Lazy Day again.

This morning was spent checking Hockey score and the resulting stories especially when the Oilers win' followed by  checking emails and the news in the Globe and Mail.

We did not feel like going to the Beach right away and then the Landlord came along and said he was having a Safe installed in our Condo today. I question why; because I did not have any money which got a chuckle out of him. Apparently the couple moving in Jan for 3 months want a Safe for their Passports, money and other documents. I must admit it is a good idea , however we are on the second floor which would be hard to scale from the outside as the outside is all Stucco. The Landlord expected the " installer"  in the early after but my question was.... is he on Mexican time. ha ha.

We had to go to the local Mall to pick up a couple of items and to " Spar" with the tour guide about a couple of tours that we were considering. I always like to walk away the first time so I might get a better deal the next time I pass his way. They are NOT  doing a great business at this time so they usually knock off a few buck just to get a Bus Load.

When I'm in the Mall I usually walk by my friend who our a Bar as I never see him in the Condo. This time he was  busy putting up some Christmas decoration and talking to customer. He quickly called me in and introduced me to the customer who was a "bolsters  " Brit and then he left me to listen to him while he carried on with the decorating. I swapped stories with the Brit for a while until Carroll gave me " silent " signal that we had to go.

I should note that the population of our Condo increased by 30 College aged kids ( not English ) and they were definitely in a happy mood. In the early afternoon the headed for the Beach and after supper they had a pool party and they were not drinking straight Coke.
We did our after supper computer work and returned to our room for reading and TV. The Landlord said the party lasted until the Pool closed which is when everyone goes home. cheers

Power Problem during supper

After breakfast we head to the pool area to check  the computer for news about the happenings in the World ( mostly sports ) and emails from home and then we hit the Beach which is our favorite past time. We just can get enough of the Sun, Sand and the Caribbean Sea.  However, we have to be careful of getting to much Sun all at once but we are definitely getting brown. One of the Hawkers ask us how long we were staying here and Carroll told him 31 Dec and he said, Heck you will be as brown as me by then.

After our Beach time was up we return to our Condo for a quick lunch and then to the pool area to lounge around , read our book and take a quick dip in the pool if it gets too hot. Believe me it is not crowded.
At supper we decided to use the oven for the first time. We could not understand the symbols on the oven knob nor could we get the oven to work so the " Electrician " in me said to check the breakers  as it may be in the Off posn. The Electrical panel had two 30 Amp  Main Breakers and several 20 Amp breaker for each appliance or room.  The entire condo has only 120 service to each appliance which has the fridge, Stove Top, Oven and Hot water tank, the Microwave  two  A/C units plus the lights.   I thought maybe the oven had one of the 30 Amp breakers so I turn it off  and holy shit we had no power at all. To make matters worst I thought the breaker was going to fall out in my hand. I believe they export their Electrician's  from Mexico.  I fiddled some more and got everything back on except the Stove top. Therefore we  had to cook supper using the oven and the Microwave. I'm sure I can get everything to  work but at this time of night I will leave it until morning.

After supper each night we head to the Pool area where it is cooler and to check the emails, the Sports scores and the News and to talk on Skype to " those " family and friends smart enough to put Skype on there computer. ha ha Cheers

Wash Day Tuesday

Carroll decided that today was the day we need to wash clothes or what she meant was: too get the clothes washed. There are no Washing Machines in the Condos, however they do have a Laundry Mat but not for our use. Here is the drill and it suites us just find.  I go to the office and ask to have some laundry done and they don't ask how much. We had 3 garbage bags plus the sheets from our " King Size bed. I pay the Office 150 P ( about 5.00 Cdn ) and I also have to purchase a package of soap which I think was about 50 P. They also ask for my room number which I assumed was so they could return the clean clothes. To my surprise,  by the time I got back to our Condo the Laundry lady was there to pick up the dirty Laundry. So , for 5.00 Cdn they Pick up the laundry, Wash it, dry it, fold it and deliver it and I'm sure if we had given her the key she would have put it in the drawers. ha ha.
And to top it off the Laundry lady found a 100 P bill in one of the pockets and she returned it to us. I intended to tip her anyway so I gave it back to her.
Later this week we intend to have our condo clean and they will also do that for 150 P ( 5.00 Cdn ). I guess I now know why Mario, our landlord and Ron, the Bar owner like living in the DR.

