On Christmas day most people are getting excited about having family or friends in for dinner or going to family or friends. We too were looking forward to our party ; however about 3 PM Christmas morning, I woke up sick and I ( tom ) mean sick. I was weak and had diarrhea. Although I survived the night I could not eat and did not want to get out of bed. I tried to sit up a few times but I could do it. We had some Peptobismo and some Imodium which I took. During the day I managed to drink a cup of tea and eat 1/2 a slice of toast. By 3 PM it was determined that I might live and with a couple more hours of sleep I might just feel good enough to make the 6 PM cocktail hour at our friends place.
By 5 PM I decided that I could make the party but I only drank water and no food until the supper was served. The cocktail hour , which started at 6 PM , lasted until about 8 and by that time the hostess had made a marvelous meal. It was the whole meal deal; mash potatoes, squash, beans , carrots, turkey, stuffing and gravy. Since I had barely eaten all day my stomach could barely wait for the food to get there.
By 9:30 I was starting to feel tired so we begged off the party and headed home. The next day we ask how long the party lasted and they said until midnight. Thank you, but I would never had lasted that long. However, it was a great Christmas dinner with our new found friends. cheers
Sunday, 27 December 2015
Saturday, 26 December 2015
Slow Day... DR Style
The first order of the day was to go to the local Mall to pick up some beer, enough to last me another 5 days. I also pick up a bottle of wine for the host of the Christmas Dinner. We thought we could get a box of chocolates for the hostess in the Mall but no stores sell chocolates which we found surprising. However, our Landlord was going into Puerto Plato so he was kind enough to pick up a box for us.
Then we headed for the Beach, were we spent about 3 hours. The water was beautiful so we spent about 1/2 hour riding the waves and talking to others. The rest of the time was spent reading and shaking my head " NO " when the Hawkers came along.
We, along with our friends who come here ever year at this time are amazed that it is not "wall to wall" people. I guess part of the reason could be our Dollar. cheers
Then we headed for the Beach, were we spent about 3 hours. The water was beautiful so we spent about 1/2 hour riding the waves and talking to others. The rest of the time was spent reading and shaking my head " NO " when the Hawkers came along.
We, along with our friends who come here ever year at this time are amazed that it is not "wall to wall" people. I guess part of the reason could be our Dollar. cheers
Wednesday, 23 December 2015
Christmas Dinner
I think our time here is going fast but we seem to be slowing down. We went to the beach in the early afternoon and our new found friends were already , holding down a beach chair. This normal entails reading or falling asleep followed by a swim.
I usually read for about 1/2 an hour and then we go for a swim ( mostly riding the waves ). The water is so beautiful it is nice to float around.
Judy, the lady who t invited us for Christmas Dinner lives next to our Condo Complex in another complex. Once I looked at the complex I knew I would never find her place. However, Judy was on the beach so she directed us to her place. It would be great to get an invite for Christmas and then be late hunting for the dam place.
The beach is lined with Condos and Hotels. cheers
I usually read for about 1/2 an hour and then we go for a swim ( mostly riding the waves ). The water is so beautiful it is nice to float around.
Judy, the lady who t invited us for Christmas Dinner lives next to our Condo Complex in another complex. Once I looked at the complex I knew I would never find her place. However, Judy was on the beach so she directed us to her place. It would be great to get an invite for Christmas and then be late hunting for the dam place.
The beach is lined with Condos and Hotels. cheers
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
Shopping with Joe
It rained like hell during the night again and it even woke me up twice. However, we sleep with the windows open so it is not a stretch that the rain would wake me. However, right on cue around 11:00AM it started to clear up.
Originally Carroll and I intended to go grocery shopping, hopefully for the last time but the gloomy skies put that idea on the wait and see list. Then , while we were checking our emails at the pool area Joe and Andréa came down to do the same. During the conversation Carroll mentioned about going for some groceries. Joe said that he too was thinking about it and that he would go with us and we could take the "Local " bus services. Since Andréa was not going, Carroll decided that she too would stay at the pool and let me do the shopping. That was not one of her best decisions. I also had to go to the bank.
Anyhow Joe ( he speaks Spanish somewhat ) and I had to walk to the main road which is about 1/2 a KM. There are no scheduled Bus Stops, you merely wave at the vehicle and it usually stops. The Bus... and I use the word loosely, is somewhat like a Volkswagen van and it probably holds 8 to 10 people but it is possible to squeeze 20 people into it. Joe and I squeezed into the sit behind the driver along with one other passenger. Please don't even ask if there were seat belts. However the sliding side door was not even closed and I was afraid that if we rounded a corner Joe would go flying out. Joe told the driver where we wanted to go and I knew from the conversation that our stop was not on his route but he did not want to lose two fare so he said he would take us to our stop. As a result, we got a tour thru most of the city.
