Escape to Santo Domingo

Last weekend I had to go to the capital, Santo Domingo, to visit a friend, who I also work for. A working weekend. Whilst I was looking forward to going, it is always a bit nerve wracking to leave home, as every time I go anywhere for a few days, some disaster or other always befalls the animals.

The last couple of times, my husband allowed a street dog into the garden who impregnated Meg – she later miscarried, and the time after that three cats were poisoned and died. So it was with a little trepidation I got into the car to leave to go to the bus station.

We hadn't even started the car, when I noticed the three pawed cat, Cojo, hanging off a tree branch, some 50 feet up in the air. I got out of the car and tried to talk him down, but he was frozen, unable to move forwards or backwards on a very thin branch. This is the problem when you only have 3 paws.

Suddenly, Mariposa, the grey kitten, ran up the tree next to it and starting talking to him.

A few miaows later, down he came.

Trauma averted.

I travelled on Caribe tours. One of the things which is excellent in this country are the long distance buses – Caribe, Metro and others. They are large, have reclining seats, toilets at the back, and televisions. They are also amazingly cheap. The downside is that they always have the air conditioning turned up, so they are freezing, and occasionally they crash. Danilo told me to sit on in the middle of the bus on the same side as the driver, as the driver does not want to die, he would not allow any crash to happen on his side.

The buses are not only used for people, but also for parcels, and they are a very efficient and cheap way of sending goods from one part of the country to another. When I went to get on the bus, not only was there a pile of parcels to go on it,, there was also a fridge. A used fridge.

Waiting for the bus to arrive

I had a lovely weekend, great company, loads of delicious food which I can’t find here like steak, going out to restaurants and lots of work.

Nice to get home mind, only to find that the 2 week old kitten had disappeared as the mother had moved him into another house in the campo. The owners come very rarely, and the cat had squeezed in through a small hole. We can see inside but not get inside. The kitten is happily esconsed on top of a double bed and the mother comes here to eat and then back to kitten. Hopefully she will bring him back soon.