Sunday, February 07, 2010
Vaycay in Dominican Republic
We had booked our vacation in the DR several months before the whole Haiti earthquake disaster happened. What a mess, that. Anyways, despite nagging concerns about aftershocks (and more pressing concerns of social irresponsibility, ie wallowing in white sand while horribleness was happening across the border), we went anyways. It was Abby's first time flying.
We had a blast, as you'll see below.
We didn't do much overall; most mornings were spent on the beach and swimming in the ocean.
Happily, we were able to introduce the girls to the idea of siestas in the afternoon to avoid some of the worst of the heat. Mom and dad would relax and read while they recovered from the morning runarouond. Ironically, two of the books I brought for reading material, one by Diamond and one by Dixon, had significant chapters devoted to the historical differences (and likely future differences) between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It was helpful to put the current disaster (or rather, the ongoing extension of the existing disaster in Haiti) into better perspective. We did happen upon some of the medical teams coming back across the border; they would stay at the resort (which is right beside the airport) for a night prior to flying out. They had some interesting perspectives to share. Mostly, what the country needs at this point is construction workers and people to attempt to rebuild infrastructure. The docs and medical students essentially came and went. Hospitals typically had 3000+ casualties day 1, 300 casualties day 2 and then basically no work after that; no room to do more operations, most people who were going to die had died already etc. Staying any longer was turning the medical "relief workers" into liabilities in terms of them needing water, shelter, food, security even as much or more than the actual diaster victims. So there was a standing policy from both the CMA and AMA that, unless you were going with a predetermined role, medical doctors were NOT recommended to go...they were considered redundant. Even the medications the teams brought along were turned away by the locals; there was nowhere to store them and no need in any case, as most "patients" had done what were refer to as "self-triaging" themselves by having survived the worst of it all. In other words, they hadn't died, and therefore didn't need any further meds. Yep...it was that bad.
In any case, we had a great time, North American guilt and nagging feelings aside. The resort was pretty good (although business looks a bit slow for them these days). Facilities were great. Dinners were a bit slow and draggy (island time, basically) so the kids enjoyed the buffet breakfast more than anything else, but at least it was quiet. For those who are interested, the resort we stayed at was the Puntacana Hotel, which distinguishes itself by having built all their little 2-bedroom "casitas" along the beach without having disturbed the native flora. Therefore, instead of manicured lawns, walkways and fountains, we had a palm tree growing right in the middle of our courtyard and through the roof, and lizards hanging out in our bathroom.
Fun! The girls like lizards.
We had a blast, as you'll see below.
We didn't do much overall; most mornings were spent on the beach and swimming in the ocean.
Happily, we were able to introduce the girls to the idea of siestas in the afternoon to avoid some of the worst of the heat. Mom and dad would relax and read while they recovered from the morning runarouond. Ironically, two of the books I brought for reading material, one by Diamond and one by Dixon, had significant chapters devoted to the historical differences (and likely future differences) between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It was helpful to put the current disaster (or rather, the ongoing extension of the existing disaster in Haiti) into better perspective. We did happen upon some of the medical teams coming back across the border; they would stay at the resort (which is right beside the airport) for a night prior to flying out. They had some interesting perspectives to share. Mostly, what the country needs at this point is construction workers and people to attempt to rebuild infrastructure. The docs and medical students essentially came and went. Hospitals typically had 3000+ casualties day 1, 300 casualties day 2 and then basically no work after that; no room to do more operations, most people who were going to die had died already etc. Staying any longer was turning the medical "relief workers" into liabilities in terms of them needing water, shelter, food, security even as much or more than the actual diaster victims. So there was a standing policy from both the CMA and AMA that, unless you were going with a predetermined role, medical doctors were NOT recommended to go...they were considered redundant. Even the medications the teams brought along were turned away by the locals; there was nowhere to store them and no need in any case, as most "patients" had done what were refer to as "self-triaging" themselves by having survived the worst of it all. In other words, they hadn't died, and therefore didn't need any further meds. Yep...it was that bad.
In any case, we had a great time, North American guilt and nagging feelings aside. The resort was pretty good (although business looks a bit slow for them these days). Facilities were great. Dinners were a bit slow and draggy (island time, basically) so the kids enjoyed the buffet breakfast more than anything else, but at least it was quiet. For those who are interested, the resort we stayed at was the Puntacana Hotel, which distinguishes itself by having built all their little 2-bedroom "casitas" along the beach without having disturbed the native flora. Therefore, instead of manicured lawns, walkways and fountains, we had a palm tree growing right in the middle of our courtyard and through the roof, and lizards hanging out in our bathroom.
Fun! The girls like lizards.
// posted by Unknown @ 2:26 PM 
