Dear All,
Wow! We are now in the south east after about a week in the southwest. We hired a car and a guide ( his friend came too) to go to Bahia de las Aguillas, an 8km white sand beach which was spectacular. I went snorkelling and saw ENORMOUS starfish and lots of little colorful fish. Sadly there was lots of bits of plastic floating as well. This is part of a national park and people are supposed to carry out what they carry in but in stead most throw out what they carry in which is lots of styrofoam and plastic bags. THe road in was rough and Mom and I walked the 6kms in through harsh cacti forest but it was gorgeous!!!
She did catch a ride out with a 4x4 of two German couples, made friends with them so left a note with the guard that she got a ride with them back to our hotel in Pedernales and then we were invited to stop in and visit them when we headed back to Santa Domingo which we did with quite a bit more walking and asking questions. On the way out of Pedernarles there are LOTS of checkpoints. One nicely dressed young man with a backpack who looked Haitian after the 3rd check was asked to step off with all of his belongings, DR passport in hand and his $DR100 returned to him....I wonder what happened. NO border crossing in Pedernarles but many Haitians there selling clothes etc.
The German family has an INCREDIBLE house up a long ass and I mean long ass hill. I walked up it with my backpack while Mom waited at the base. They have a 180 degree view of the ocean with the village of El Oyorro below. They bought a piece of property from a farmer 15 years ago and live 7 months out of the year there with cows, chickens, ducks, 2 dogs Gustov and Lissia, 5 cats, 8 parakeets and lots of wild birds, snakes, and lizards. What a gem and what a relaxing and fun stop. We drank beer from 3pm until 10pm and talked with english, spanish and german with only Robert really understanding all three languages very well. We had songcocho which is like a meat and vegetable stew with rice. Delish! And slept in these great beds with a lovely outside deck. Their friends are here for 3 weeks. All great people!
From the bus on the way back some things you could by from out the windows at each road bump, check point...
cashews
jelly sandwiches
tropical fruit, papaya, pineapple, guanabanas, grapes
fire starter kits
honey
tires
phone cards
Hope you are all well. We are heading to Samana and it is CARNIVAL week so....lots of partying and people in wild costumes. I am hoping we make it to see the humpback whales in Bahia de Samana a world famous site to watch the humpbacks frolic and raise their young.
Bye for now gotta get on the road! G
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Paradisio e Los Patos
Mom and I got on the wrong bus in Barahona so we were supposed to drive right past little Paradisio (Paradise of course) but the driver took us straight to our hotel instead because two Italian women staying in Los Patos were dead set on him dropping us off in the right place so he did.
The Hotel Paradisio for $21 per night was big and this is where we met Ron from California. Mom immediately hit it off with the staff and spent much of one evening drawing the front desk young woman who is stunning.
We walked down the beach through a grove of almond trees which were dropping and EVERYONE was cracking them open with rocks and eating them. We learned that you can buy raw ones at home and soak them over night. Dump the water and soak them again and they will taste just like home said a flight attendant we met visiting her cousins for the first time in 22 years. She lived in Cincinnati, Ohio.
So we watched guys body surfing for a long time while the women and naked little boys played in the rio (river) which had a pool just at the base divided from the incredibly dangerous ocean just a few meters away. These guys were excellent body surfers. We learned later that you really cannot swim on any of these beaches because of the undertow so we all swam in the rivers and put our feet into the ocean. Lots of hidden whirlpools that are known for pulling people INTO them and drowning them.
The next day we went to Los Patos by motorconcho which cost us $DR25 each or 75 cents per person one way. Just a few kms away was another tranquillo spot with a river running into a GORGEOUS beach much safer to swim. I swam in the rio and we had this fantastic meal of rice and beans and fried chicken and salad and juice which is half sugar.
We decided to stop by an Italian restaurant and hotel we read about and were walking north of Los Patos when we bumped into two farmer men and one of their wives riding a donkey. They warned us and made us turn around and walk with them back to Los Patos. Apparently not long ago a tourist was killed walking in that area. YIKES! We took the next bus back to Paradisio and of course were over charged due to our fears I am sure.
