rainy day

so it's sunday and raining. our kitesurfing lesson got foiled again. yesterday it was a lack of the right sized kites being available and then it rained. today it's just rain, rain, and more rain. we're not experiencing ernesto here, but this rain is all part of the unsettled weather around that hurricane.

what to do on a rainy day here? well, the day started off with picking up some fresh pastries from dick's and then enjoying them back at the apartment along with a read of the online papers. then we puttered around about a bit, still hoping the rain may clear and allow for our lesson. we both got up to date on the latest rockstar supernova posts...i'm addicted! (go storm! that's a different story.)

once we knew the lesson was called off, i decided i was in a cooking mood. so we went to sosua to get some supplies at playero - lots of vegetables for chicken soup and chicken cacciatore. here's v checking out the chicken stock we're making.



while cooking we were listening to some cuban music - a female singer named cesaria evora. her music makes me think back to the times in boston when listening to her or some other latin style music made me feel like living in a tropical country like the DR. i don't think i actually really had the DR in my head as my fantasy place. cuba seemed more exotic and alluring. but alas, the DR is a bit more practical. anyway, i told v to close her eyes and think back to some november day back in boston when this music was playing and we were bemoaning our 9-to-5 lifestyle and the long winter ahead.

being from boston originally, whenever it is stormy outside here, it's out of pure habit that i think it is going to be cold. then i open the door, the balmy, tropical air hits me and it still disorients me for a second. even today when i went to get the pastries, i saw it raining and put on jeans. i opened the door, felt the warmth, and wondered will i be too hot? nah, i just felt like wearing jeans. same like i felt like cooking on a rainy day. it just seems like the thing to do, even though we don't have to be holed up in the house. i mean we could go swimming and be perfectly happy too. maybe we'll go do that later...

a trip to the vivero

we made a trip to a vivero today. a vivero is a garden center. this was our third vivero in a week, as we have been looking to put some plants in the new abode that we are in. this vivero was by far the nicest with the plants looking the healthiest. the prices weren't bad either. it's located directly across from the entrance to hideaway beach on the main road - for those who want to know where to go.

we bought a palm tree! while you can't ever have the experience of selecting your own christmas tree out in the wild here, this is what we got to do with a palm tree today! at this vivero, many of the bigger plants are growing in the ground, as opposed to within pots. so once you select your palm, they grab a shovel and start digging it out.

here's a shot of jose, digging up our palm tree:


once it came out the ground, it looked like this. cute, huh? now it's on the deck and looking good! hopefully it won't be in too much shock now living in a pot...


the price started at 450 pesos. we talked them down to 350 pesos. so less than $12. pretty good deal we think. though of course everything grows like mad here, so it probably costs them like $3 to grow and take care of it. a woman at sea horse ranch owns this vivero. i'd imagine it is mostly a hobby for her, as who knows how she keeps track of what gets sold and at what price. (she was not there and probably isn't there often. that is just my guess though, given her residential address.)

here's an interesting vivero story. at another vivero we were looking at plants in plastic pots. if you wanted to keep the plastic pot, it costs 200 pesos ($6.75). the plant itself costs 250 pesos. that's insane! goes to show how expensive some things are as compared to others here. i'd imagine they probably have to drive to puerto plata or santiago to get the plastic pots....thus, such a high premium on such a piece of nothing. this is when you miss home depot....how many plastic pots could i buy for $6.75 at home depot? 10? 20?

ok, on to a different topic, we are kitesurfing again! we took a refresher lesson last weekend and have another one this afternoon, if the wind picks up. v and i did a joint lesson and had a lot of fun with the body dragging. this is basically using the kite to pull you through the water without having the board on. we did this together with one holding onto the other who has the kite. at one point, the kite got a bit out of control for veronica. off she went flying about 5 feet above the water. i was not able to hold on to her for that ride unfortunately and sat somewhat stunned in the water at how high up she had flown and then how far away she had landed.

our instructor is ika from serbia. he wasn't sure if he'd be here for today's lesson because he was going to bulgaria for 2 months. hope he's still here because we both liked him. we'll report on how it all goes. we're getting up on the board today, if all goes well.

dog days of summer

we're back! we never left actually, except for a 12 day vacation up to boston recently. i just got lazy with the blogging. i hope to resume again. we'll see how it goes.

it's august. the weather is hot and steamy. dips in the pool and swims in the ocean are in order a lot these days. we've also been trying to be a bit more active. we brought back some kadima, which is fun to play on the beach.

bettina and her husband, bob, arrive from new york city today. looking forward to hanging out with them here and showing them the unit they bought at blue fish. it'll be the first time that they see the complex, as they purchased it last summer before construction began. bob didn't make it down last time because he lost his passport ON THE WAY to the airport! so off the plane only came bettina. i am hoping we see him in tow today. surely the day must have been miserable, given all the beefed up security measures because of the foiled terrorist attempt on US-bound flights from the UK. clearly NOT the day that you wanted to be traveling. it should be interesting to hear though what they had to endure. i imagine we'll have to buy them some shampoo or other bottled toiletry things, if they had that in their hand luggage. what a MESS... :-(

on the blue fish note, it is nearing completion. yippee! just a few more weeks. landscaping should begin in about a week or so. that should dramatically change what the site looks like. here are some shots. clearly they've gone with a very colorful look - wonder how buyers will feel about such bold colors.







well, we'll be meeting bettina and bob at the eZe cafe tonight. always a great spot to hang out here. looking forward to being there!