The Travelling Buncebury's

northern Dominican Republic from the Puerto Plata cable car Jarabacoa Mountain Hostal  The centre of this island of Hispaniola has mountains and we decided to take the local bus from Santo Domingo to Jabaracoa in the foothills.   It was a novel experience at the bus station where to pay with a credit card we were expected to pass the card across and then tell the cashier the pin number so she could key it in.   Naturally we paid cash instead, handing over a cool DOM$700 in used notes, very used notes worth approx. £12/$14.   Jarabacoa is a bit cooler than Santo Domingo, not much but at least it is less humid.   When we arrived, the taxi to our hotel was negotiated to 150 pesos, about twice what a local would pay but coming in at about £2.50/$3  we weren’t too taxed about it.   Our Hostal (that is the correct spelling here) had been recommended and I know most of you will probably be thinking Hostel ?   Well it also probably isn’t what you think.   What it means is an e

the National Memorial in the Dominican Republic capital, Santo Domingo Many people don’t seem to realise that there’s a Dominican Republic and a Dominica, both in the Caribbean.   The D. Republic has about two thirds of the island of Hispaniola which it shares with Haiti to the west.   The island is neatly tucked between Cuba and Puerto Rico.   We arrived at the capital, Santo Domingo and whizzed in from the airport on a beautifully maintained road into the old town where the surface deteriorated somewhat.   Most of the way our taxi driver was telling us about all the places he could take us.     Immediately we arrived in the old town though, it was obvious that it had a different atmosphere to the Bahamas which we've just come from.  Definitely Latin American, definitely livelier and more exciting and we realised that Nassau was just well, bland really. I thought a little geography might be slipped in at some point and this is as good a point as any.   The various