After shopping we had to get a regular taxi to take us home, as I had about 10 bags and you can not get on the local bus with that many bags. The taxi's are waiting outside the store and Joe say how much to Playa Dorado and the guys says 500 P and Joe said , forget it I'll call my regular taxi so the taxi agreed to 300P
Joe and Andrea were going out for supper with another couple who had just arrived last evening ,so they invited us to go along. We had a nice supper and met a new couple from Flint , Michigan and had a nice conversation. After supper we returned the pool area as there was a Texas Holdem game about to start at 8 PM. All the men in our group played cards while Carroll and I joined the ladies to spin some yarns. The conversation got around to Christmas dinner and one of the ladies ask if we would like to join her group for Christmas dinner. We graciously accepted since we had no plans at all. Cheers
Originally Carroll and I intended to go grocery shopping, hopefully for the last time but the gloomy skies put that idea on the wait and see list. Then , while we were checking our emails at the pool area Joe and Andréa came down to do the same. During the conversation Carroll mentioned about going for some groceries. Joe said that he too was thinking about it and that he would go with us and we could take the "Local " bus services. Since Andréa was not going, Carroll decided that she too would stay at the pool and let me do the shopping. That was not one of her best decisions. I also had to go to the bank.
Anyhow Joe ( he speaks Spanish somewhat ) and I had to walk to the main road which is about 1/2 a KM. There are no scheduled Bus Stops, you merely wave at the vehicle and it usually stops. The Bus... and I use the word loosely, is somewhat like a Volkswagen van and it probably holds 8 to 10 people but it is possible to squeeze 20 people into it. Joe and I squeezed into the sit behind the driver along with one other passenger. Please don't even ask if there were seat belts. However the sliding side door was not even closed and I was afraid that if we rounded a corner Joe would go flying out. Joe told the driver where we wanted to go and I knew from the conversation that our stop was not on his route but he did not want to lose two fare so he said he would take us to our stop. As a result, we got a tour thru most of the city.
After shopping we had to get a regular taxi to take us home, as I had about 10 bags and you can not get on the local bus with that many bags. The taxi's are waiting outside the store and Joe say how much to Playa Dorado and the guys says 500 P and Joe said , forget it I'll call my regular taxi so the taxi agreed to 300P
Joe and Andrea were going out for supper with another couple who had just arrived last evening ,so they invited us to go along. We had a nice supper and met a new couple from Flint , Michigan and had a nice conversation. After supper we returned the pool area as there was a Texas Holdem game about to start at 8 PM. All the men in our group played cards while Carroll and I joined the ladies to spin some yarns. The conversation got around to Christmas dinner and one of the ladies ask if we would like to join her group for Christmas dinner. We graciously accepted since we had no plans at all. Cheers
More Rain/ More People
I have been asking people if this is the rainy season and most answer; not really. Well it sure as hell rained lots last night and it continued into the morning. In fact we thought there would be no beach day but the Sun came thru around noon and it was a great Beach day after all. It would be a sin to miss a beach day !!!!
When we got to the beach our new found friends ( Peter/Judy and Jack/Gwen ) where already there and so were many more beach bums. I think the Christmas rush is on because the "All Inclusive" hotels seem to have a lot more bodies laying around soaking up the Sun.
There was no Happy Hour last night so maybe the old folks fell asleep in the afternoon from the stressful day at the beach and forgot to wake up. So Carroll and I sat by the pool until it was supper time. cheers
When we got to the beach our new found friends ( Peter/Judy and Jack/Gwen ) where already there and so were many more beach bums. I think the Christmas rush is on because the "All Inclusive" hotels seem to have a lot more bodies laying around soaking up the Sun.
There was no Happy Hour last night so maybe the old folks fell asleep in the afternoon from the stressful day at the beach and forgot to wake up. So Carroll and I sat by the pool until it was supper time. cheers
Monday, 21 December 2015
The stampede has Started
The tourist have started to arrive as "Joe" predicted and many are Europeans. I was told by a Brit that they fly direct from Heathrow airport to the DR and the price is very reasonable hence the reason the Brits and the Europeans come here.
This morning while doing my computer checks we met with Joe and his wife and we had a 1/2 hour confab, swapping stories about family, careers and health issues. They mentioned that 2 couples would join them for Happy Hour around 5 PM and we were invited to met them which we did. We now are friends with 6 more English speaking people.
We did our normal trip to the beach in the afternoon and had lunch with Joe and his wife. I noticed they were reading and since I run out of reading material I thought they might loan or swap me a book. Joe informed me that there was a library of about 100 paperbacks in the foyer under the counter. So I checked and there was more books than I will read so I grabbed a couple to hold me for awhile. I'm going thru about 1 1/2 books a week because the "Bikini " watching on the beach has been slow lately.
We went to Dinner and Las Vegas type show tonight and it was great. The meal was Surf and Turf and all you can drink as long as it is Beer, wine or a rum drink. The first drink was Champagne and Carroll took a sip of hers and liked it. I hope she not thinking of taking up drinking because we both can't afford to drink. After the dinner , we were escorted to the auditorium for the show which lasted about 1 1/2 hours and again the drinks kept coming, even without asking. Carroll ordered a Pina Coloda however the waitress noticed that Carroll's first drink was a Sprite so she ask if she wanted the drink with or without rum. Of course it was without??
