Our Stay in Salinas
Oct 12, 2006
Headed to Dominican Republic so Steve could go kiteboarding. Salinas turned out to be a cool little town.
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It definitely depends on what town you go to. Some towns such as Cabarette don't have any local culture at all and are quite drab while others have a French influence or are truly Dominican. The beaches vary but are mostly just what you'd expect in the Caribbean - white sand and warm turquoise water.
In general DR is very pretty, has super nice people (they actually like Americans), has a nice variety of landscape/towns, and although it is more expensive than the usual backpacker type of country, it is still cheaper than the rest of the Caribbean. It definitely creates a different atmosphere for the low-budget backpacker when the locals expect you to be the high paying all-inclusive resort type.
Getting away from the tourist areas the country is quite poor. Which means the local transportation is great! The food is fair and we were able to find rooms for $20. US dollars are accepted almost everywhere and the local rum is worth the trip alone.
Mar 2007
| Language | Meaning | Phrase / Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Spanish |
chicken stock / bouillon (also caldo de pollo) |
consome de pollo cohn-soh-meh deh poi-yo |
| Does this have animal products? | Esto tiene productos de animales? eh-stoh tyeh-neh proh-dook-tohs deh ah-nee-mah-lehs? |
|
| Does this have chicken stock? | Tiene caldo de pollo? tyeh-neh cahl-doh deh poi-yo? |
|
| I am vegetarian | soy vegetarian(a fem.)(o male) soy ve-he-TAH-ree-YAH-nah |
|
| I don't eat meat, chicken, or fish | no como carne, pollo o pescado | |
| Is this made with water or chicken stock? (handy for asking about the gallo pinto) |
Está hecho con agua o caldo de pollo? | |
| no meat, no chicken, no fish | ni carne, ni pollo, ni pescado nee CAR-ne, nee POY-o, nee pes-CA-do |
|
| with vegetables instead of mean (chicken), please | con verduras en lugar de carne (pollo) por favor |
| Language | Meaning | Phrase / Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Spanish |
health / Cheers! | salud sah-LOOD |
| pure life / Cheers! (means; Pure Life) (Costa Rica) |
pura vida POO-rah VEE-dah |
|
| a light rain, like mist (literally cat’s hair) (Costa Rica) |
pelo de gato PEH-lo deh GAH-toh |
|
| giddy up (use it slangly like you do in English for "let's go" or "get going") |
arre AH-rreh |
|
| last drink of the night, although there are usually multiple last drinks (Costa Rica) |
zarpe SAR-peh |
Helpful information and fun adventures!
More of a personal nature, my un-related diary-like (hmmm or blog-like?) daily thoughts and activities; the things that don't warrant their own article/adventure post.