Monday, October 31, 2005

playa bonita, mosquito bar, bullfighting





we had a great time in las terrenas with sara and german. this was our second trip out to that part of the island. we stayed in the playa bonita area of las terrenas -this time at casa grande (last time at bahia las ballenas). both of these are wonderful small hotels right on the beach there. sara recommended both of these places to us. we know to follow whatever she says now because both of these hotels were great!

casa grande is on playa bonita, which is a long beach with turquoise blue waters and soft white sand and lined with palm tress. it is the quintessentially perfect beach with picture perfect views, crystal clear waters, and warm water temps. running between the beach and the many homes and small hotels here is a narrow sand/dirt road on which mostly you see quad 4x4 bikes (the defacto method of transport out there) go by occassionally. then the gardens of the homes/hotels begin. these are usually bright green lawns with tropical plants set amongst many palm trees. the home is set off to the back a bit. the result is that you have a lot of green space just off from the beach versus homes/hotels right up on it. these beautifully architected, tropical homes have large open terraces so you can see in and admire the styles in which the homes have been decorated. i would take any of a number of these homes there to be my tropical home.

las terrenas has a reputation for being a bit snobby and the people not being nice. this is so odd because both times that we have been there we have met some very friendly people. last time we met some a french couple who had moved there with their 2 kids and were doing real estate. and another couple (also from france) who had moved there from africa and were also doing real estate. they clued us in on the best restuarants to go to for fish.

speaking of fish, unlike in cabarete, there is a lot seafood to be had in las terrenas! in cabarete, finding fresh fish is like trying to find a surfer in the south end of boston. it's just not around. in las terrenas, it is all about seafood, probably because this was and still is a dominican fishing village. we've had some great seafood in las terrenas - fish, clams, ceviche, calamari - that probably came in off the boat that day.

one of the other things i love in las terrenas is that at the beach, you can get these bed-like cushions for lying on. the cushion lies flat on the sand but also as a wooden frame just for your back. you can lower the cushion fully if you want - then it is REALLY like a bed. why don't we have these in the US?

one of our favorite places in las terrenas is the el mosquito bar. this bar is located on the beach in a former wooden fishing shack. many restaurants and bars have now populated these little shacks and been turned into hip places to eat or have a drink. the decor of the mosquito bar is african safari - leopard skin pillows, zebras ashtrays, ivory colored walls with lots of dark wood. the place is probably only 300 square feet, including a wooden deck that if you fell off if it, you'd land on the sand or in the ocean.

the mosquito bar was happening on friday night as many people showed up in costumes for halloween. we also learned some bull fighting moves that night from sara and german (they are from madrid). apparently "veronica" is a bullfighting move.

i have attached a few photos - sara & german; bullfighting moves, mosquito bar, and grounds of casa grande on playa bonita.

Friday, October 28, 2005

las terrenas

we're off to las terrenas for the weekend with herman and sara, two friends from here who are spanish. it's about a 3 hour drive away. we were last in las terrenas at the end of august with v's sister. we LOVE it there and are excited to return there! we'll post some photos when we return.

susie

Thursday, October 27, 2005

anyone need a shoeshine?


ok, here is something i completely do not get here. for some reason, young boys in cabarete decided at one time that being shoeshiners might be a good way to make some money.

ok, what is the logic in that? because 9.5 out of every 10 people are wearing flip flops! those who are wearing shoes are most likely wearing sneakers or something athletic.

i know i shouldn't bash these kids for trying to make a living in such a poor country. but the whole concept is just so stupid to me.

somehow they must actually shine the flip flops because they still ask you if you want a shoe shine, even if you are wearing flip flops. HOW does that work?

this is a great example of how there is often no logic to how things are here.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

cost of living

inexpensive items here:
- rum
- cigars
- cleaning ladies
- waxing
- dinner at el tigre/sandro's
- gua-guas - a taxi of sort that is usually a beat-up toyota/nissan sedan filled with a *minimum* of 9 people. 3 in front, 6 in back. you'd never think you could fit in the car, but somehow you do. just stand on the road and a gua-gua will come by like every 30 seconds. watch your pockets and close your eyes when the driver decides (often) to pass another car at an inopportune time to do so

expensive items:
- MOST stuff since it is an island, but in particular:
- BBQ sets
- gasoline
- suntan lotion
- peanut butter
- tampons

items that are a deal:
- real estate ;-)

exchange rate on the street today: 31 pesos to $1 USD (it was 27/1 when we got here)

