A Tunisian - Caribbean Adventure

So how difficult is it to get to Paradise? Well, it certainly wasn't as easy as I had expected. (just about 200-300km southwest of the capital on the coast)

Last weekend I went on a trip with some interesting people from Germany and the DR. We decided to go to Barahona province, to a small town called Los Patos just south of Paradise. We left the capital at about 6:30am to arrive a little bit before 10am. Over 10 hours later, some of us finally made it.

About 150km into the trek, the car broke down. Gash in the radiator. Solution? Solder it shut and it should hold for at least a week the mechanic told us. 20km later... the engine stops again. So much for that logic. Two of the party at this point turn back with the car to the capital (the car being towed of course). The rest of us go on - 2 on a motorcycle, 3 on public transport.

My first experience in the public "gua gua" brought me back to the Peace Corps days of Mauritania. While the vehicle itself seemed to be in better condition, I still had to share my seat (but it was just 5 people in a 4 passenger space). If there's a vacant seat (or if someone else can fit in), the driver will stop anywhere along the route to pick up passengers. Likewise, if you're in the gua gua and you want to stop - just speak up, and the door will open. The gua gua will slow down (sometimes stop), and you just hop out. To travel about 100km, it took about an hour - hour and a half, and cost a mere 100 pesos ($2.50).

Once we were in Barahona, we needed to transfer to the other gua gua that takes you further south, and of course that's on the other side of the city. Solution? Moto-taxi (aka - moped/motorbike). Conveniently for the three of us there were 3 mototaxis side by side ready to go. We zip through town and get to the other side. Cost - 25 pesos (about 50cents).

Then we have the last gua gua. This one isn't in as great of condition as the first one. And the road are likewise lacking in quality. I shared a seat with some other people - half my seat was 2inches higher than the rest. If we run out of room, someone can just hang out the side of the passenger van, no problem. It's a slow ride, about 45 minutes south to travel about 35-40km (another 100 pesos). Fortunately, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking.

The photos certainly don't do it justice, but judge for yourself - there's a reason they call the area "Paradise".

Fortunately the journey back was far less eventful: a grand total of 4 hours travel via guagua and coach bus. Surprisingly the coach bus costs just about 80pesos ($2) more than a public guagua that stops all the time from Barahona to the capital, and takes anywhere from 30min to 2 hours less time. The coach bus had many vacant seats. Now I can't speak for the guaguas on the road at that particular time, but I've ridden in 3 now, and now once was there a spare seat.