La Romana: A Little Like Coming Home

 

Our second stop in the Caribbean brought us to La Romana, on the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic. There was something familiar about being back in this part of the world. For the past five winters, we’ve spent January through the end of March in Punta Cana, about two hours away, so the Dominican Republic has become a place we associate with sunshine, warm weather, and a welcome escape from Canadian winters.

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and is known for its beautiful beaches, lush tropical landscapes, lively music, and warm Caribbean climate. Tourism is a big part of life here, although the country has a much longer history and a culture that goes well beyond its resorts.

La Romana itself grew largely around the sugar industry and its port. Today, it’s also a popular cruise destination, with nearby attractions such as Casa de Campo, the charming artists’ village of Altos de Chavón, and the beautiful islands of Catalina and Saona. There is certainly plenty to explore in the area, but we had other plans for the day.

Unfortunately, both John and I have picked up a rather wicked respiratory virus somewhere along the way. Thanks, cruise life! Between the two of us, we haven’t had much energy for sightseeing, so we decided this would be another chill day. 

Fortunately, the port area has a lovely pool complex with lounge chairs, bars, restaurants, and, of course, shops. That sounded just about perfect to us. Our friends decided to wander off and do some shopping while we headed for the pool.

Finding a couple of chairs in complete shade was a bit of a victory. It was incredibly hot and humid, and that's saying something coming from someone who actually enjoys this kind of weather! We settled in, grateful for the shade, and before long we were chatting with the people in the chairs beside us. They were from North Carolina, and the conversation soon took an unexpected turn.

We generally try to avoid getting into American politics when we meet people from the United States. We're all there to enjoy ourselves, after all, and politics can be a pretty quick way to change the mood. But our new neighbours brought it up when they asked where we were from.

She was more than happy to talk about the political situation at great length and was very apologetic about how things had been playing out between the United States and Canada. We appreciated her honesty and her willingness to have the conversation.

It’s sad to see how strained the relationship between our two countries has become. For so long, Canada and the United States have felt like natural neighbours and friends, with so much in common and so many family, travel, and business connections. Lately, though, the political climate has made things feel almost like the Hatfields and McCoys. It’s a strange feeling when a border that has always seemed so familiar suddenly feels a little more complicated.

Still, it was a reminder that people are individuals, and a conversation with one person can be very different from whatever impression we might get from the headlines. We were glad to have met them.

Eventually, it was time to head back to the ship. Our friends returned from their shopping, and we all made our way aboard after a pleasantly uneventful day.

Back on board, it was back to our usual routine of eating, napping, and socializing. And, most importantly, we were back in the air conditioning! After that heat and humidity, it felt especially good.

We finished the day with a rock concert in the theatre with our friends. The music was great and the energy was infectious.  I think we all went to bed with our ears still ringing!

La Romana may not have been a day of exploring new sights or ticking off a list of attractions, but that was perfectly fine with us. With a virus slowing us down, we were happy to take the day as it came and enjoy a little more of that familiar Caribbean feeling.