Puppies - Sosua, DR

Reason # 46,852 why we loved staying at Casa Vientuno in Sosua: Saskia and Marc are dog lovers.

There are a lot of stray dogs on the island of the Dominican Republic. It's quite sad to see so many pups searching for food. (It reminded me of Athens, Greece...lots of stray dogs there too. It's heartbreaking.)

Shortly after Marc and Saskia moved to the DR, they found Blanquito (the bigger brown dog). He and his sister were puppies and they were squatting in an abandoned house down the street. The house was being demolished so the puppies had no place to live. One neighbor took the girl pup and Marc and Saskia took Blanquito. He's such a sweet dog.

Then about 3 months ago one neighbor found out their dog was pregnant and just kicked her out onto the street. Marc and Saskia took the dog in, the black dog named Puka, and cared for her through the rest of her pregnancy. She had a litter of 3 puppies, 2 of which had been adopted by the time we arrived on the island. But she still had a 10 week old puppy, with Saskia named Cartouche (Flemmish for Ink Cartridge). Cartouche was so much fun to have around the week we were visiting. She would attack blades of grass and palm leaves. She would sneak up and steal your flip flop while you lounged by the pool. And sometimes, if I was really lucky, she would lay on my lounge chair with me under the shade of an umbrella.

Seeing Cartouche makes me want to get another puppy. I told Chris this and he just laughed and shook his head. :)

Herb Garden - Sosua, DR

Casa Vientiuno had a lovely herb garden on site which provided some tasty pesto for my penne and some sprigs of mint on our desserts. Chicago is so deprived of the color green in the winter that I was quite obsessed with smelling the fresh herbs every morning. Aren't they lovely!

Dorado - Sosua, Dominican Republic

Sorry it's been awhile since I last posted. Chris and just got back from a trip to the Dominican Republic which was such an awesome vacation. We stayed at Casa Vientiuno in Sosua, which is one of the best B&Bs we've ever stayed at. It's really more like a private resort, with only 3 rooms and a small restaurant.
Saskia and Marc, the owners, were so incredibly kind and generous! They were the perfect hosts, showing us around town and making us feel like we were at home. They were truly a blessing!


One of the things I enjoy most about Casa 21 is that they source as much of his food as possible from local, organic farms. They have their own fruit trees (coconut and mango!) and a lovely herb garden on the property. Most of their vegetables come from a local farm and their fish comes from a sustainable fisherman.

On Thursday 3 large Dorados (Mahi-Mahi) arrived and Marc allowed me into the kitchen to photograph. They smelled like salt water and Marc showed me what it looks like when their fin is raised. :)
I was so grateful to Marc and Saskia for allowing me into their kitchen to document the arrival of the fish. They answered all of my questions and appreciated that I cared so much about where my food comes from.



I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the "after" photo. The fish was cooked perfectly and the white wine and garlic sauce complimented the fresh tastes just perfectly.