Paradise is beautiful but dangerous in this area...HIGH DRUG dropping area from South America so we are sticking to walking only in town and taking public transportation and sticking with tour guides. Sad, scary but the reality of this area. Extremely poor, extremely poor but the prices of medicine, body lotion, snacks and basic necessities to us are outrageously expensive.
Take care more tomorrow night about the remote beach and national park!
Buenos noches (good night), Georgie
The Hotel Paradisio for $21 per night was big and this is where we met Ron from California. Mom immediately hit it off with the staff and spent much of one evening drawing the front desk young woman who is stunning.
We walked down the beach through a grove of almond trees which were dropping and EVERYONE was cracking them open with rocks and eating them. We learned that you can buy raw ones at home and soak them over night. Dump the water and soak them again and they will taste just like home said a flight attendant we met visiting her cousins for the first time in 22 years. She lived in Cincinnati, Ohio.
So we watched guys body surfing for a long time while the women and naked little boys played in the rio (river) which had a pool just at the base divided from the incredibly dangerous ocean just a few meters away. These guys were excellent body surfers. We learned later that you really cannot swim on any of these beaches because of the undertow so we all swam in the rivers and put our feet into the ocean. Lots of hidden whirlpools that are known for pulling people INTO them and drowning them.
The next day we went to Los Patos by motorconcho which cost us $DR25 each or 75 cents per person one way. Just a few kms away was another tranquillo spot with a river running into a GORGEOUS beach much safer to swim. I swam in the rio and we had this fantastic meal of rice and beans and fried chicken and salad and juice which is half sugar.
We decided to stop by an Italian restaurant and hotel we read about and were walking north of Los Patos when we bumped into two farmer men and one of their wives riding a donkey. They warned us and made us turn around and walk with them back to Los Patos. Apparently not long ago a tourist was killed walking in that area. YIKES! We took the next bus back to Paradisio and of course were over charged due to our fears I am sure.
Paradise is beautiful but dangerous in this area...HIGH DRUG dropping area from South America so we are sticking to walking only in town and taking public transportation and sticking with tour guides. Sad, scary but the reality of this area. Extremely poor, extremely poor but the prices of medicine, body lotion, snacks and basic necessities to us are outrageously expensive.
Take care more tomorrow night about the remote beach and national park!
Buenos noches (good night), Georgie
Most beautiful Caribbean Sea
Today Mom and I took a 100km or 60 km ride which took 4 hours to Pederneles on the frontier of Haiti but...not connecting road or border crossing. It is on the edge of the largest national park in DR called Parque Nacional Jaragua. We are taking a private transportation and then walking a few miles into the reserve to visit a beach that is 10 km long of white protected sandy beach with NO PALMS. It is supposed to be spectacular snorkeling and diving so am taking my snorkeling gear. I do not have scuba diving gear to lug plus you need a private guide so...I do have my own snorkeling gear with me always so that will be fun.
Today we drove on the edge of paradise. Honest to God I have never seen so many shades of blue in a body of water from sea foam green on WHITE pebble beaches to a deep blue that puts you to sleep it is so mesmerizing. The views at times were so breathtaking that my eyes filled with tears. We are in such a remote area of the coast it is unbelievable. Today our tire had to be fixed on our gua gua a small bus so we waited for an hour or so and while we waited we got the most delicious little chocolates and a plate of rice and peas cooked with coconut milk and stewed beef for $DR 50 pesos best meal deal yet in a little town called Oviedoadjacent to Laguna Oviedo with birds galore and giant iguanas. MY CAMERA BROKE in Bayahibe on the last day of my dives and...I do not have a camera.
Two days ago we met a nice retiree named Ron from Northern California who is taking care of his arthritis soaking up the sun here in DR. He let me borrow his camera this morning to take some photos which was very nice of him. I bought a vanilla cigar today for ...40 cents which I cannot wait to smoke.
Today´s highlights
=naked children playing in the road covered in dust
=paying 75 cents to take a mororconcho a motorcycle with all our gear to our hotel which turned out to be only a few hundred meters away
=eating best peas and rice dish EVER with the nicest mother, her daughter and son
=playing with a baby goat
=noting how desensitized i have become to dog and cat ridden with worms and covered in open sores
=having the best seat in the gua gua while my Mom chatted with the driver about new words in English and Spanish
=our quaint little hotel for $18.00 a night
Take care and thanks for reading!!!
