A few years ago, after a year of 8,000m peak, I wrote a blog post called Creative Peak Bagging is the way forward Explain that I will choose my own adventures in different ways in the future. Instead of having the same list of old buckets as everyone else, I do have to climb the difficult peaks on my legs Aim to climb more obscure mountains That Almost no one writes.
But how to decide Which unusual peak climb? OK, that's easy. I will 'Smooth'. Part of the decision was inspired by the risky Edita, which I did during my mission in Zambia in 2014. We had the idea of climbing the highest mountain in Zambia, but soon discovered that there was no clear consensus on which mountain it was. We have to identify possible candidates, and then Climb and measure them. Zambia does not take the name of mountains. Much of the country is plateau with few unique mountains. Positioning a high point feels like Real adventureZambia has other assets to attract travelers: Victoria Falls and Nanlungwa wildlife, to name only two. The border of Malawi is Mulanjeone of the huge mountains of Africa. We stuffed all of this into two weeks and ended up being one of the funniest and most enjoyable trips I’ve ever had. If Edita isn't exercising there, we'll never choose a holiday.
Fast forward 11 years and Edita (still still) works again Obscure location I will never think of visiting: Haitia small island country in the Caribbean Sea. Haiti was once a French colony and the only country established by the slave uprising (1804). Sadly, its 200-year survival was not friendly. International quarantine, war, invasion and dictatorship recently underwent a coup in 2004, a catastrophic earthquake, followed by a cholera outbreak in 2010 and assassination of its president in 2021. Fragile state indexformerly known as the “failed state”. Governance is very weak; most areas of the capital ports are attracted by gang wars, and kidnapping ransoms are common.
Some photos that Edita sent me hint Tropical, mountainous, island paradisebut Haiti is still a long way from a great place to take a vacation. The British Foreign Office is currently It is recommended not to travel all There, that means getting insurance will be very difficult.
At the border, it's a different story. Haiti shares the second largest Caribbean island with neighbors Dominican Republic (DR)It is a more stable country, and its luxury hotel Punta Cana resort on the East Coast turns it into a go-to destination for packing beach vacations.
I'm interested in a two-week beach vacation and a two-week golf vacation. Fortunately, the Dominican Republic has five major mountain ranges, the largest of which rises above 3,000m, which contains The highest peak in the entire Caribbean33.01 million pico duarte. The climate is tropical. Regular storms sweep in from the Atlantic Ocean and it rains most days during wet seasons. This means the island is covered with forests, mainly palm trees at lower elevations, and then turns to the highest summit. Mountains and jungles are an unusual combination that allows for unique treks.
Our adventures in Zambia and Malawi are thanks to a logistical expertise Excellent local operatorsFranciwell Phiri, owner of the apparel Small Steps Adventure Tour Malawi. Franciwell headed to Lilongwe's government surveying department to print out a detailed map of Mafinga Hills with accurate outlines to help us determine the most likely high points. He provided transportation, traveled most of the trip with us, and organized our accommodation, including on the floor of a basic restaurant in Chisenga, where there were no other accommodation. He even managed to get a visa for Edita at the border – she seemed to be the first Lithuanian ever to cross Malawi from Zambia, given the rules that border officials know about. We ended the trip and made sure that any adventure we wanted in that part of Southern Africa would be able to arrange logistics.
Once we knew Edita would be in Haiti for a while, I decided on one in my mind Dominicans are equivalent to Francevel. I'm in Joel Roman Guias de Alturas. Joel conducted a regular 4-day group tour called the “Three Highest”, which involved climbing the three highest mountains in the Caribbean (La Pelona, 30.8 million and La Rusilla, 30.44 million and La Rusilla, which included guidelines, accommodation, food, food and transportation. We wanted to do a private tour and decided to expand it by visiting the nearby Valle Nuevo National Park. Joel sorted everything for us, picked us up from our hotel in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo and stored us in a hotel in the mountain resort of Jarabacoa after a trek. We were well cared for. He even accompanied us for the first few days, and we separately concluded that he was the one who arranged it no matter what trek we wanted to do in DR.
We also concluded that the Dominican Republic is Interesting alternative destinations for shorter multi-day treks. Although many of the smaller rural highs are located near enough on the road to make them dripping than the ticks in the box, this is not the case with the Pico Duarte. Located in the middle of the national park, this mountain is surrounded by the original forests of Parker Anando Bermúdez. Its easiest route is one A harsh 3-day trek It involves over 2,000m of rise and two nights in the mountain cabin. Definitely a good hike.
For such a small country, the Dominican Republic also has one Extraordinary history If you start your journey in the capital Santo Domingo, this is hard to ignore. The story of conquest and adversity makes it a safe tourist destination even more impressive. Christopher Columbus explored the Hispanic North Coast on his first voyage in 1492 and established a colony on the South Coast during his second voyage in 1495. By 1498, the colony moved to the west coast of Rio Ozama, now the Zona Colonial Colonial in Santo Domingo. Therefore, San Domingo is the oldest colonial city in the entire America, even surpassing Las Vegas.
The expansion of the French colony on the western side of Hispanic led to the official division of the island in 1697. The slave uprising in 1804 established an independent Haiti, and the Haitians invaded the Spanish colonies in 1822 and occupied them for 22 years. The profession ended in 1844, when the independent Dominican Republic was Juan Pablo Duarteconsidered the father of a modern doctor, and then the highest mountain Pico Duarte Being named.
The Dominicans are Ethnic diversityFrom the descendants of the indigenous Taino, Spanish colonists and African slaves brought to work. Many Dominicans are a mixture of the three. However, independence is not constant. Between 1861 and 1863, the Doctor was once again annexed by Spain, and from 1906 to 1924. From 1930 to 1961, it was a dictatorship ruled by the tyrannical Rafael Trujillo and his family. After Trujillo was assassinated in 1961, the country suffered a military coup in 1963 and occupied it for the second time in 1965.
The road to democracy has been slow, but in our opinion, the modern Dominican Republic can definitely be considered a success story, a Safe, peaceful, middle-income countries. As I flew from London to Santo Domingo from New York, Edita drove 5 hours from the border of Dajabon by a comfortable air-conditioned bus. At 9pm on Friday, I met her at our big old hotel in Zona Colonial and thought I was lucky enough to have something to eat at that time. She took me to an upscale Italian restaurant, in a secluded courtyard around the corner, where we enjoyed steak, red wine and live Melenger music.
but The boy is wet. The first thing I greeted me when I came out of the plane was the warm, humid air of the explosion. It's like stepping into a fully covered sauna. We had a relaxing day and visited the historic streets of Zona Colonial. But, even slowly, I found myself sweating like a pig who had just finished the 100m dash. If I screwed my t-shirt into the Caribbean, then I would raise the sea level enough to wipe Barbados off the map. At the end of the holiday, I found myself washing it three times a day.
Santo Domingo is a city worth exploring, but I was delighted when Joel drove up the hill the next day. We spent 2.1 billion nights in Pine Forests in Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo. We lived in a cozy cottage on the edge of the forest, a cabin with two bedrooms, living room and kitchen. It's much cooler there. There were a few rain showers at night, Edita said, which is normal for Hispanics. The next morning I sat on a cozy balcony and it was enclosed by shrubs and enjoyed eggs and coffee as I read part of the guide Cordillera Central And the trek we may expect in the coming days.
this The story continues In mine Next articleWhen I describe our trek and ascension to the Pico Duarte.
