take a spanish course this week.

Saturday we went to a meeting cause it was the international solidarity day with Cuba. And, they were going to talk about Che, so I'm not the one to say no! The strangest thing was that when they remembered an artist, they had one minute with applause. Not silence. But have to admit, I think that was a lot nicer than the silence we usually have!

I haven't done any sightseeing or anything here yet, as I will do that part when Roger arrives in one week. Until then I'll study spanish verbs and participate in some meetings. For instance I'll meet one of the biggest persons in the trade union's history here tomorrow (one of the few who haven't sold his soul to the companies). Looking forward to that!

¡ Hasta la victoria siempre !

Jamaica

I'm surprised no one (Åge?) has mentioned it yet, but Jamaica is not exactly part of Latin America, that I'm supposed to be exploring. Well, that's how it is when you travel with some one, you also have to listen to them. And Jamaica was a country Merete wanted to visit. It was very nice, but I'm glad to be back on track in the Latin American world.

So how was Jamaica? Yeah mon. What to say. In less than two weeks it's difficult to learn too much about another country. The thing I noticed on the airport was all the bill-boards. Difficult not to I guess, after three weeks in Cuba.

The part we stayed in first, Portland, is not a clever choice during the rainy season (now). It rained a lot, also during the day, which made it difficult to do anything. The far western part where we went afterwards, was a lot better, as it's the driest spot on the island. You have cactuses and more of a desert feeling, not like the mangrove forest in Portland.

Close to Treasure Beach, in a tiny, tiny village called Top Hill, they have a celebrity they are quite proud of; Colin Powell. Next to that village, you have one of the biggest factories on the island, a huge bauxit factory, owned by russians. At the moment just a big ghost, as the financial crisis has hit that industry with all it's power. 900 workers are now unemployed. In a small village like that, in a small country like Jamaica (only 2.9 million inhabitants), where social well-fare is at it's best a faint dream, that's a devastating blow.

Negril

Arrived at Xtabi, our hotel at the cliffs, on tuesday. Negril is a tourist town, although we've hardly seen any tourists. Mainly americans who travel here, but as it's the low-season now, it's quite empty. A lot of hotels and restaurants are even closed at this time. But, lucky for us, it's very cheap here now. We pay 44 USD for our room with air-con, normally it costs twice as much.

Went early to bed on tuesday, as usual. Woke up with the light, around six, without my cell-phone. Started searching on the floor, thinking I had hit it in my sleep, only to discover that my purse and backpack were laying next to the door. Definitely not the way I left them. As I have a thing with money, I always hide them all over in odd places, very happy I did that! They had searched for money, but only found about 10 USD in my wallet, and my cell-phone and iPod. My camera, that is the most expensive thing I own, was left in the room, I suppose it was too big for them to carry if they were spotted. Creepy that someone was one in our room while we were sleeping, just next to my bed!

Yesterday we were supposed to have two dives, but as we had to wait for the police, the divemaster went to his office. Not exactly trusting the police to turn up too quickly. They surprised us by arriving only three hours after the hotel-staff called them, so we could go diving before it got too late. Later in the day, the visibility is worse as are the waves. That's why we wanted to go early. The dive was great!

After that we went to Long Bay, the other part of Negril, to see the Seven mile beach. It's long, but not among my Top-10-prettiest-beaches. Took a couple of drinks and beers on the beach, trying to get rid of that creepy feeling from the night. I think the hustlers noticed my bad mood, they didn't exactly bother me much.

Today we've had two wonderful dives, seeing stingrays, dolphins (!!!) and a turtle. Just perfect! Amazing to see the big dolphin that close, absolutely something I'll remember for life.

Now we have been to the library, so that I could finally my print my flight ticket. Might need that tomorrow! Will go find some nice and expensive dinner tonight, as this is Merete's last night before travelling home to Norway. And maybe we'll manage to find a bar and stay awake later than ten o'clock? Anyway, tomorrow, very early, we're leaving for the airport. And then I'm heading back to Dominican republic, this time to meet a friend from high school there that lives in Santo Domingo. Looking forward to seeing them at the airport tomorrow!