Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

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Details: Written by: Richard_McKie; Parent Category: Travel; Category: North America; Published: 28 October 2023; Hits: 1091

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Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic was our last port before returning to Fort Lauderdale. The port has been setup as a mini-resort, with bars, water sports and retail outlets, designed to separate cruise-ship passengers from their money.

There is a local fort, Fortaleza de San Felipe, that we though might be worth a look, perhaps of historical interest and more than twenty years old. But alas, as it was nearly 2 kilometres (an almost 5 minute drive) away, it would cost us $120, each, to be taken there.

We considered walking but the cocktail bars beaconed. Wi-Fi again.

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with the country of Haiti. On the UN's Human Development Index, Haiti ranked 163 out of 191 countries in 2021, one of the poorest countries on earth. The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, has one of the highest rankings in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. Same island, different cultures. So, not all cultures are equally beneficial to their possessors.

***

And so it was another relaxing sea day - back to Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale

Our next stop would be Boston

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Travel

Denmark

In the seventies I spent some time travelling around Denmark visiting geographically diverse relatives but in a couple of days there was no time to repeat that, so this was to be a quick trip to two places that I remembered as standing out in 1970's: Copenhagen and Roskilde.

An increasing number of Danes are my progressively distant cousins by virtue of my great aunt marrying a Dane, thus contributing my mother's grandparent's DNA to the extended family in Denmark. As a result, these Danes are my children's cousins too.

Denmark is a relatively small but wealthy country in which people share a common language and thus similar values, like an enthusiasm for subsidising wind power and shunning nuclear energy, except as an import from Germany, Sweden and France.

They also like all things cultural and historical and to judge by the museums and cultural activities many take pride in the Danish Vikings who were amongst those who contributed to my aforementioned DNA, way back. My Danish great uncle liked to listen to Geordies on the buses in Newcastle speaking Tyneside, as he discovered many words in common with Danish thanks to those Danes who had settled in the Tyne valley.

Nevertheless, compared to Australia or the US or even many other European countries, Denmark is remarkably monocultural. A social scientist I listened to last year made the point that the sense of community, that a single language and culture confers, creates a sense of extended family. This allows the Scandinavian countries to maintain very generous social welfare, supported by some of the highest tax rates in the world, yet to be sufficiently productive and hence consumptive per capita, to maintain among the highest material standards of living in the world.

Fiction, Recollections & News

A Twisted Pigs Tale

This is a little exercise in creative writing. The brief was to reimagine the Three Pigs from a different perspective. The original is a parable about the virtues of forward thinking, providence and hard work, so that only the most abstemious pig survives the metaphorical wolf. I thought it was a bit tough on the middle pig who is just trying to find a balance between work and play. So here is my version:

Opinions and Philosophy

A modern fairytale - in a Parallel Universe

I've dusted off this little satirical parable that I wrote in response to the The Garnaut Climate Change Review (2008). It's not entirely fair but then satire never is.

In a parallel universe, in 1920† Sidney, the place where Sydney is in ours, had need of a harbour crossing.

An engineer, Dr Roadfield, was engaged to look at the practicalities; including the geology and geography and required property resumptions, in the context of contemporary technical options.

After considering the options he reported that most advanced countries solve the harbour crossing problem with a bridge. He proposed that they make the decision to have a bridge; call for tenders for an engineering design; raise the finance; and build it. We'll call it the 'Sidney Harbour Bridge' he said; then less modestly: 'and the new crossing will be called the Roadfield Highway'.

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