Monday, October 24, 2005

la cucaracha

ok, so there are bugs in the tropics, and then there are BUGS in the tropics.

tonight, v and i were having dinner at el tigre, a restaurant in the el callejon section of cabarete. this is primarily a dominican neighborhood, though some surf instructor types live there as it is VERY cheap. there are a few good restaurants in el callejon if you are looking to have the staple dominican meal - rice, beans, and chicken.

it's an open air restaurant. i think i have been in one restaurant since i have been here that actually is fully enclosed and has a door. anyway, we ordered our food, v is talking, and then i am distracted by something that is flying that looks like a bumble bee on steroids. this flying insect is HUGE. i motioned to v to hold the thought and check out this flying object. i then realize, no, that is not any old insect. that is a flying cockroach that has to be at least 2.5 inches long. maybe it weighed half a pound (kidding, but it looked like it was sagging in its flight due to too much weight). we duck a bit, move our chairs out so we can quickly dash away if needed. anyway, it then somehow started to ascend and move towards the overhead fan!!! oh no, i'm thinking, this thing is going to be shot across the room and land on me when it hits the overhead fan. thwack! it does hit and goes careening towards us. but it lands about a foot away. thank god! meanwhile the waitress comes over and takes care of it. thank god again, because i certainly did not want to have to deal with it, as it was still alive but on its back with one of its wings slightly detached.

i do remember seeing cockroaches fly when i lived with stubbs in bermuda. they usually only took to flight when it rained. guess they behave differently in the DR.

anyway, so it ain't all beautiful beaches and swaying palm trees.

i hope i haven't scared sheila, willow, and jessie off from coming now! really you'll be fine. it's just a bug.

susie

Saturday, October 22, 2005

speaking of fruit


sometimes we buy our fruit off this guy on the main street near our condo. he's our banana source. my favorite part of buying from him is that he uses bananas for change. e.g., you buy 2 bananas, give him 10 pesos (about 30 cents), and he gives you another banana instead of a few pesos of change. if i could speak spanish (or creole perhaps, as he is haitian), perhaps i could negotiate better and say "but i only want 2 bananas". in the end, i figure why argue. it's just a few pesos and i help him sell his banana supply before it gets too ripe.

susie

just one breakfast update




i know i said i didn't understand why anyone would want to post what they for breakfast up on their blog. i just can't help myself, as we had a great breakfast on the beach this morning. the eZe cafe is right on Cabarete beach and they serve a killer yogurt & fruit salad breakfast, not to mention great coffee. perhaps none of this should be surprising, given that the DR produces loads of fresh fruit (of course! it's a tropical island!) and great coffee. coffee is grown here in the mountains. so, i don't really miss Starbucks or that big honking espresso machine that we had at Orange. the coffee is truly excellent.

the pics are from this morning.

susie

Friday, October 21, 2005

sherman did know what he was talking about

hey, this blogging thing is pretty cool! just think, if i'd paid more attention to sherman, i would have been blogging a long time ago (and not to mention from my mobile phone of course.) won't be blogging from my phone though. if they made that free, perhaps we'd jump up to that level.

again, i think this is going to be way cool to capture our life and times here. it seems that blogging is just made for an experience like this of living in another country. on the other hand, for those people reporting by blog on what they ate for breakfast each day, i still don't get why you'd do that or why anyone would read that. perhaps over time i will be enlightened on that too...

i seem to be on a roll right now with harnessing the power of technology between this blog and another idea i had this week. the realty biz is slow right now as it's the low season and people are afraid they will be hit by a hurricane here. so, the leads were rather slow as well. well, i popped a few ads for "pre-construction oceanfront condos for $100,000" on craigslist in the cities of new york, miami, london, toronto, and (country) of costa rica. BAM! 10 people responded (and only 1 Nigerian reply that is a scam)! we'll see what happens. in the meantime, the morning routine for a while is going to be reposting the ads on craigslist to pop to the top of the list again. new york has over 120,000 listings for housing! that's what FREE will do!

ok, time for the morning coffee now and maybe a swim ;-) hasta pronto!

susie

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Hola!



OK, so we have finally gotten around to creating The Blog for our life here in Cabarete, DR. Looking forward to posting pictures and chronicling the fun, nutty, and sometimes truly insane things that happen here on this tropical island!