Tuesday, February 28, 2006

jumping off the willie T

here are some shots of veronica and me jumping off the willie T in tortola. the pics are courtesy of charlie, whom we met on kuralu and had a great time with. i am practicing for the olympics and thus wanted my arms as tight as possible to my sides. ;-) actually this was my second jump where i was trying not to repeat slapping my arms on the water as i had done on the first jump. v was mostly looking to make sure she cleared the boat!

here's me:





here's v:





woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, February 26, 2006

maybe we should have moved to tortola!

we had a great time in tortola! it was all about stunning beaches, sailing around to different islands, snorkeling in crystal blue waters, yummy rum drinks, gorgeous views from our hotels, bopping around the hilly roads, meeting some very nice people, and running into a cousin of mine!

starting with the beaches, our favorite was smuggler's cove! this was a small beach located quite close to the first hotel we stayed at. it's a bit of a bumpy ride on dirt road to get there, but it is very worth it when you see the water and the sand. there was this really great beach bar there that served fantastic fish tacos. the bartender's name was johnny. he was extremely friendly and even bought us a drink at the bomba shack (we'll talk about that spot in a bit) one night. we loved it so much at that beach that we went there 3 times. here's a shot at the beach bar and one looking out from there:





it was on sumggler's cove beach that i ran into my cousin, chip, and his wife mary. that was an amazing coincidence! i have only met him a few times, with the last time being about 2.5 years ago. so it was a bit of a stretch when i asked if he was indeed named chip. he hadn't recognized me, so he was quite taken aback by someone knowing his name. it was nice to catch up with mary and him. we also ended up going over to jost van dyke on the same ferry a few days later. (more on that island in a bit). here's a picture of us all at smuggler's cove:



stubbs had suggested that we contact her friend, robin, whom she knew from when she lived in tortola. robin runs a catamaran charter boat called kuralu. we went on a fantastic sailing trip on kuralu with robin, who is a wonderfully friendly guy. here he is:



we met some very friendly people on this boat, including a cool couple from NJ/NYC with a very gregarious 8 year old daughter and son. from soper's hole, we sailed out to benures bay at norman island and the indians for snorkeling, as well as to the "willie T", which is this huge party boat (barge actually) off of norman island. everyone was rocking out on the willie T and partaking in the ritual of jumping off the top of the barge into the water. veronica and i, of course, had to jump as well. not naked though, as many do, but were not doing that day. here's a shot of the "willie T" and us sailing:





here is a link to his web site. if you are ever in tortola, definitely go out for a day sail with him. you will have a great time! http://www.kuralu.com/

robin also invited us over to his house for a lamb dinner one night. that was a very enjoyable evening with robin and his friend christopher. we had to call stubbs after dinner to say "hi".

robin suggested that stubbs, neil, their kids, and we come back down to tortola next winter. he would close down the charter business for a week, and we could sail around the BVIs on kuralu! yeah baby, bring that on! that would be an amazing trip and of course is extremely generous of robin to offer. we will have to look forward to that.

i think one of our favorite spots was jost van dyke - an island within sight of tortola. jost van dyke is famous for this place called foxy's that a local named foxy no less owns. he is supposed to be a great musician, but we didn't get to see him when we wer on jost. what we loved there was white bay beach! man, i have seen some nice beaches in my life, but this is definitely in the top 3. white bay beach is a popular anchorage spot for the charter boats too. everyone drops anchor and swims or takes their dingy on to shore so they can go to the soggy dollar bar. a perfect name for the place. they serve up a great rum drink called the painkiller, which is an infamous drink throughout the BVIs. here's a shot from up high of white bay beach and one of veronica at the soggy dollar:





we took the ferry to virgin gorda, another island, and went to "the baths". this is an area where there are all these huge rocks and boulders strewn on the coast. there are many beautiful spots for swimming and snorkeling. the beach is stunning there. you have to walk along this trail to get to the beach spots - under, over, and around these huge rocks. it feels a bit prehistoric in some of the sections of the trail - a very unique experience.

i think our favorite restaurant was the jolly roger! it had a fun atmosphere, served pretty good food, and had good service. the service in general on the island was horrific. so when we found a friendly place like the jolly roger we wanted to go back. we ate there 3 times. some other good places were coco plums and that beach bar at smuggler's cove. i have to mention robin's food on kuralu too, as that was *very* good.

