May 9

May 9 MOUNTAIN BIKING THROUGH THE DOMINION REPUBLIC

Fotos: Jan-Peter Westermann, Nikolai Buroh
Text: Nikolai Buroh

We start on day one, right after our arrival in Sosùa. We’re mountain biking. We soon realise that it’s the only way to get around if you don’t want to use a 4x4 or an Enduro.

Jan rented bikes for us with the plan to off-road 50 to 70 km a day, with a new destination every morning.

Our guides, Luis and Primoz, expertly show us the diversity that exists within this scenic paradise over the next seven days. We come to realise that a little more skill is required in order to bike here than in Northern Germany. Whenever it’s not too steep, we are informed about the wonderful things that make up this island and the charming characteristics of the Dominicans themselves.

We plan two hours for breakfast, and not because we ordered so much… After asking where your coffees are time and time again, and receiving such calm and amiable answers in return, you’re not even annoyed when you’re eventually told the that coffee machine is broken.

“You can’t rush a Dominican!” That just makes them even slower. And Luis knows what slow is – he’s Swiss.

The tour begins on a moderately hilly gravel path. Then it gets steeper, both up and downhill. With potholes, stones and mud, some paths are even un-drivable for our guides.

Uphill is easier for me, but Jan enjoys the downhill stretches. Going down a rocky 15% gradient is extremely nerve-racking. I need to stop for a break when the downhill stretches become too long to manoeuvre in one go. I also need breaks so that my brain has the time to process the images from my eyes.

We drive through deserted wooded areas, past lonely huts all in 25-30 degree alternatingly drizzly or sunny weather. As we drive, we begin to take on the colour of the muddy ground beneath our wheels.

One afternoon we encounter a house with a cardboard sign advertising coffee. As we’ve been trying to get a coffee the entire day, we immediately stop.

We’re greeted by a wonderful family. Jan doesn’t want anything with sugar, so they pick fruits from a tree for him. Passers-by stop on the street while we’re given chairs and served coffee from a thermos and plastic cups. This costs about 2 cents, and though sweet, it tasted great. It’s prepared with ginger and nearly half a nutmeg seed, something that you don’t really realise until you see the preparation process.

You can definitely taste the ginger though. I decide that I have to make a coffee like this at home.

It’s Sunday. People stand on the street with their entire families. They stand there well dressed and wait. We wonder if they’re waiting so that they don’t get in our way – nope – they’ll be waiting there much longer, long after we disappear behind the upcoming corner. They’re waiting for something to happen.

We head through the mountains, often through very desolate regions. We traverse steep paths full of gravel and mud, crisscrossed by rivers that not only flow under bridges but over them as well. As soon as you think you’re far away from everything, you pass a schoolchild with a satchel on their way home.

Dominicans are cool. Really cool… and relaxed. A local tells us that if you want to start a business here you first need to hire 80% of the population. But no one can afford that. If you’ve got physically demanding work, hire a Haitian. If you need a reliable employee who will turn up to work consistently, hire a Haitian. Dominicans aren’t paid when it rains because Dominicans don’t work in the rain. Dominicans would much rather drive around on a moped or in a car – or stand at a petrol station with the music turned up so loud that the fuel nozzles rattle. Or gambling! Yep gambling – like dice, cockfights and the lotto.

It’s only until the car or moped needs a new light that they think about taking on work. Illumination is a hot topic here – either you drive without, or with both low and high beam on and an additional one-metre-tall LED light screen. All at the same time. A gimmick that basically blinds oncoming traffic and doesn’t help the driver that much.

Sounds like a blanket statement? Yeah, it is. Of course we met people that were hard and dedicated workers – but they weren’t that noticeable.

I take a break with Luis at a “Colmado”, a small grocery store. These are plentiful throughout the island. There’s water, juice, sausages, cheese… but rum is the most overbearing product here.
We are warmly greeted and grab a couple of chairs, joining a group which consists of Jornie (10), Milad, (19), Juan (65) and Carlos (98!). They stand, sit and silently hang around. They’re contagiously quiet. After a quarter of an hour we too sit silently watching the rain fall.

We’re having a break – but why are they here? Luis asks why Jornie is not at school. “There’s no school today”. Jornie is holding a dead bird in his hand. “Why did you kill that bird?” – “No se…”. “And you? What do you do Milad?” – “Oh this and that” comes the answer. Nothing today though – it’s raining. Juan runs the Colmado – only when there’s a customer though, and that’s not that often. And Carlos has presumably been sitting here for 80 years. Eventually he stands up, crosses the road, spits and returns back to the entranceway.

We enjoy the silence. Just as you do in the company of close friends.

But we need to carry on. –

Fill cold water into the coffee percolator.

You can buy a percolator (pictured) in outdoor shops like Globetrotter.

Fill the percolator’s coffee basket with coffee grinds. Rub the nutmeg and ginger right onto the uppermost filter, screw on the top, and place on a stovetop at medium heat. When the hot water boils into the top section around 10-15 minutes later, remove the percolator from the stovetop and enjoy! Dominicans like it with loads of sugar…

It also works well on a campfire!

Coffee, Dominican Style:
with a litre of water: