Cabarete hardly misses a beat, even in a pouring tropical deluge.  Arrive by taxi along the main coastal road from Puerto Plata on a mid-summer day, and the route into this ever-lively resort town swiftly becomes jammed with traffic—cars, taxis, the local guaguas (mini-vans that make frequent stops), and of course the Dominican favorite, the motorbike.  As they enter the center of town, all ply their way at maximum speed along the two-lane road overburdened with the rush to development on this stretch of the Dominican Republic’s northern coastline.  Still, the spirit that keeps Cabarete pulsing and thriving remains on display along the rain-clogged main artery: surfers dodge past front fenders on their way back to the beach, an open air vendor optimistically keeps his place next to his stand selling sunglasses, blond teenagers negotiate earnestly with the owners of motoconchos, a hair-raising means of commercial motorcycle transport. Read the rest of this entry »