the bomba shack - this is literally a shack on the surfer beach at apple bay. it is made out of old pieces of wood, many of which looked like they may have just washed up on the shore. the floor is sand and not in a hokey way. this is really on the beach. this place is famous for its full moon party and the bomba shack tea. we missed the full moon by 2 days. that party must just be wild! maybe we can catch it when we return next year. here is a shot of the bomba shack:



we stayed at 2 different hotels. the first was sebastian's seaside villa. this place was very nice. our room was practically on top of the water here. after many months of living in a not so special apartment in the DR, we treated ourselves with this room. check out the view from the room:



the other place we stayed was the heritage inn. the defining feature of this place are the outstanding views. located high up on one of the many hills in tortola, this hotel overlooks a huge expanse of ocean, jost van dyke, and carrot and apple bays. check out this pic from our balcony:



there were a few big differences between tortola and the DR. tortola is much drier with cactuses even. the music is better in tortola - reggae, man! none of this bachata plink plink plink stuff. much of tortola is centered around sailing and boating. there's not much boating in the DR, which is a bummer. we both enjoyed being out on the water and walking around on the marina docks, checking out the boats. surpisingly though the architecture of the homes was pretty lame. i think we both expected to see many nicely designed and visually appealing villas. often times it looked similar to the DR with many ugly concrete homes. many of the homes had unfinished 2nd floors. perhaps they do this to save on taxes. nonetheless it does not make for a pretty site. i guess we had to realize that many of the people on tortola are probably not very well off. also, it is very complicated and expensive for non-residents to purchase property there. score one for the DR on that one!

all in all it was great time! we both loved tortola and want to go back to the BVIs! in fact, we'd love to go live there instead. kidding. sort of. ;-)

Sunday, February 12, 2006

cabarete building boom

there is a significant building boom happening here in cabarete. it was 2 years ago now back in boston when i had first stumbled on this market through research on the web. it looked to me like a market that could really take off. indeed it is!

check out what is happening here!

the west side of cabarete:

  • perla marina - of course we have the blue fish condos being constructed in here. phase 1 is 84% sold out - all sold at pre and construction prices, as this complex is still being built. in perla marina, you have many new homes being built as well.
  • vista del caribe - there are 2 condo developments that i know of being built out there - coral crest and coral heights. coral crest is being built by an acquaintance, daniel. a nice guy from italy who is also a kitesurfing instructor. more than half of the coral crest ones have been sold out prior to construction being complete. coral heights development is about to start (or may have already.) this is being built by an englishman that we know that lives in the same condo complex as us. i have seen many new homes being built in the vista del caribe neighbor too.
  • kite beach - ocean point condos are being built by our friend, gordon. there are 2 sections to this condo development - one right before the kite beach condos/hotel and one after the extreme hotel. there's only like 4 condos left here - all sold prior to construction being complete. he went for building 2 bedroom units on the lower levels and 4 bedroom penthouse units. can't wait to check out his penthouse when it is done.
  • just after kite beach - porta del mar condos. don't know too much about these other than they are going up fast.
  • there is a 25,000m2 lot next to bahia de arena that has been cleared. this is going to be a boutique hotel by the paradisius hotel group.
  • ocean dream - they continue to build more condos here. they are also constructing a huge amount of commercial space on the roadside of this complex. this is going up fast.
  • in back of the best kite center on the main road, they are constructing what looks to be commerical space as well.
  • pelican beach condos - these are in the second row from the beach. don't know how their sales are going. interesting to sell in the second row when the first row is an empty lot and will likely contain something at some point that blocks the view of the second row.

pro-cab:

  • there are at least 2 condo projects going on in there - bali hai condos and okaina. bali hai is of course being built by our friends, german and sara. these are very nice townhouses with lots of space and tastefully done and furnished.
  • okaina is a strange shaped condo building in this neighborhood. has a bit of a russian sounding name. don't know much about this small complex.

east side of cabarete:

  • el magnifico is building another condo building.
  • the new casino was recently finished and opened.
  • there are some condos being built across from the casino. can't remember the name of this.
  • 2 new large homes (or maybe condos?) being built along the beachfront before you get to the texaco station
  • the victorian luxury beachfront condos - this is another complex being built by juan perdomo. construction of the foundation just started here. we have had several sales of units in there. there will be 63 units in all there, built in 3 phases.
  • ocean manor hotel - this hotel is right next door to the victorian site. they have been renovating it for several months now and it is looking good.
  • cabarete east - this is being developed by the people who run taco tuesday. very nice people from seattle who settled down here 2-3 years ago. they are developing 40 condos in 3 phases there. i believe that they also own a lot just on the other side of the unfinished hotel there and plan to build more condos on that side too.
  • a 26,000m2 oceanfront lot next to (and in front of) the costa liza hotel sold to a group of developers who plan to subdivide that lot into a gated community with smaller lots. that lot was one that we had focused heavily on trying to sell to various clients and acquaintances. we came very close, only to be just behind another agent in our office who sold it. anyway, the sale of that lot along with all the activity on this side has really sparked a huge amount of interest in east cabarete. i think in a year's time, east cabarete is going to be a whole new world.
  • la boca is starting to heat up. this is past the sea grape hotel and the sol bonito neighborhood. a large lot has been cleared out there for condos that are being built by a canadian group. those are called villas tropicale. they are completely overpriced, unless they plan to do the floors in gold. looks like they are marketing them out of canada. these people are definitely out on the edge in terms of their location in relation to where the expansion is happening. it'll be interesting to see who follows suit out there and when and if they can pull off their pricing.