Today we drove on the edge of paradise. Honest to God I have never seen so many shades of blue in a body of water from sea foam green on WHITE pebble beaches to a deep blue that puts you to sleep it is so mesmerizing. The views at times were so breathtaking that my eyes filled with tears. We are in such a remote area of the coast it is unbelievable. Today our tire had to be fixed on our gua gua a small bus so we waited for an hour or so and while we waited we got the most delicious little chocolates and a plate of rice and peas cooked with coconut milk and stewed beef for $DR 50 pesos best meal deal yet in a little town called Oviedoadjacent to Laguna Oviedo with birds galore and giant iguanas. MY CAMERA BROKE in Bayahibe on the last day of my dives and...I do not have a camera.
Two days ago we met a nice retiree named Ron from Northern California who is taking care of his arthritis soaking up the sun here in DR. He let me borrow his camera this morning to take some photos which was very nice of him. I bought a vanilla cigar today for ...40 cents which I cannot wait to smoke.
Today´s highlights
=naked children playing in the road covered in dust
=paying 75 cents to take a mororconcho a motorcycle with all our gear to our hotel which turned out to be only a few hundred meters away
=eating best peas and rice dish EVER with the nicest mother, her daughter and son
=playing with a baby goat
=noting how desensitized i have become to dog and cat ridden with worms and covered in open sores
=having the best seat in the gua gua while my Mom chatted with the driver about new words in English and Spanish
=our quaint little hotel for $18.00 a night
Take care and thanks for reading!!!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Diving St. George Wreck & Camarones
Dear All,
Wow what a fun few days I have had. My ankle is still sprained but better. I just returned from my 6th of 6 dives in 4 days (one day off for my ankle). St. George is a commercial cargo ship that was decommissioned and sank off the coast of Dominicus near Bayahibe. We spent about 28 minutes at a maximum depth of 120 feet. pretty deep so you cannot spend quite as much time at the bottom. We swam around the wreck and also swam through the catwalks, down inside the cargo hold, inside the ship rooms, and up a narrow staircase into a school of yellow striped wrasses (fish about 6 inches long). Great great dive. Ive never really maneuvered myself through a wreck so that in itself was a real thrill. I have manauvered myself through some caves while diving off the Similan Islands in Thailand also very cool but just never have done a wreck dive. We did see 3 HUGE spotted moray eels peeking out at us through some coral and several rays and skates and oodles of fish and a strange worm about 8 inches long like a centipede milipede cross. That was fun on the second dive.
Im so proud of myself and my diving skills. My dive buddy was William from Tulsa OK, a wealthy philanthropist whose family runs NGOs in West Africa to help the poor and he helps manage the projects. He also has projects here in DR as well. He ran out of air so Melki our Dive Master had a spare tank just in case at our second of 2 5 minute safety stops. My first buddy was Stephan a nice young father who was on holiday with his wife Sophie and 3 year old daughter Leah from Montreal Quebec. Fortunately the two guys from Czech Republic did not come with us. Thank goodness.
For lunch today I had camerones (shrimp) cooked in a lovely onion, tomato sauce served whole. Here in the DR you chew the top body part minus the legs and spiney front piece and suck the juices out and then spit out the remainder of the hard pieces on your plate. YUM. Last night I met 2 middle aged Italians (lots of Italians here) and joined them for dinner with chef Fidel. We had WHOLE fish on our plates perfectly grilled. (minus the eyes). Just delicious with tostadas, flattened and grilled plaintain, rice, salad, lots and lots of lime.........beer and mamawana which is an apertif or a brandy, rum etc soaked in barks and mixed with honey. I think I already spoke about this, all for $9.00. Not a bad price and..the gentlemen offered to treat me but I decided to treat myself.
The best treat of the night is that they couldnt believe I was 40 years old. They thought I was 25! I know I know you are laughing because they were flattering me and guess what, I could tell by the look on one of their faces that both of them were totally sincere in his shock. Nice touch eh. Europeans get one month holiday. Guess what they do for work? Drive a train and sell train tickets....humans need time to play, visit with friends, explore and BE. US doesnt allow such pleasures. We all work to pay debt and then hope to retire to play only to be too old too poor and too tired to do anything so...play NOW fit it in. Do what you have always wanted to do. Life doesnt get less expensive and we never get more time! So just do it! Europeans have figured it out so why havent we? Well I have but....Im different. :)
Mom comes tomorrow so I am off to meet Jan and Filipe in Santa Domingo to fetch her. Yay!