The show was dancing and singing , both men and women with the most gorgeous costumes we have ever seen. All the dancers were tall, well built and definitely physically fit. All the ladies were scantily dressed and Carroll said they were good looking. They were on a stage so I could see that high. ha ha.
After the show we had an hour to kill so they directed us to the Casino where they had hoped to get us to spend some money. This was of course the plan but very few people gambled and in fact I only noticed one guy at the Black Jack table from our crew. As Carroll and I walked around the place I was invited to join the Texas Holdem table as they only had 3 players. It was a very fancy upscale looking Casino but there was only 2 Black Jack tables in use and I only seen one guy a the one arm bandits.
We got home at 11:30 and we feel we got good valve for our money. cheers
This morning while doing my computer checks we met with Joe and his wife and we had a 1/2 hour confab, swapping stories about family, careers and health issues. They mentioned that 2 couples would join them for Happy Hour around 5 PM and we were invited to met them which we did. We now are friends with 6 more English speaking people.
We did our normal trip to the beach in the afternoon and had lunch with Joe and his wife. I noticed they were reading and since I run out of reading material I thought they might loan or swap me a book. Joe informed me that there was a library of about 100 paperbacks in the foyer under the counter. So I checked and there was more books than I will read so I grabbed a couple to hold me for awhile. I'm going thru about 1 1/2 books a week because the "Bikini " watching on the beach has been slow lately.
We went to Dinner and Las Vegas type show tonight and it was great. The meal was Surf and Turf and all you can drink as long as it is Beer, wine or a rum drink. The first drink was Champagne and Carroll took a sip of hers and liked it. I hope she not thinking of taking up drinking because we both can't afford to drink. After the dinner , we were escorted to the auditorium for the show which lasted about 1 1/2 hours and again the drinks kept coming, even without asking. Carroll ordered a Pina Coloda however the waitress noticed that Carroll's first drink was a Sprite so she ask if she wanted the drink with or without rum. Of course it was without??
The show was dancing and singing , both men and women with the most gorgeous costumes we have ever seen. All the dancers were tall, well built and definitely physically fit. All the ladies were scantily dressed and Carroll said they were good looking. They were on a stage so I could see that high. ha ha.
After the show we had an hour to kill so they directed us to the Casino where they had hoped to get us to spend some money. This was of course the plan but very few people gambled and in fact I only noticed one guy at the Black Jack table from our crew. As Carroll and I walked around the place I was invited to join the Texas Holdem table as they only had 3 players. It was a very fancy upscale looking Casino but there was only 2 Black Jack tables in use and I only seen one guy a the one arm bandits.
We got home at 11:30 and we feel we got good valve for our money. cheers
Sunday, 20 December 2015
Slow Day:
Today we are waiting on the Stampede of tourist which we are told by Joe that it will come and a few more couples and family are slowly moving in.
However, yesterday I mentioned that we where having our apartment/ condo cleaned. Well, it never happen because I did not leave our key with the office staff because I assumed they had a key , which I'm sure they do as I seen hundreds of keys hanging in a key press in the office. So I made a trek back to the office and in my best "Spandish " ask if the needed my key to clean the room which they said yes. Carroll and I then busied our self sitting by the pool with the computer and a book. Within an hour the cleaning lady returned our key to us at the pool. We now have a nice clean condo.
We have to pay to have it cleaned after we leave.
While moseying around the office foyer I noticed some "for rent signs " posted on the bulletin board so I checked them out. A one bedroom like ours rents 150.00 USD per day which I'm sure would be cheaper by the month. Our rent is 1200 USD for a month which is 31 days for Dec. which seems like a fairly good deal. The owner claims he needs to rent it for 3 months to break even. Our condo is rented for Jan to March after we leave.
After lunch we then did our Duty Watch at the beach for a few hours and it still did not seem like there were many more people. But "Joe" says they will come and we hope so. cheers
However, yesterday I mentioned that we where having our apartment/ condo cleaned. Well, it never happen because I did not leave our key with the office staff because I assumed they had a key , which I'm sure they do as I seen hundreds of keys hanging in a key press in the office. So I made a trek back to the office and in my best "Spandish " ask if the needed my key to clean the room which they said yes. Carroll and I then busied our self sitting by the pool with the computer and a book. Within an hour the cleaning lady returned our key to us at the pool. We now have a nice clean condo.
We have to pay to have it cleaned after we leave.
While moseying around the office foyer I noticed some "for rent signs " posted on the bulletin board so I checked them out. A one bedroom like ours rents 150.00 USD per day which I'm sure would be cheaper by the month. Our rent is 1200 USD for a month which is 31 days for Dec. which seems like a fairly good deal. The owner claims he needs to rent it for 3 months to break even. Our condo is rented for Jan to March after we leave.
After lunch we then did our Duty Watch at the beach for a few hours and it still did not seem like there were many more people. But "Joe" says they will come and we hope so. cheers
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