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I left charming Monte Cristi today and I went to Restauracion, hoping that I will find there some nice place, in typical charming dominican style - quiet, safe, in nice location (mountains) etc. Something like small towns near Jarabacoa. Unfortunately, what I found there was completely different. or maybe should I rather say: after what my eyes saw after regular weed smoking during last few weeks... ? Some kind of tension in the air (that's the area that's really close to Haiti)..Strange atmosphere...Running stray dogs (which is actually, quite typical for dominican towns), kids begging for some money (which also sometimes does happen here), and the feeling and image of real poverty and desperation....
Probably one of the biggest reasons (if not the principal one) why I didnt like Restauracion that much was the hotel where i stayed there. I came there thinking that it wont be so hard to find some decent place to sleep...I was wrong that time. So in Restauracion there are 2 hotels - and one of them is indeed decent, while the other - that one where I sleeped - is not good at all. The "decent" hotel was totally occupied, so I was forced to stay in the "bad" hotel. HUGE power outages (no electricity from 5 pm until 11 pm, could you believe that ? that's the time when you usually need it), rooms of the size of 3 square meters,walls so thin that you could hear everything what was going on in your neighbour's room...And the neighbours ? Desperate and unemployed Haitians.... Looking at me in strange way (once again - maybe that was the weed how it worked that day on me), judging how much my bike would cost...At least that was my impression.

So I'm in Restauracion... Beautiful name, isnt it ? Before coming here I listened a lot of [...read more...]
So I had the plan to go from Restauracion down south to Pedro Santanta and later also down south...But I went back. To the better roads, to less poverty, to be just safe..What stopped me were the 25 km of the road from said Restauracion to Pedra Santana. Unpaved, a little abandonded, bordering with Haiti...and dangerous, by the dominican stories. This time I listened to them. Haitians that I met were too good examples of human's desperation to ignore it. And on that road everything could wait for me...
So finally I went to Barahona through Santo Domingo.

Santiago de los Caballeros - next day.

So I left Restauracion as soon as I could. Around 9 am. I drove today around 200 km, including the part of the road that was terrible. And it took me almost 2 hours to drive these fatal 15 kms. Can you believe that ? Hotel without electricity day before, and now the road where the average speed is around 8 km/h . Damn, what country it is 😉 I wanted adventure and I have adventure...
So I ran away...I ran as quickly as I could. From the eventual danger, eventual agression. From the poverty and desperation..But most of all -from my own fear..From my paranoidal dreams that night in 200 pesos hotel...
So few years ago I "invented" my own theory that all evil in this men's world is based on 2 things: fear and unawareness. And today, I gave up to my own fear. Which blocked my access to potental awareness..But f.. that. At least I was safe, motorcycle was not broken and I wasnt robbed....Sometimes is good to choose comfort.

I dont want to be to harsh on this region near border with Haiti - Restauracion area. The people who live there are nice, like 99 % of the Dominicans are. I wish them all the best from my heart and I hope that I dont harm them with my writing. But I am writing my subjective, from my point of view observations from this day that I spent it there.
Anyway - it could be still nice region to visit if you will have a luck to get a better hotel. I didnt have this luck, hence why my bitter post...

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