Not sure of our plan for the next few weeks but will let you know when I can and have access to email.
Besos, xx, G
Wow what a fun few days I have had. My ankle is still sprained but better. I just returned from my 6th of 6 dives in 4 days (one day off for my ankle). St. George is a commercial cargo ship that was decommissioned and sank off the coast of Dominicus near Bayahibe. We spent about 28 minutes at a maximum depth of 120 feet. pretty deep so you cannot spend quite as much time at the bottom. We swam around the wreck and also swam through the catwalks, down inside the cargo hold, inside the ship rooms, and up a narrow staircase into a school of yellow striped wrasses (fish about 6 inches long). Great great dive. Ive never really maneuvered myself through a wreck so that in itself was a real thrill. I have manauvered myself through some caves while diving off the Similan Islands in Thailand also very cool but just never have done a wreck dive. We did see 3 HUGE spotted moray eels peeking out at us through some coral and several rays and skates and oodles of fish and a strange worm about 8 inches long like a centipede milipede cross. That was fun on the second dive.
Im so proud of myself and my diving skills. My dive buddy was William from Tulsa OK, a wealthy philanthropist whose family runs NGOs in West Africa to help the poor and he helps manage the projects. He also has projects here in DR as well. He ran out of air so Melki our Dive Master had a spare tank just in case at our second of 2 5 minute safety stops. My first buddy was Stephan a nice young father who was on holiday with his wife Sophie and 3 year old daughter Leah from Montreal Quebec. Fortunately the two guys from Czech Republic did not come with us. Thank goodness.
For lunch today I had camerones (shrimp) cooked in a lovely onion, tomato sauce served whole. Here in the DR you chew the top body part minus the legs and spiney front piece and suck the juices out and then spit out the remainder of the hard pieces on your plate. YUM. Last night I met 2 middle aged Italians (lots of Italians here) and joined them for dinner with chef Fidel. We had WHOLE fish on our plates perfectly grilled. (minus the eyes). Just delicious with tostadas, flattened and grilled plaintain, rice, salad, lots and lots of lime.........beer and mamawana which is an apertif or a brandy, rum etc soaked in barks and mixed with honey. I think I already spoke about this, all for $9.00. Not a bad price and..the gentlemen offered to treat me but I decided to treat myself.
The best treat of the night is that they couldnt believe I was 40 years old. They thought I was 25! I know I know you are laughing because they were flattering me and guess what, I could tell by the look on one of their faces that both of them were totally sincere in his shock. Nice touch eh. Europeans get one month holiday. Guess what they do for work? Drive a train and sell train tickets....humans need time to play, visit with friends, explore and BE. US doesnt allow such pleasures. We all work to pay debt and then hope to retire to play only to be too old too poor and too tired to do anything so...play NOW fit it in. Do what you have always wanted to do. Life doesnt get less expensive and we never get more time! So just do it! Europeans have figured it out so why havent we? Well I have but....Im different. :)
Mom comes tomorrow so I am off to meet Jan and Filipe in Santa Domingo to fetch her. Yay!
Not sure of our plan for the next few weeks but will let you know when I can and have access to email.
Besos, xx, G
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sprained ankle and 2 dives today at ilsa catalina
Greetings! Well last night I twisted my ankle off a curb. No link to the cervasas however. I heard it POP so...iced it last night and this am and...went diving anyway. The diving didnt hurt it since you barely move under water but in and out of the boat, etc´did. Now my ankle is the size of a LIME, yikes. So Im taking tomorrow off and then going to Isla Saona Thursday and doing a wreck dive on Friday so a 6 dive package plus excursions for $368.00US. Terrible visibility with our first dive but did see some cool critters, trumpetfish, a balloon fish or porcupine puffer, green moray eel, spotted scorpion fish, and many little wassies(fish) on a wall at 78 feet UNDER THE WATER for you land critters. Second dive MUCH better visibility only 29 feet but you could see for MILES underwater. We saw an inshore lzard fish, a smooth trunkfish which is only an inch long, lots of parrot fish, and squirrel fish and larger trumpet fish.