i am sure i have not covered everything but this is what we have seen. every day something new starts up. it's a very exciting place to be right now, both professionally and personally.

Friday, February 10, 2006

cabarete parking ticket



so, today veronica and i made the mistake of double parking in the center of cabarete. i was dashing off to quickly grab us a pastry, while veronica went 5 steps away from the car to exchange some money. when i return to the car, i see an official looking person dressed in green, telling veronica to provide her driver's license. now realize that the idea of the having to deal with the cops here is not a great one. the first thoughts are, how much money is this guy going to ask for on the spot to not write up a ticket? the next thought is, who the hell gets a parking ticket in cabarete? that's like arresting someone for jaywalking in boston! it just does not happen!

i look around at the various shopkeepers, including our money exchange guy, and everyone is looking nervous. not a good sign. the official continues to write out a ticket while veronica and i both now wait in the car. we exchange a quick few "now remember to say that we're just on vacation here...."

he hands us the ticket, says nothing, and leaves. phew! but what is the ticket gonna cost? veronica drives off while i look at it. it is in spanish of course, but i can make out the gist of it. it says we have a court date on feb 29, 2006. ok, dude, that day does not even exist. how will the dominican officials deal with that? should we show up on feb 28? or march 1? i'm thinking, it will get lost in the system and then we'll get arrested or something because of his error. the ticket also has no instructions on WHERE to go for the court date. at this point, we both decide that we'll just talk to Guido (Juan's brother, the lawyer), figuring that he'll know what to do and who to pay off if we need to settle it that way.

at the office, we actually find out from pablo that all we need to do is go to city hall and pay the ticket. everyone in the office has a different idea on what the fine will be, so we're still a bit anxious about how much they will charge a gringo.

after doing a few things in the office, we go around the corner to city hall. now this whole scene is worth getting on camera. the trouble is of course they do not want you to take pictures. using a camera would be too obvious. so what do i do? whip out the camera phone!

the court room was located off a dirt courtyard where there were a couple of old, non-working construction machines. running around in the courtyard were some chickens - gotta love that! we hand the ticket to some lady whose desktop computer background, i think, shows vlad guererro batting against the yankees. she can't read the ticket because the writing is too faint. after going outside into the light, she just starts walking over to the other side of the courtyard. we go into this small room with a tiny desk and some plastic chairs, for i guess, if there are many people paying a fine at once. when she went into another room , i quickly grabbed a few photos. here is the desk where she settled the fine and the courtyard area.





the fine in the end....130 pesos (about $4.00)! i think we both were expecting to have to pay a bit more and were quite relieved to have the whole experience behind us. though we certainly got a kick out of the experience.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

island hopping



when sick of one island, go to another! it's time for a vacation! we're going to tortola on tuesday for 8 days! we're both looking forward to getting off the DR and seeing something different. we've been here for 8+ months without leaving the island. cabarete is too small of a place to be for that long. we have of course gone to santo domingo, las terrenas (3x), las galeras, and santiago, but still, we have not left the DR!

tortola looks to be the land of white sand and turquoise blue water beaches. i love that! i have to say that for me, cabarete is lacking in that way. the beach is certainly nice, but it ain't turquoise blue nor is the sand white. cabarete has other appeal though. i am curious to see what tortola has to offer in terms of places to hang out. seems like a must to go to the bomba shack, which will be near the first hotel we are staying at. we'll have to stay away from the punch there though! speaking of that, i wonder if it will be a full moon when we are there. i'll have to check that out.

bring on the snorkeling! sounds like there is killer snorkeling too!

here's a view from the restaurant at one of the places where we will be staying in tortola...


wonder if we will have such a view from our room. hope so!

stubbs lived in tortola for a year or so (more?). she's going to fill us in on some tips of things to do, places to see, etc. we're planning to hop over to a few of the other islands there, like jost van dyke, etc. one thing we wanted to do was to charter a sailboat, but it seemed too rushed. we'll have to do that sometime with a bunch of friends, as i bet that is an amazing vacation.

we have loads of things to seal up before going away. trying not to stress too much about that. so much is out of your control in real estate. it can get to you when you are trying to plan things outside of that. gotta go back to work now!