After getting the "Laundry  " out of the way we headed for the Beach to soak up the Sun and swim  in the Caribbean Sea,  The water is wonderful.  I always buy beer from the Beach Restaurant and sometime we have lunch there. However today is Tuesday ( which I forgot )  and for some reason the Restaurant is closed on Tuesday. So there I am being a Beach Bum, reading my book and no Beer. How much worst can it get. ha ha

After returning from the Beach and having lunch we walked to the local Mall in search of Beer, Bread and some Bug spray. There is some  little bugs that are around the pool after the sun goes down. They are not bad but they bite around the ankles.

My friend Ron ( from Vancouver) has invited me to join him at his Bar to watch hockey but we are on Atlantic time , therefore the Oilers and Flames don't start until 9:30 our time so it is kind of late. cheers

Tour of City of Puerto Plata

Our tour called for a pickup at our Condo at 9 AM but they were there at 8:45 AM ( MX can take a lesson from the Dominica )  and we were the only customers today. I previous told you there were very few tourist so this is living proof . The guide spoke good English albeit sometimes too fast for me but Carroll seems to pick it up.
 I told him the first stop had to be the Popularie Bank or he would not get paid so that was clearly understood. After the Bank we were headed toward the " Rich Peoples Homes " so we could see how the wealthy live and it was high on a hill so we could view the hold city from high up. A Panorama view, if you will. The Mansions we seen where owned by Lawyers, Doctors, a Senator and one owned by a retired BlueJay's pitcher but the name escapes me.

Before going up passed the Upper class homes I spotted a distinguished building that I thought might be a City Hall or Gov't building of some kind  so I inquired. The guide said it was one of two " Free " hotels in the city. Not being to fast on the uptake I said why Free. He says it's the Men's prison and you don't pay to get in. They also have a women's prison.

We also visited a Fort that was built by the Spaniards to protect the Island from the likes of the British, French, Dutch and others, a Park, Two Power Plants and a deep water port where the merchant ships dock.   They also have separate dock for the Cruise Ships and they have  as many as 11 Cruise ships a week.
The Power plants are run on Diesel and of course it has to be imported. Apparently power is expensive.
Our second last stop run right thru a Jewelry store; of course I knew that was coming and I'm sure the Tour Guide gets a cut if you buy. Carroll made sure he got a cut as she picked up 4 pieces which included a Ring, Bracelet , Ear rings and a Necklace. However, we got it for 1/2 price because there were no ships in today and " Fifi "  had to make sale. Lucky Me!!!!

Our last trip was to take a cable car up the mountain to get a view of most of the Island. It was part and parcel of the Tour otherwise I would not have paid extra, although it was nice to see the Island from the top.

We insisted that part of the trip was to include a  stop at the grocery store so we would not have to endure another cab fare to get groceries and they obliged us.

All vehicles on the Island are imported from the USA and mostly from Miami .  There a very few stop light and absolutely devoid of Stop signs and Yield signs but  the vehicle drivers are courtesy and seem to   merge in and out of traffic seamlessly. However, the Motorcycle drivers are completely nuts and they cut in and out like it is an obstacle course.
Helmets are the law but nobody wears them except today was " Police Check Stop  Day " for helmet and anyone without a helmet was pulled over.

The tour was suppose to be  3 hours but I guess the Tour guides cut at the Jewelry store hefty because we were extended to 4 hours. Cheers

Still on the ATM chase

Before heading for the Beach I thought I would go to the local Mall ,and try again to find the elusive ATM that would spout out 10,000P. The Landlord was going to show me were it was but he had company so I did want to bother him at the time.  So I decided to walk around the outside of the Mall myself;  how hard would be to spot an ATM. I was also advised  that it was a " Bank Popularie" machine. Incidentally, all ATMs have a guard and I spotted the Guard near a Popularie sign. As I crossed the street heading for the ATM the guard waved his hands and said NO NO. I'm smart enough to know that when a guard says No he means it, so I corrected my course and headed back into the Mall.