Sadly two eastern Europeans with ALL the gear were diving with us and oh my goodness one of them took his knife and cut a LIVE sponge off. Wasn´t I pissed. I said something to him, owner of dive company, and dive master so...hopefully he will not do it again. People can be so disrespectful of that which they love so much in the first place. Another example of ignorance, stupidity and arrogance.
Met a nice couple from Chicago. Jeannie is an interior designer for hotels. Neat job.She is quite a diver. My dive buddy, Stephan was diving for his FIRST time in the ocean after learning in a lake near Montreal. His wife and 3 year old daughter enjoyed the boat and the beach. Great little girl! Lots of people in large catamarans, fancy luxury yachts. We stopped in a marina in Casa de Campo and had a few famous folks homes pointed out to us, Julio Iglesias (sp?) and Saquira (sp?). Also several HUGE absolutely HUGE cruise ships. Yikes. That will kill the coral reefs pretty quickly. Anyone who thinks a cruise ship is a good idea for economy forgets about the ENVIRONMENT! Hello! Sad but on the up and up. Folks like to travel easy, all inclusive packages etc. Lots of resorts around here too. All foreign owned of course paying DR folks minimum wage which is...3000DR pesos or....$90.00. Yikes eh. That is PER MONTH working usually 6 days per week for 8 to 12 hour shifts.
It keeps RAINING in this tropical paradise but somehow Im getting a wee Georgie tan which is the equivelant of everyone elses base color.
Ok Im off to have a cervesa and write in my paper journal from Missy. Thanks Missy!
Georgie
Sadly two eastern Europeans with ALL the gear were diving with us and oh my goodness one of them took his knife and cut a LIVE sponge off. Wasn´t I pissed. I said something to him, owner of dive company, and dive master so...hopefully he will not do it again. People can be so disrespectful of that which they love so much in the first place. Another example of ignorance, stupidity and arrogance.
Met a nice couple from Chicago. Jeannie is an interior designer for hotels. Neat job.She is quite a diver. My dive buddy, Stephan was diving for his FIRST time in the ocean after learning in a lake near Montreal. His wife and 3 year old daughter enjoyed the boat and the beach. Great little girl! Lots of people in large catamarans, fancy luxury yachts. We stopped in a marina in Casa de Campo and had a few famous folks homes pointed out to us, Julio Iglesias (sp?) and Saquira (sp?). Also several HUGE absolutely HUGE cruise ships. Yikes. That will kill the coral reefs pretty quickly. Anyone who thinks a cruise ship is a good idea for economy forgets about the ENVIRONMENT! Hello! Sad but on the up and up. Folks like to travel easy, all inclusive packages etc. Lots of resorts around here too. All foreign owned of course paying DR folks minimum wage which is...3000DR pesos or....$90.00. Yikes eh. That is PER MONTH working usually 6 days per week for 8 to 12 hour shifts.
It keeps RAINING in this tropical paradise but somehow Im getting a wee Georgie tan which is the equivelant of everyone elses base color.
Ok Im off to have a cervesa and write in my paper journal from Missy. Thanks Missy!
Georgie
Monday, February 9, 2009
Bayahibe and Franklin!
Hola! Wow! Got up at 6am and took two buses to La Romana in the east RD 150 or $4.00 and then took a gua gua (dangerous koombie in South Africa) to Bayahibe for RD50. It would have cost me RD50 more if I put my bag in the back but I kept it on my lap! Scrooge eh! Arrived here at 10:30 am and met Franklin the front desk guy at Hotel Bayahibe. What a sweetie. He couldn´t be nicer. Every time I came back to see if my room was ready he nicely said No it is another 30 minutes. So I checked in at 12:30 to a room with 3 double beds, two walls of windows and a view of a Swiss owned Dive Site and THE PLAYA (beach). Great little touristy town. Lil expensive for a backpackers budget but somehow I will survive the week. I booked 6 dives at an American owned biz, Fun Diving including two day excursions to local islands, a wreck dive, wall dive, several aquarium type area dives and snorkelling galore. Im here for 5 days at $35.00 per nite. For two it would be about $24 each. Not bad for Caribbean but VERY expensive for Central or South American or Asian or African accommodation.
