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2006 IPS Biennial - Republica Dominicana


Palmarum

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2006 IPS Biennial - DR - End

Day 8 - Saturday, October 7th

Santo Domingo - El Embajador Hotel

It was now past 11:00 PM, and the majority of attendees had retired for the evening, and went back to their rooms. They left the minority still going strong on the dance floor. Some had simply ran out of gas and were sitting down watching others trying to dance. Any and all party music was now being played, with no selection being held back. My feet and camera-laden hands were now getting tired. I went forward to take some last minute photos before turning the power off on my camera for the last time during the biennial.

- (11:10pm) Some songs come and go. Many you would think you might not hear for a long time, "Y.M.C.A." continued on in an unusual extended-mix version and seemed never to end... In the front of the dance floor, Jeff & Andrea Searle perform the letter "Y", during the song.

IPS_2005-10-07_23-10-52.jpg

- (11:17pm) Randall Quirk would not stop dancing, short of a heart attack. His dance partners soon tired out, and he was left here to dance with Jeff Searle, just out of view.

IPS_2005-10-07_23-17-44.jpg

- (11:20pm) The sister of Lora S. Sakai came across the dance floor just to pair up with Randall Quirk. They moved together very well.

IPS_2005-10-07_23-20-02.jpg

- (8:47pm) I post this one last photo, in defiance of my own rule to display photos in chronological order. I figured I had to embarrass myself at least once, in exchange for doing it to so many others. The end of my biennial topic seemed the most likely spot to post it. Many of these women I know very well, and it was an honor to pose with them for another 'special' photo. My only regret is that I cannot take credit for the photo.  :laugh:

IPS_2005-10-07_20-47-32.jpg

I will post a conclusion soon after this post.

Ryan

  • Upvote 1

South Florida

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Man...that was a hell of a drop for Randall Quirk, I heard that was just one of three times that night. :P

 Jeff

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Ryan,

Thanks a lot for an amazing collection of photos and memories from this spectacular Biennial. This thread must be one of the most unique and professional on the entire IPS Forum! Thank you for this incredible documentation!!

Aloha,

Bo-Göran

PS. Too bad you didn't have more photos of Jeff... :D  :D

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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2006 IPS Biennial - Conclusion

Day 1 - Saturday, September 30th --

Day 8 - Saturday, October 7th

Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo - Juan Dolio - Barrera, Azua - Sierra Martin Garcia - Barahona - Jaragua National Park - Sierra de Bahoruco National Park - Azua - Baní - Santo Domingo

The day after the farewell dinner, Sunday October 8th, was spent relaxing for my immediate group and myself. Our bus to the airport left at 1:30 PM, so we hung around the hotel, saying farewell to the attendees who left before then. When our bus came, we reluctantly got on board and spent the thirty minute ride to the airport talking about everything, and taking in our last views of the Dominican Republic. After a small snafu involving some of our luggage, we got airborne very quickly. The ride back to Miami was very short, a mere two hours. We shared the ride with other Miami-bound attendees, and a few others going on to California. We made a mental note that many other attendees had a much longer ride to go.

My travelogue of the 2006 IPS Biennial included too many memorable moments to count. All in all, I took 1,365 photos during the biennial, and only posted 410 of them, an even 30.0%. Minus the last one, they were all in order in which they were taken. I posted what I felt to be the most palm and people rich ones. This was only one aspect of the biennial shown through the lens of one attendee's camera. There were countless other stories and adventures that took place during the biennial. Kathryn and companies' trip to the beach south of Barahona was one very good example. I would have loved to had gone to that beach, but you can't do all that there is on a biennial, but you can try. Another story that unfolded after the biennial, involved the always matching Ray & Theresa Gompf. They decided to end their trip with a week long adventure of the island. They rented a car at the airport, and took off in a random direction. Following no plan at all, just following the wind.

I was asked by many during the biennial, and afterwards what my favorite moment was. A difficult decision to say the least. The one that caused the most amount of excitement for me was standing next to a giant specimen of Pseudophoenix ekmanii.

IPS_2005-10-04_12-35-30.jpg

It was a dream of mine to see any large specimens, let alone one in habitat. Standing next to one, and having that brief moment of tactile contact sent shivers up my spine. It was exhilarating, simply put. I heard from other attendees who shared the same moment as their favorite. Another ongoing question I received during the trip was what was my favorite photo. You can't imagine the frustration and difficulty trying to answer that one. When I figured in not just the artistic photos, but the ones including some very heavy logistics, I could think of one in particular.

IPS_2005-10-04_17-39-10.jpg

This is one of many favorites, but it stands out for one reason. The fact of how much time and money it would take to recreate the entire photo, including getting every person in the same spot again to photograph. A near impossible task I imagine. Every other photograph I took, was a close second.

I hope this topic gave most of you who were unable to attend this biennial, an interesting view to how 150 palm fanatics had fun in the Dominican Republic. Not to mention my third of the group on the legendary 'Green Bus'. I don't think I can ever forget those bus rides. For those who did attend the biennial, this topic was to show how much fun I had in sharing it. If you think this biennial was something you should not have missed, your correct. If anything it should make you focus on making the next one in Costa Rica, which I look forward to seeing everyone at. The photo above proved to me the one key thing I learned during the trip. A biennial is not just for viewing palms, but is for the people who share their admiration for them...

