Random Trinkets from Punta Cana
Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)
Close to the end of the vacation, some of the locals were allowed to set up shop inside the hotel. Despite being a Caribbean country, all the goods there were worth an arm and a leg. Just a couple of trinkets were worth 110 bucks. This country uses the barter economy. You must be ready to bargain in order to get something that resembles a good deal. I bought a little Virgin Mary figurine made of stone. It looked completely different from everything else being sold there.
My mother bought a cross made of red coral. The coral is an endangered species. The locals use it a lot to make jewelry. This is real sad, and the like. The rest of the jewelries were Larimar set in silver. There was also a lot of fake trinkets made of plastic. The larimar is a semi-precious stone only found in the Dominican Republic. It is a blue variety of a silicate mineral. It is usually light blue, or light green.
They are usually set in sterling silver. I chose for my brother a fancy round necklace, for his girl. The seller was really talented and the like. He even burned the stone to show that it was for real. He made a really clever sale pitch and the like. Aside from the jewelry, there was a couple of little wooden carved statues. The one I got was the only one made of stone. He actually seemed surprised that the little stone virgin was within his roster.
