cabarete life catch-up

blue fish is done! actually closings have been happening for about a month now. the last details on each apartment are finished up is in line with when the clients come. the landscaping in line with the mexican theme and has really added a lot to the appeal of the complex. i am digging the plants - lots of aloe plants, different palm trees, and desert-like plants.

our unit is looking good! here's a shot from the balcony:



so...what is new? well, the beach regeneration on cabarete beach has been underway for a while - but only them getting the pipes prepared. the plan is for cabarete beach to get a whole new layer of sand to help with erosion and to make it even nicer than it already is with white sand. supposedly they are getting the sand from a sand bank off of rio san juan. we're very curious about what the sand will be like and when the pumping of the sand on to the beach will actually happen.

here's a shot of the big pipe they keep putting in and out of the water:


we won't talk about the fact that most of this country has mostly unpaved roads, an electricity crisis, and very poorly educated people and that the money to pay for this project (like $15 million) could probably be better spent elsewhere. we'll just get ready to enjoy a white sand beach and know that this is the third world and decisions here do not always make sense.

for about 6 weeks now, we have had a big pipe either on the beach or submerged in the bay as part of this project. there are actually several pipes involved, but one of them seems to keep breaking. when that happens, they bring it on to the beach, weld it together, and then submerge it again. this pipe is about 400 yards long, so this is ain't no small pipe to be hauling around.

THE DUTCH are doing this job. those industrious civil engineering dutch! seriously it is a dutch company that has been contracted to do this. v is very proud of course - until we keep wondering what the heck is going on and why the pipe keeps coming back up on to the beach. v wonders how they are going to actually pump the sand on to the beach, using the methods they appear to have in place. it all does not seem to make sense to v, but that is puzzling since it is THE DUTCH who are doing it and they usually know what they are doing in these situations. i just admire the pipe and the boats in the bay and wonder if it will all be done before the high season. it's also fun to watch the kitesurfers try to contend with the pipe as they get in/out of the water. i expect someone's foot to be stuck under the pipe as it bobs up and down (even being that big) in the waves.

the weather here for the past 2 months has been incredible. it has hardly rained at all. this has been nice for sitting by the pool and going to the beach, but everything is very dried out. we could use a few days of some full-on rain. it is the rainy season now, so perhaps it will come soon.

last weekend, we were out at las terrenas - our favorite spot here in the DR. it is always great to go for a weekend out there. on saturday, there was a windsurfing & kitesurfing competition at el portillo beach that we went to. gorgeous day! gorgeous setting!

there was a birthday party being hosted by one of the beachfront homes within this community where the competition was held. this was quite possibly the coolest setting i have ever seen for a birthday party. we were practically part of the party, as we grabbed a spot under a palm tree nearby for some much-needed shade. this party blended into the whole party that was essentially taking place on the beach with the competition.

note to self: have a birthday party in a setting like this at least one time in life!