Trip Report

A Dominican Countryside tour with Monster Jeep Safari

It's nine o'clock in the morning and people are congregating at the Monster Truck Safari headquarters. They're dressed for the day's adventure into the Dominican countryside: sun cream, sunglasses and cap, bathing suits under shorts and t-shirts, and, of course, a camera.

All aboard! Everybody picks a monster and clambers up the back of these gargantuan 8x8's - big brothers to the four-wheel drive jeeps. These monster trucks are decked out in zebra stripes (zebras don't actually live here, it just happens to be a favorite color of the owners). Anyway, if zebra stripes make for good camouflage elsewhere in the world, they sure help these babies stick out like sore thumbs as we trundle down the highway to a place called Montellano, where we turn off and move inland. Our guide, a Dominican guy, smiles as he watches us looking around and taking in the eyefuls that greet us at every turn. As the excursion progresses we discover that he truly loves his country as much as he loves to share his knowledge of it with us, the tourists.

The stops we make along the way put us front and center of life in the Dominican countryside. Now we're in a place called Montellada, where a handful of little pastel color wooden houses line the road, homes for the people who make the cheese in the little cheese factory.

Over here... some drowsy cows are catching shade. Over there... some happy poultry make lots of noise while the local cockfight coach spurs on the performance of a couple of competitive cocks. The people seem pleased with our visit to their town. They come around, they smile for pictures, they're open to our questions and curiosity. They treat us to some coffee... and then it's time to go.

Along the way it's panorama after panorama; a Fujifilm shareholder's dream. Green rolling mountains, endless species of exotic plants and fruit trees with boughs bending under the weight of fresh produce. The people might be poor and their houses humble, but Nature has been kind to them, says our guide.

And to jolt us back to the 20th century he lays on us a Hollywood claim to fame: Steven Spielberg chose this prehistoric landscape for his movie "Jurassic Park".

Monster Truck Safari is not only a countryside discovery but also a tour that helps local population. Our next stop is a place called Agua Mocha where Monster Truck Safari supports the local school. In this country, the buildings and teachers are paid by the government. But the parents have to pay for textbooks and uniforms, not always easy for poor people. But, "in Agua Mocha one hundred per cent of the children go to school", the teacher proudly says. The pupils are welcoming and happy to share their classroom.

Our next stop is Las Espinas, where we visit a typical family living in a typical two-bedroom, wooden house. We peer into the kids' room. How many beds can you fit in one bedroom, is everybody's question. But then you realize that all day long everybody's outside anyway; victims of their destiny of having been born in a tropical Garden of Eden. Off to the side in a separate small building is the kitchen, built apart from the bedrooms because of the wood burning stove from at which meals are prepared.

On we go, over rivers and through sugar cane fields. Madre Vieja... Guajito River... weird sounding names identify the exotic places that we encounter along the way. The Yasica River... Lunch! Now that's a familiar sound! We're at a ranch by the river. There's a merengue band playing traditional Dominican music. There's an endless table of country-style food. There's a sandy bank by the river and the swimming's fine. Lying there, hanging out after lunch under the sun and in the absolute middle of nowhere... I could do this for a long time...

After this break, we head to Bella Vista. More stunning landscapes, more villages with colourful houses, a few stops at little localstores. Along the way questions come up about what life is really like. The tourists want to know. The guide does everything in his power to explain. Montellano, Montellada, Agua Mocha, Madre Vieja, Bella Vista... From now on these names are not just exotic , they have a deeper meaning.

We're back in Puerto Plata, and after a full day of overdosing each and every of the five senses, we come to realize that the Dominican Republic is more than just a holiday on the beach.

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