It is POURING POURING POURING rain today so...Monday afternoon hanging out with Franklin and the staff and having a few El Presidente Lights, mangos and bananas and sitting on my balcony overlooking the beach and dive shop and people watching. Quite nice actually!
Hope your Monday has been as eventful and warm as mine. Bad news....I sat in CHEWING GUM and it is all over my pants. What to do? I will freeze it tonite in my freezer and scrape off in the am.
Oh...no more problems with my tummy so I am ok! Filipe and Jan are WONDERFUL new friends here in DR. Together we are fetching my mother at the airport in Santa Domingo on Saturday.
Besos, Georgie
It is POURING POURING POURING rain today so...Monday afternoon hanging out with Franklin and the staff and having a few El Presidente Lights, mangos and bananas and sitting on my balcony overlooking the beach and dive shop and people watching. Quite nice actually!
Hope your Monday has been as eventful and warm as mine. Bad news....I sat in CHEWING GUM and it is all over my pants. What to do? I will freeze it tonite in my freezer and scrape off in the am.
Oh...no more problems with my tummy so I am ok! Filipe and Jan are WONDERFUL new friends here in DR. Together we are fetching my mother at the airport in Santa Domingo on Saturday.
Besos, Georgie
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Amoebas and February 14
Dear All, Well yikes. What a crappy day yesterday was. Not sure what was going on. Im TOTally paranoid about amoebas now. My mom had them while in Peace Corps and got very sick and my cousin just said he has had them three times so...I guess no matter what I will make it. This am I am feeling much better.
Yesterday the family I am staying with fed me guavas, a campho phenique type concoction, and then mangoo (pronounced like the ue in glue) which is platana (plaintain or large green bananas boiled and mashed and full of raw garlic). Well folks here say the garlic kills the amoebas and Mom said the Ecuadorians said it puts them to sleep.....so maybe they are asleep and maybe they are dead.
Dally (pronounced Dagee) Jan and Filipe´s daughter´s friend Erica was sick for 3 weeks and in hospital for 2 of those weeks with amoebas......yikes! Today I feel super duper and walked for 1.5 hours in the park. Soon we are off to swim in a POOL and then a BBQ for dinner. Tomorrow to a friend´s party at the beach east of the city.
My MOM is flying into Santa Domingo on Valentine´s Day and spending the remainder of my trip with me which is very exciting. No plans at this point. 32 days until I return to the USA. Today is 80 degrees and breezy very nice actually.
Ok thanks for all the neat comments on Facebook! So many caring friends and family!
Besos, xxx, Georgie
Yesterday the family I am staying with fed me guavas, a campho phenique type concoction, and then mangoo (pronounced like the ue in glue) which is platana (plaintain or large green bananas boiled and mashed and full of raw garlic). Well folks here say the garlic kills the amoebas and Mom said the Ecuadorians said it puts them to sleep.....so maybe they are asleep and maybe they are dead.
Dally (pronounced Dagee) Jan and Filipe´s daughter´s friend Erica was sick for 3 weeks and in hospital for 2 of those weeks with amoebas......yikes! Today I feel super duper and walked for 1.5 hours in the park. Soon we are off to swim in a POOL and then a BBQ for dinner. Tomorrow to a friend´s party at the beach east of the city.
My MOM is flying into Santa Domingo on Valentine´s Day and spending the remainder of my trip with me which is very exciting. No plans at this point. 32 days until I return to the USA. Today is 80 degrees and breezy very nice actually.
Ok thanks for all the neat comments on Facebook! So many caring friends and family!
Besos, xxx, Georgie
Friday, February 6, 2009
Diahrrea and This Blog Thang and Cockroaches
Dear Friends, I am embarrassed to admit that I just figured out HOW to read comments on my blog. Thank you so much. Today I am homebound at Jan´s because I cannot stop going to the bathroom and I cannot stop sneezing. Apprently DR is windy mid Jan through mid March so here we are. Yesterday I ate WAY TOO much papaya and I know better. It makes you go to the bathroom. Something about traveling is that you end up talking about bowel movements more than ever. When we were in Peace Corps that was always the topic of conversation. Going too much or not going at all. I have stomach cramps today. Huge ones. Though Ive never had a child Im imagining that they are like contractions early on. Ouch!
