Weather or Not

It's a common thing to talk about the weather, anywhere you go.  Chit-chat, sunny yes, nice to see you.  In the DR, however, I'm told that talking about the weather is usually rather boring, since it is very predictable and changes in the weather are infrequent.

We have, however, seen a few variations from the Sunny and 78 that seems to be the norm here.  Downpour when we arrived, some clouds coming through the past few days with sprinkles, and the main event at last night's Dominican Republic Jazz Festival 2011 was kind of soggy.

We had reserved our rental car for today only, planning to go to one of the more remote beaches for the day.  So, when we realized this morning that today looked like rain, rain, rain, we considered for a moment changing plans and exploring around the mountains inland, or visiting the Monkey Jungle or Ocean World.  But in the end we decided to push through to Playa Grande, a beach east of Cabarete.  And we were so happy we did.

Playa Grande is a quiet and remote and you have to drive 45 minutes from Cabarete to reach it.  It is popular with Dominican families, but not many foreign tourists visit, and there are few amenities there.  It's where you go when you want to have a remote deserted beach experience.

Lush, dark-green vegetation.  Unbelievably clear blue water.  Startling cliffs.  Unspoiled crescent shaped beach.  All five of us in our family were in wonder of this truly inspiring place - sorry!  I didn't take any pictures that do it justice!  But you can see photos of it here.

If you followed the link above, you'll notice something about Playa Grande I haven't mentioned yet.  The rustling winds of change have brought a beautiful new golf course to Playa Grande, and within the next few years this unspoiled stretch of beach so far visited by few will soon be a full-scale resort the likes of which I probably will never have the inclination (or dough) to visit.  Development is brewing over this crystal clear curve of the island, and it will bring jobs to the people who live in the rundown homes nearby, but at what price?  Even as we walked the mile of beach, and as the rain fell down on us, we could feel the air of change in the destiny of Playa Grande.

Today we took the opportunity to fully enjoy and be present to the wildness of the place.  To the rain, to the huge swell of the waves, to the clean sand, to the beautiful mysterious shells we found there.

What are you appreciating today?


Here are some great shots of the boys in some mangrove trees.

What a long day!  By the time we got home we had 2 sleepers.  So cute.

Enjoy your weather today!