Guest starring

For all our readers who haven't heard yet about our adventures in Dominican Republic (and for those who heard but would like to read about it;), below is translation of an article we wrote for Mały Podróżnik (Little Traveler). Go to the website too if you want to see the pictures!

With kids in Dominican Republic

You think of Dominican Republic and you think of 5-star-resorts and all-inclusive vacation. We managed to see it from different, much more interesting side, and we proved that it's a very kid-friendly country.

We bought the tickets year in advance. It was the first time ever we bought the tickets so much earlier, but somewhere on some travel profile on facebook we found a great deal. Round trip from Paris to Santo Domingo for around 400 USD. It would be sin not to buy it! We bought 3 tickets: for us and for Maciek. By the time we would be going there he would be 3 years old, so traveling with him won't be any problem. 3 days later pregnancy test told us that we need another ticket...

Kalina was born in July. For the first 3 months she was crying quite a lot. We were scared to death thinking about the journey. We even wanted to cancel our plans (unfortunately there was no way to rebook the flight), but at last we've decided that you don't get such a chance too often. Let's go then.

Awfully long flight was much easier for kids than for us. We landed in Santo Domingo around 8 pm local time, for our bodies it was 6 hours later. For first 3 days we rented a car. Since Maciek is with us we got a bit spoiled. Before that we used to ignore all the beaters at the airport and catch a bus at the highway. Now we knew that Maciek wouldn't care but we were so exhausted that we wouldn't be able to deal with one kid and all the luggage, not to mention two kids...

It took a while to go through the formalities, than we got everything and everyone in the car and off we went. For the first week we booked a simple bungalow at Samana Peninsula from a British guy whose name was...Dominic. It was 2.5 hour drive from the capital. As soon as we left the airport we got lost... Driving nervously back and forth we tried to remember what is the crime rate in Santo Domingo. Luckily nobody shot us. Nobody even wanted to rob us. Local people were very friendly, trying to explain us where we should go, and seeing complete desorientation on our dead-tired faces they would even get in their cars and lead us in right direction. Sometimes they would joke (?) that they can help us for 50 USD. After our "no, thank you" they would still help us for free.

We finally found the right highway. The only light we saw during next hour and a half was star light. Electricity in DR is quite expensive so if it's not necessary, they don't turn the lights on. And who needs light on a highway going through middle of nowhere We got there at 2 am. Exactly 24 hours after we got up. Kids were sound asleep in the back of the car and we were trying really hard not to fall asleep...

For the next two weeks we smiled all the time. Sun, palm trees, beautiful beaches, picturesque waterfalls, caves, swimming at night in a lagoon with luminous plankton and local people - always smiling, singing and very friendly, amazed by our blond kids. Kalina, despite our fears cried maybe 2 days during the whole trip. She's clearly made to travel.

We decided to spend the last week in the south-west part of the country. Everyone told us it's a beautiful area with nice and dry climate, unlike the humid rest of the country. We rented a car for those last few days again and we headed south. By this time we already used (with kids) all kinds of transportation: buses, horses, boats, motors called motoconchas which are used as taxis there. We know for example, that family 2+2 with a luggage and a stroller needs 3 motoconchas with drivers.

All the way south it was raining. It didn't stop when we got there. After next day of rain we've decided to return to Santo Domingo earlier than we planned. Easy to say... On the first day the rain flooded the road and we couldn't get through. As long as the water was splashing sideways from under our wheels we kept driving. But once it poured over our hood we've decided it's too risky. We stopped at the first hotel we found. On the second day we got up at dawn. We didn't get too far either, water was pouring over the hood again. Third day was Friday: our plane was leaving in the evening. We were in our car at 6 am hoping we'll drive those 120 km (less than 80 miles) to the airport in just a couple of hours.

Road to Santo Domingo runs along the coast. There were mountains on our left and Carribean Sea on the right. There was no other way. It kept raining. Driving aroung bigger paddles (or lakes) by sideways led by locals, after a few kilometers we reached a bridge on the river, which most of the time is a small creek. Now it was a wide rushing water, impassable on our way to the capital.

Before the bridge there was a crowd of people. Police didn't let anyone through. End of the bridge collapsed a little, we could see the difference of levels from the distance - maybe 20 or 30 cm (1 foot). Locals asked when it will be possible to get through answered each one differently: some that government forces are already on the way, others that maybe on Monday, but they all said it first had to stop raining so the water lever would lower. But it kept raining

We rented a room in the nearest, very dingy hotel, as we actually quickly realized it was the one that would rent rooms per hour. Young guy who worked there, very worried about our situation gave us a discount and brought us lunch from his mom. Every two hours we went back to check if the bridge is open. Last time we went around 6 pm, knowing that it's the last moment to cross it if we want to make it to the airport on time. Line of cars on the road to the bridge didn't get any shorter. When we came closet we understood immediately that we're not flying back home that night. There was a huge gap in the bridge...

Ever since when Maciek is playing with his cars and makes a traffic jam, asked what happened says "bridge collapsed"... We finally made it to Santo Domingo on Sunday. The airlines were so nice that they rebooked our tickers at no cost. In the meantime we found out that it was not just another tropical storm. Few days later the wind got stronger and as Hurricane Sandy caused much more trouble in Cuba and finished off with a spectacular show much further north - in New York.

Despite the weather anomaly we cordially recommend Dominican Republic. Especially with a backpack, far from hotels, closed beaches and all-inclusive deals. To experienced backpackers we recommend local transportation. Buses full of very friendly, singing people, pick-ups and motoconchas are lots of fun. And the kids will always find new friends there. People there are joyful and very positive, especially towards travelers with kids. We didn't feel any risk at any moment. DR is beautiful, has a lot to offer to everyone: to active travelers (also those with kids!) and to those who like to stay at the beach, not necesarily with crowds of other people around.