See you under the palms,

Ryan

  • Upvote 1

South Florida

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Ryan

This is greatest topic, your pictures make me feel I'm in bienial event.

I've read this thread since the first day you've post till now,

every pages, every pictures, but not comment.

I've wait patiently to let the topic flow. And now the time, I couldn't find the any other word to say, Thanks you very much!!!

Komkrit Yensirikul

Bangkok, Thailand /17C to 40C Avg32C /rain 4 months a year.

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Dear Rayan_My Friend  :)

all these days i felt that amazon,one of our

members is the forums best in covering the

amazon river basion like the bbc or national

geographic channel does !

But seeing the stills of IPS Biennial(RD) iam

stunned by the resolution and indepth

coverage of the palm trecking,local life

at Dominica,night life,the hotels,the

champange parties_which are on par

with the parties thrown by the Tzars of

russia  :D

the coverage was like a slide show of the

entire event.the dance & the dance girls_

my my i really missed a couple of beats.

fabulos event i could  see all attendees

were all in the 7th heaven.

and i did enjoy few of our members kissing

their loved one  :D (what i ment was guys

kissing & holding the plams).

Thank you all those who have contributed to

this IPS Biennial_RD generously !  :)

Love,

Kris(India).

love conquers all..

43278.gif

.

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  • 1 month later...

Its funny the the small things you miss when the party is over.

I do of course miss the guys and their comradeship and those wonderful palms but  one thing that struck me in paritcular was the sound of all those parrots roosting on the hotel roof and on the palms in the garden.Magical.

Regardez

Juan

Juan

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Ryan,

Thanks for posting the festive photographs.  Those often make for the most interesting shots.  It makes me wish I could have attended that much more.

Ray

Tampa, Interbay Peninsula, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10A

Bokeelia, Pine Island, Florida, USA

subtropical USDA Zone 10B

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  • 2 years later...

FUN. FUN. FUN.

Looks like you all had a great time.

Thanks fer sharin'...

~Ray.

Brandon, FL

27.95°N 82.28°W (Elev. 62 ft)

Zone9 w/ canopy

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FUN. FUN. FUN.

Looks like you all had a great time.

Thanks fer sharin'...

~Ray.

Ray,

Talk about bumping an old thread up to the top. Wow, what great memories. Thanks!

Jeff

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Yes that IPS Biennial was one of my favorites. Viva la Republica Dominicana!

Hawaii Island (Big Island), leeward coast, 19 degrees N. latitude, south Kona mauka at approx. 380m (1,250 ft.) and about 1.6 km (1-mile) upslope from ocean.

 

No record of a hurricane passing over this island (yet!).  

Summer maximum rainfall - variable averaging 900-1150mm (35-45") - Perfect drainage on black volcanic rocky soil.  

Nice sunsets!

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  • 3 months later...

still amazing

Matt Bradford

"Manambe Lavaka"

Spring Valley, CA (8.5 miles inland from San Diego Bay)

10B on the hill (635 ft. elevation)

9B in the canyon (520 ft. elevation)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I loved this topic, because of beauty of palms, and hapiness of everybody.

Maybe someday i will go to a meeting like this.

I have been at Punta Cana, and Saona Island, and have seen much palms, mostly roystonea regia and cocos nucifera.

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  • 1 year later...

Still one of the best Biennials ever put together.

Jeff

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Still one of the best Biennials ever put together.

Jeff

I agree. Thanks for bumping this so I could go through the pictures again!

Why Kathryn and Jeff, because it was well organised or the ideal places or good group of people, etc.

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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Wal,

I think most people would agree that it was a little of everthing. Maybe someday you could join the Biennial family(?).

Jeff

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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  • 1 month later...

Wal - One reason has to be because it was my first and I made so many new friends, but it was so much more than that. The activities were very diverse – the food, palms, hotels, and even the transportation – check out those safari trucks.

One of my favorite days was the helicopter ride to a very remote area just to see Pseudophoenix ekmanii palms!

Another great day we hiked up a mountain full of Coccothrinax boschiana and saw some wonderful views of the ocean – just check out that picture on the first page of this thread. I could have stayed there forever!

I enjoy being pampered but also like to experience the local culture. On this trip, we stayed at a great 5-star hotel for part of the trip and also got to stay at a 3-star hotel that was more of a vacation spot for the locals.

One day, several of us girls along with Claude, skipped out and hired a taxi to take us around for the day. We went to a waterfall/park area, drank beer in a cold stream coming down the mountain, went to the beach near where that stream met the ocean and finished up the day eating at a local restaurant. I think there are a few pictures for that day included here.

The only thing missing was Craig - we had just started dating but had it been a few months more into our relationship, he would have been there with me. He has taken to palms quite well!

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  • 1 year later...

I have enjoyed reading all of the Biennial coverage and this one seemed like a pleasure for all who went! Thanks Ryan!

Susan

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