I then recalled that Ron ( who owns the Sports Bar)  was watching the Seattle Football game at his Bar so I thought I would ask him about  the location of the ATM. Since the game was over he took me to the ATM location which incidental was the one that the guard " shooed " me away from. When we got to the ATM it was gone. Ron did not know whether it was stolen or removed by the Bank. I tried another ATM but it would not even acknowledge my card.

Since we are taking a City tour tomorrow, I will have the Tour Guide stop at a Bank for me as I need the cash.

By the time I returned from the ATM chase, Carroll was ready for the Beach so we headed for the Beach. As soon as you get to the Beach, and stake out your Playa ( umbrella ) the Security guys brings over two lounge chairs and a table. Anyone can sit/lay on the Beach but only our Condo pers can have the Playa. I noticed the security guard checking Carroll's wrist band. I thought we have been here long enough that would have recognized us by know.

When we got to the beach we notice more then the usual amount of folks in the Ocean, so we figure that more people are coming . The water was so inviting we joined the group and swam around in the beautiful blue/green Caribbean Sea. Carroll borrowed a Noodle from the Landlord so she is a little more stable in the waves. We then went for a walk on the beach to see what the people in the" All Inclusive"  where doing. Surprise Surprise, they where do the same as us; Swimming, Sunbathing and drinking. What did you expect.

Of course we are following the curling and ( the Hockey )  and  we check the scores on TSN after each draw but the Men's final was too late for us as we are 3 hours ahead of Mountain time. Cheers

Signed up for a City Tour

We headed for the pool area after breakfast to check our emails and to check the Cdn news as our TV cable does not recognize that Canada even exists. However, it was  very  humid in the morning and my key board would not type due to the humidity. I actually had to hold each key down to the count of 3 or 4 before it register. This  has  never happen before, even in South Africa where it was 43C and very humid. So that ended the morning computer exercise.

We then decided to go to the Mall, next to our Condo complex to find the ATM.  There are 3 ATM machines but we only located too. We were advised to be careful especially if someone ( other than a security guard ) directs you to a machine as it might be set up to steal your card number. We  were advised that the Bank of Nova Scotia ATM  Puerto Plata was definitely one to avoid.
The first ATM was not working and there was quite a line up at the other  so we walked around the Mall , which has many Tourist Trap Boutiques, Time share Scammers, Rental car Kiosks, Tour companies waiting to relief you of your money.

Anyhow I did finally get in the lineup for the ATM and it appears as if these folks have their pay sent to   the bank ( or maybe the company wants it that way) so they were there drawing out money and or paying bills. I was told that there is a 10,000 P limit ( 330.00 Cdn ) so I tried but no luck. I did finally get 2000P which is barely beer money. My Landlord says he will direct me to an ATM that has an 10,000 P limit.
While at the Mall we did sign up for a city tour on Monday.

In the afternoon, we headed for the pool and took the computer to check if it would work, and it did so I checked the Curling, Hockey and the Globe. We ended the afternoon with a dip in the pool.

After supper we came to the pool, with the computer to check sports and to try to call the G/KIds. And WHOA: where the hell did these people come. There was 12 or maybe 15 people in around the pool; (Who let the Dogs out ), none of which had English as a mother tongue.

We ask an Oriental guy ( because he spoke some English ) for help to get on Facetime  but he deduced it was our problem with the "Mike".

I had plan to go to the local Bar to watch hockey but deferred to reading my book before bed. cheers

Another Beach Day

Talk about a lazy day, well this was it. We lazed around most of the morning and search the TV for a news channel and low and behold we did get 2 new " English " channel with some US news. The cable network is really a hit and miss and today was the first time we got some news other than BBC.

Around noon we headed for the Beach to soak up some more Sun and to go for a swim in this beautiful Caribbean Sea.  I spend my time reading and / or falling a sleep while Carroll does the Beach watching which consist of one couple walking by  every 5 minutes.

After chasing back a beer followed by a snooze it was time for lunch at the beach restaurant, There was also a father and son eating there besides us, so I don't know why the stay open.

About 4 PM we returned to our Condo and then took our computers out to the pool area as we can not pick up the WiFi in our Condo

We spotted two more couple wandering around so maybe the activity will pick up. I planned on going to the sports bar to watch the hockey game but my booking reading whiled away the time  and I forgot about it. Cheers