April 17, 2014

11.51am Juan Dolio

They left us at Villas del Mar, 3 km before our destination, the most elegan part of Juan Dolio, reserved to tourists. We had to spend 100 RDS more for a motoconcho to take us here.

The Fior di Loto hotel is owned by an Italian lady, Mara, dressed Indian and with a bindi on her forehead. Indian is also the entrance and most of the furniture. The room is small and nothing special, but it costs us 630 RDS (12 euro), half of what we normally pay. And there’s wifi. She offered a more beautiful and more expensive room, but we are happy with this one. We have more money to buy food. Only downside: too many mosquitos.

Gogol Maps positions the Fior di Loto at a beach far from here, and clients sometimes arrive out of breath and upset. Mara tried to complain to Gogol, but they won’t hear.

In this moment we are in a “panaderia“, a bakery-eatery-cafeteria, owned by an Italian, waiting for a sandwich with homemade bread and a piadina. We are so hungry!

Sebastiano ed la sottoscritta alla Panaderia  Italiana Juan Dolio
Myself at the Panaderia Italiana Juan Dolio

The Panaderia Italiana Juan Dolio is owned by S, from Bari, that has been living in Central America for… 15 years? He doesn’t even remember. He lived in Brasil, Panama, Costa Rica, a few months in Miami, Bahamas. He’s one of a kind. He travels a lot, but he’s picky about food. He only eats Italian or Mc Donald’s. Why McD? Because food standard is the same everywhere, the meat is from the US (you don’t have to eat meat of cows from the Dom Rep that feed on plastic and rubbish – I didn’t know this). Even in the middle of the Portorican forest you can find Italian food, as long as you are ready to pay. He would go back to Panama, because life is good, nobody starves, and in the evening you can go to a casino and with 20 dollars you go in and can drink all that you want and be with others. And women go out with you only if they like you, not because you have money like in Brasil. Here, it’s even worse. Sometimes teenagers take you to a hotel and if you don’t pay they press charges. You can still meet a good and honest woman in the Dominican Republic (like the one he’s married), but they are few.

Pasqua in spiaggia a Juan Dolio
Easter at the beach in Juan Dolio

He’s really cool, told us a lot of stories. His food is true Italian, among the best I’ve found around the world. One of a kind indeed.