Jan´s son, Louis Filipe invited me to go swimming with him later today at .......a pool! Imagine living on an island that you can cross in 5 hours and going to a pool. These city folks are funny.
It is true. We never appreciate what is RIGHT in front of us. So...tonight think about all the wonderful things in your life, where you live and GO SEE THEM AND DO THOSE THINGS. I met several individuals who had never gone to see the bioluminescent bays and there are 3 of them in Puerto Rico out of 10 in the whole world. Imagine! I cannot.
I am happy I go to Grand Manan every summer and take time to smell the lilacs at my house and sit on my deck and drink beer. I do live in Perrydise that is for sure.
So yesterday we went to a HUGE supermarket called a supermarcardo and it even has an escalator to go to the rest of a huge department store....well there were cockroaches crawling all over the packaging on the bread. When I lived in S. Africa I got so skinny for such a long time because the cockroaches were crawling over everything even in our fridge! I ate tinned meat and that was it. I couldnt handle it. I think yesterday I realized again about THE TROPICS. Creepy crawlies everywhere. They wont hurt us really but .........it can be a bit overwhelming at times.
Take care and .......in a few days I will be off to Bayahibe on the southeast coast to do some diving. Supposedly the best in the country with clear and very warm waters, may only need to wear a shortie which would be terrific. My mom comes Feb. 14 and will be with me the rest of the trip through Mar. 11. Very exciting indeed. The Caribbean Isles are MUCH more expensive to travel than Mexico, central and south Americas so....better with2 people.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Communication is easy to DR with Georgie!
As far as I know you do NOT need to dial the 011 you can just dial 1 plus the number which is...
829 686 8452 OR send me a TEXT MESSAGE. I cannot figure out if you can send emails but I cannot receive photos. I love text messages and they are very inexpensive for me to text you back. Just let me know your name when you do so.
If I do not answer your call...you will hear a woman speaking Spanish then you will hear hello Georgie Kendall (in my voice) so you leave a message after the beep!
829 686 8452 OR send me a TEXT MESSAGE. I cannot figure out if you can send emails but I cannot receive photos. I love text messages and they are very inexpensive for me to text you back. Just let me know your name when you do so.
If I do not answer your call...you will hear a woman speaking Spanish then you will hear hello Georgie Kendall (in my voice) so you leave a message after the beep!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Santa Domingo
Dear All,
I am enjoying this family I am staying with. Last night I stayed up late with Jan´s husband, Filipe and we watched this film called Zeitgeist. Follow the link below and you can watch it and/or download it. It is better than the film Corporation. I believe much of it and know that because of such issues in our society my head and heart are often in turmoil.
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
I would love to go to this event on March 15 in NYC and may do so since I am in Boston on March 11 but we will see.
Let´s see updates in a nutshell
...did laundry for the first time in 3 weeks. (I have 3 pairs of underwear and wash them out but the rest was really really dirty.
...helped Jan wash two dogs and managed not to get bitten.
...went to a little stand near the grocery store and bought guarapo which is sugar cane juice.
Mom and I first had it in Cuba. It is THE most deliciously refreshing drink Ive ever had. I love it with limon (lime) over ice or...of course with a little rum
...visited Filipe´s 3 star hotel, Hotel Caribeño, in DOWNTOWN Santa Domingo. Wow, you walk out the store and you are in THE middle of the trade center of Santa Domingo. Fruit, clothes, shoes shoes SHOES. I bought 2 piñas (pineapples) for 20 pesos OR 70 cents, small ones.
...went to see the fort and the cathedral in Santa Domingo and bought limons and a few souveniers for home.
...tonight or tomorrow I hope to upload some photos to this for ya´ll to enjoy!
