What is it with the tyres in the Dominican Republic? I drove thousands of miles in the UK and never had a puncture. Here I have at least one a month. In the last 3 months I have had 3. This is one I had a few days ago.
I don’t know if it is the roads, the tyres or what it is. Sometimes it is a nail, or a piece of barbed wire, but more often than not they just fall apart and shred into pieces. The roads are littered with bits of tyre all over the place.
The good thing is that it is never a total disaster. There is a gomero or tyre man on every corner, sitting there waiting for business and they never have to wait long. They are also amazingly cheap. To change a shredded tyre for the spare costs between 20 and 50 pesos which is just over a dollar. If you need it mended that is up to 150 pesos or 4 dollars. To be honest I am not sure what they mend it with, sometimes it is a patch and sometimes something that looks suspiciously like cat gut which they shove into the hole. The patches don’t last long as the glue melts. The tyre man told me it was because the roads were hot. I pointed out to him that we live in the tropics so of course the roads were hot, and couldn't they make a glue which didn't melt?
Also they have great machinery for taking the tyre off. Some have a proper machine, like the man above I used when I had a puncture driving to Dajabon, but most just use a machete like tool with a bendy bit at the end.
When you have a puncture there is always someone around to help you fix it, I just pay them a few pesos. They will even take the spare to be filled with air, as it is always flat.
Dominicans seem to take punctures in their stride and not worry about them at all. It is a fact of life. They don’t actually say that the tyre has a puncture, they say it punctured itself – “se pinchao”. Apparently my latest puncture, or total shredding was because the tyre didn't work or “no sirve”. It was pretty obvious to me that it didn't work but I wanted to know why. Further investigation revealed that it was apparently too old. I had no idea tyres became "too old". Probably as they only last a few weeks here before they get a puncture.
Way back in 1986 I rented a car in Sosua to drive to Samana. I asked for the "Full" coverage. We always laugh at the play on words when you hear a Dominican say "full" it sounds like "fool" and that's the coverage we need "fool's" coverage. Interesting enough the exception to full coverage was the tires. We found out soon enough why that was :( To add insult to injury the spare although full of air did not actually fit the car. We did have to failures so we quickly learned of the genuine friendliness of all Dominicans while they helped get us back on the road we were invited to eat with them water was offered etc. etc. That was my second of now more than 40 visits and Dominicans have never let me down with regard to their genuineness and hospitality.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Gerry. It is almost worth having a puncture as you never know who will come and help you, but you can be sure that someone will stop within seconds.
DeleteEvery time I rent a car there I at least have 1 flat if not more!!
ReplyDeletemy hubby even rented me a car ( he worked for a rental car company) and the spare tire had a "teta" in it from some other person!! I lit into him for not checking the tire and he said his co-worker had checked the car over so he said he didnt need to,, I have learned my lesson, I now take the spare tire out and check it and all the other tired before i rent!!
I am glad it is not just me and my driving then! Very wise to check the spare tyre too. I bought my jeep and didn't realise there was no jack and the spare tyre was flat. Only found out when I had a puncture!
DeleteI do hope that you will accept the brand new Blog of the Year 2012 Award which I have bestowed upon your blog – you can read my award ceremony post here ‘Blog of the Year 2012 Award’ http://algarveblog.net/2012/10/24/blog-of-the-year-2012-award-its-award-time/ Thank you for entertaining and informing me this year – and Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteOoooh thank you so much. I have read what I have to do now so will get on with it! Seems a little complex for a blogger of little brain as Pooh would say but am sure I will crack it!
DeleteThanks again.
I have reading your blog for a time but never commented, I'm Dominican living in NY, do you know about any other foreign women married to Dominican men who blog like you? or foreign men to Dominican women? Especially if they live in RD. I just could find you by making some Google search.
ReplyDeleteYes there are other blogs by foreign women married to Dominican men and vice versa. Check out my blog list and you will find them there. Thanks for reading the blog.
DeleteFrom the photos it looks very much as though the tyres were "retreads", and pretty amateurish ones at that: strips of rubber glued on top of the old rubber! Tyres can actually be softened considerably by being driven on rough roads, to the point where even a sharp stone can pierce the rubber. In my travelling days my VW Beetle suffered terribly from bad roads, and required to be pumped up every couple of days. I tell the story of how they got that way, in my blog-post of 23 January this year ("Halfway to Mt Ararat"), and at the end of "The German Lesson" (1st May) I report how they were finally fixed, in the USSR.
ReplyDeleteYou could tell us something about the roads you travel on in DR!
I am sure you are right Gordon. It costs about 40 - 50 US$ for a tyre so assume that is a re tread. No one has ever offered me a new tyre! I will check out your posts - thanks.
DeleteMy thoughts exactly, those tyres must be retreads. I have been driving for over 20 years and never had a puncture in one of my cars...touch wood! But once on holidays in the Azores islands we rented a car and had a puncture, but someone was kind enough to stop and help my husband and I. Lucky that the Dominicans are so friendly and eager to help with the all those punctures!
ReplyDeleteNever happened to me either until I came here. Now is almost every time I drive the car! Easier to walk or get the bus me thinks.
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