Sunday, February 05, 2006

a day in the life of a DR real estate agent



we have been busy over the past few days with real estate work. we made a blue fish sale yesterday to a brother of one of my friends, who also bought at blue fish. we're all going to be styling there!

the other real estate related activity we have been doing is prepping for a client who is looking for large oceanfront land. they are coming back for a second look this week. we had to spend some time checking out some new possible lots for them, as well as revisiting original ones that we had in mind for them. that took us here and there, and even got us picking up trash on one of them. veronica may have touched something weird when cleaning up the lot, as later in the day she turned a bit purple from her shoulders up. it was either that, something she ate, or the return suddenly of some slightly humid weather here.

we both love the days that we go around to check out new listings. it's an exciting part of the job, except when it is to see some dump of a house or something. in this case, we were looking at oceanfront lots, so that took us out to some sweet spots. can't complain when work takes you on the sand and amongst the palm trees! have a glimpse into what we get to do and where - this was one of the lots:



after looking at some lots, we stopped at a new favorite spot for us - ke lo ke - which is a small beachfront restaurant/bar in front of the aqualina resort at kite beach. it sounds hawaiian, doesn't it? it actually is spanish for "what's up" but written phonetically. anyway, this is a great spot for smoothies. they're working on the menu and the kitchen there, so their food could be good at some point too. the shot at the top of this blog entry is of veronica on a work day at the ke lo ke - she's studying a plot plan for one of the oceanfront lots we'll be showing.

here's another shot looking out from ke lo ke on to kite beach. not bad for your lunch hour, huh?



along the journey to the lots, we came across this. perhaps this is dominican recycling....?



or how about taking the whole family out for the afternoon....?



never a dull moment when you're out and about here.

Friday, February 03, 2006

adios, mom!

yesterday was my mom's last day in the DR. we enjoyed a nice breakfast out on the deck in the morning. once the bags were packed, we picked up a few things on the way to the airport - some coffee as souvenirs for her friends back home. (have i mentioned how good the coffee is here?) at the blah, blah, blah shop in cabarete, my mom bought us a nice tropical sarong/table cloth as a parting gift. i'm out on the deck now with it on the table - it's looking good! wish you were here to enjoy veronica's banana pancakes - dutch style - nice and thin.



you gotta get a shot at the airport when people leave. i mean you took a photo when they arrived. so here is mom at the airport on her departure day. she skipped the souvenirs there, though we did price out some cigars for one of her friends.



she'd prefer that i put this shot on though - this was her favorite night here, i think.



it was great having you here, mom! i miss you! see you again soon!

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

some typical cabarete scenes & signs

anybody need any shoes?



this guy set up "shop" a few months ago just beyond where our fruit guy has his makeshift stand. the stock of shoes seems to grow quite regularly. when he first started out, he just had a few pair of shoes, hanging in the tree. now he's taken full advantage of the chain link fence behind him to display his wears. i wonder what that first day was like when this guy set up shop. did the fruit guy nod at him in approval for choosing such a potentially lucrative spot? or was the fruit guy annoyed with having another vendor quite close by and possibly expanding at some point on to his turf?

speaking of selling stuff, this lady below is pretty famous on the beach. she walks around all day on the beach in the hot sun, selling the fruit that she carries on her head. i wonder how many people have taken her picture...has to be in the thousands.... i got this shot with my phone. it looks a bit like a colorized old movie shot.



here is a shot of the sports bar/pool hall in cabarete where the local dominican men hang out, drink presidentes or cuba libres, watch the latest baseball game, play pool, and listen to loud bachata music. it's up on the second floor, above a small grocery store, and right on the main drag of cabarete. the guys always seem to be having a blast in there.



there are many signs around town that make me laugh. now i know i am being mean because they are usually funny because it is written in english by a non-english speaker. one i love is -- "please no parking is private". i mean you could grammatically compose this sentence in so many ways to bring forth the emphasize where you want it. "please, no! parking is private!" or "please no parking. is private." or "please. no parking. is private."

here is another one that i get amusement out of:



i guess this sign can be likened to my confusion over when to use pronouns in spanish. still, veronica and i always get a chuckle out this when we see it.