Take care, Georgie
Monday, February 2, 2009
My Frizbee
My frizbee is my life when I am traveling. I think Duncan thought it strange some of the things I travel with but a frizbee has many purposes. It is fun to play while waiting for anything. The language of game and laughter is international so grownups and children have fun with it. It can be used as a plate, cutting board, bowl, shade provider, stick against dogs or other annoyances. While I was in the country with Magale´s family I played frizbee with this sweet and very sad 14 year old girl who was 8 months pregnant. I told her mother I was going to send her a frizbee when I got home. I also played it with Duncan, and our friends from Puerto Rico on the beach and with Magale´s grandchildren, Nichole and Pedro.
Sadly we got home a day later very late and everyone brought everything in. However Robert threw the garbage in the trash and also tossed my frizbee. The next day when heading to the beach I asked Magale and others about it and they said We think Robert threw it in the trash. His comment was that he didnt know it belonged to me. And that was it.
My frizbee is gone. If I had known it would disappear so soon I would have given it to the sweet pregnant unhappy and overwhelmed little Amber.
So now my cool $20.00 USD frizbee that glows in the dark is GONE. I am sooo bummed. I love that thing. I had my website on it too! Ok enjoy the day.
Love and besos, Georgie
Sadly we got home a day later very late and everyone brought everything in. However Robert threw the garbage in the trash and also tossed my frizbee. The next day when heading to the beach I asked Magale and others about it and they said We think Robert threw it in the trash. His comment was that he didnt know it belonged to me. And that was it.
My frizbee is gone. If I had known it would disappear so soon I would have given it to the sweet pregnant unhappy and overwhelmed little Amber.
So now my cool $20.00 USD frizbee that glows in the dark is GONE. I am sooo bummed. I love that thing. I had my website on it too! Ok enjoy the day.
Love and besos, Georgie
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Peninsula de Samana e Sosua e Puerto Plata e passion fruit (chinola)
Wow we really toured around the beaches. The beach and area of the Peninsula de Samana are quite spectacular actually and I was told by a sailor that I met that it is THE best area of DR. We will see. Northwest coast of DR is quite busy with French and other European tourists. Too many tourists period for me but interesting to visit for sure.
How about some highlights from the past few days which often are surprises and differences for us westerners. Probably the most important thing is to realize how fortunate and free we are and the importance of hygiene, running water, open spaces, family...
Recent observations include:
...a motorcycle pulling a donkey
...4 women on ONE little motorcycle
...pulling over on the side of the road for a 2 year old to go caca on a brick walkway with a casino on the other side
piles of cabages, plaintain (large banana that is fried or boiled or made into mafongo )plaintain, oil or butter, garlic and often some pork) on backs of small trucks being hauled to Santo Domingo, the capital
...visiting Sosua, prostitution capital of DR....lots LOTS yes lots of old white men (and one white woman) with the most attractive beautiful young DR people. Very disturbing to see this. I definitely saw more of it in Thailand but it is painful to see it at all anywhere. Men mauling women in public and you can see the looks on their faces like why does this have to be me
...just purchased my $9.00 cell phone and right outside the building is a begger with legs bent and on his knees with tattered kneepads...
...every dog is super skinny
...no one is overweight period
...children eat what their parents put in front of them if it is fish soup for breakfast then so be it.
...cock fighting IS a major attraction everywhere
...beautiful BEAUTIFUL handmade furniture made with wicker and hardwood
handmade cloth rugs and saddles for horses
...DR produces EVERYTHING....tropical fruit trees, rice fields, pork, cows, chicken, seafood, yucca, plaintain, papas (potatos)...extremely self sufficient
pools made in small villages from the cascade of water that falls from the mountains
...gorgeous gorgeous homes with a guard on the corner with an AK 47 (i think) or some sort of automatic machine gun
Ok more manana (tomorrow). Thank you Muchos Gracias to my friends for the phone calls and text messages. I so love getting calls. I thnk I may be getting more communication with friends than I did at home.
Lots of love and besos (kisses), Georgie
Dormir bien (sleep well)
Communications
Hi all!
I was able to purchase a cell phone in the DR! I can accept phone calls and text messages as well (text messages are cheaper than a call). My number is: 011-1-829-686-8452. So I'll be in touch or you can be in touch with me!
Georgie
I was able to purchase a cell phone in the DR! I can accept phone calls and text messages as well (text messages are cheaper than a call). My number is: 011-1-829-686-8452. So I'll be in touch or you can be in touch with me!
Georgie
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