GauGau

Today we rode a gaugau.  Not sure if I even know how to pronounce it, but we rode one.  Gauguas are the little minivan buses that run constantly on the one main road.  Somehow they are able to hold about 15 people, plus the driver, plus a conductor.  You thumb down a gaugau and the conductor tells you where to sit;.  Everytime someone gets on or off, the conductor rearranges the entire mess.   But the good thing is gaugaus are plentiful AND affordable.   A gaugau ride from our condo into Cabarete was about 25 DOP each....or about 60 cents.  To go all the way into Sosua it was 50 DOP.  We rode into Cabarete first to test the water....so to speak.  In Cabarete we went to the bank, visited a cigar shop and FINALLY saw the Caberete beach with all the bars and restaurants -- we will be back.  Then onto Sosua....oh let me tell you about Sosua.  We had been to the grocery store in Sosua before which was fine....and we had driven through the town with Endre and Michaellyn, but never really noticed what Sosua is famous for - until today.  And that is prostitution.  I can't tell you how many 60 or 70 year old men we saw walking down the street with big smiles on their face and holding hands with a 20 something Dominican on their arm (at least I wanted to tell myself those girls were at least 20 years old).  It looked like a bunch of nerdy teenagers who got invited to prom by a cheerleader.  They were so happy.  We ate lunch in Sosua, checked out the fishing and shops and then went to the Sosua grocery store.  I don't think we'll be back to Sosua unless I decide to fish, that seems to be the only place to hook up with a fishing boat (among other things).

We would (or should) have taken pictures of this trip but Matt was a bit to apprehensive about the whole gaugau experience to take the camera, but next time we will.

The full moon has been incredible the last few nights, and we have tried and tried to get a picture of it.  But just couldn't do it.

One of our most important purchases today (beside my wine and beer and Matt's butter and cigars) was a hair clip for my hair!  I am due for a haircut and not sure where I'll get that done!  So I cut my own bangs and pulled the rest of it back with a clip.;....probably a good chance there will be no more pics of me on this blog until I figure this hair thing out!

The Faces of Cabarete

When we were in the airport in Miami waiting for our flight to Puerto Plato, we kept looking at the faces around us....wondering who were the typical "Cabaretites" we'd meet when we were down here.  Well...seems like there is no one type of person.

Here's the first couple we met when we first arrived.  Endre and Michaellynn own one of the condos in our building.  They live in North Carolina.  Endre, from Hungary, is semi-retired  Michaellyn is a nurse.  They first came to Cabarete a couple of years ago and bought this condo because it was so affordable and they love being near the beach.  They really took us under their wings.  They took us to the grocery store a couple of times, introduced us to the Dutch butcher (thank you, thank you, thank you), helped us find our motorcycle, helped us learn to ride our motorcycle and gave us tons of advice.  That was in just three days!  Sadly, they left us today so Michaellyn could go back to work, but they'll be back in February.  Meanwhile I'm watching out for the condo-complex dog, Lassie, that Michaellyn is so crazy about. 

We went on another long beach walk early this morning, hung out at the beach, practiced riding our motorcycle, I finally got a manicure (the cost was a little less than $4 but since I'm a big tipper I sprang for $5), spent some time on the beach and walked down the street for dinner.  There is a German-cafe and we had a type of German meat-loaf, potatoe salad and ice cream;  Pretty yummy.  Matt felt a little out of place because EVERYONE there was German...but hey, we aren't in Overland Park!  This was also the first day that the girls at the complex cleaned our apartment, yahoo!  I felt just a little guilty that we sat out by the pool by the worked so hard...but oh well. 

Not So Easy Rider

OK, here's the new bike. 

Spent a couple of hours yesterday trying to learn how to ride!  It does have a bit of a learning curve....and I cannot figure out how to turn it around!  But will practice more today.

Yesterday we went to three different bike shops trying to buy a helmet.  Since we've been here we've only seen one Dominican wearing a helmet so there isn't much available.  We found a total of three helmets all were too big for us!  Not sure what we'll do about this, but we're not ready to hit the main road yet anyway.

Beautiful day....another long walk on the beach.

Mid Life Crisis?

O.K., I'm beginning to think that in Cabarete you spell "mid-life crisis" as "motocicleta".  Matt and I bought a small motor cycle!  (And for all of you who wondered about our sanity for packing up and moving to the DR for five months, I'm pretty sure this now convinces you we are totally nuts!)

Actually we wanted a motor scooter but this small motorcycle was less expensive.....and much more economical than hiring a cab or renting a car whenever we need to go somewhere  Our original plan was to ride the gaugaus (the little minivan buses that pass by every couple of minutes).  But to get to the road to pick up a gaugua is a long walk from our condo....which would be ok one our way to the store but not on our way back with sacks of groceries.  And definitely not ok at night!  The gaugau drivers seem to be very friendly and will go out of there way to wait for you.  We were walking Herm from the beach to the main road on Sunday and a driver caught site for us before we even got to the road, pulled the gaugau over and got out to ask us if we wanted a ride (at least I think he was asking us that....it was all in Spanish), so evidently OK to take un perro on the gaugua.  But man do they pack in the passengers.  We saw one yesterday that had every seat full, people crammed into the little aisles (remember this is just a little mini van) and the sliding side door open and a couple of guys standing on the side holding on to the top of the gaugau. 

So here we are...in our fifities....with our first motorcycle.

Ayer era lluvioso (yesterday was rainy) so we didn't step foot on the beach all day!  Everytime we headed that direction, it would start to rain again.  I did get Herm out for a nice walk and we walked to some of the nearer shops.  I priced a manicure ($150 DOP which I believe converts to about $4.50 USD).  I planned to take Hermann back to the condo (although the gals told me "perro ok") and get some money, but it started raining again before I could get back.  So no manicure!

Andre and Michaellyn (the couple who own a condo here but are unfortunately leaving tomorrow) took us on another shopping trip since we needed some Off bug spray (all this rain makes for some hungry mosquitos!).  And they introduced us to the Dutch butcher shop....all I can say is OMG!  We bought two pork chops which we will probably grill today, but also some bacon!  We cooked a few slices of it yestereday for a BLT and it was the best BLT I'd ever had.  Appears that pork and chicken are excellent here but I'm having trouble finding fresh seafood.  All the fish I see is frozen.  But beef...forget about it.  There are cows grazing everywhere...including very near our beach.....but this DR grass evidently makes for some tough meat.

We Made It!

Yesterday was a long day but we are now in the DR!  Our flight was scheduled for noon out of Miami but we got to the airport about 9:00 a.m. so we'd have plenty of time to take care of our paperwork for Hermann.  Ryan and Brandee came into the airport with us to provide moral
support!  All went pretty well, we had everything we needed, it just took about 30 minutes for the gate agent to get is processed.  But it was sad leaving Hermann at the check in!

When we arrived into Puerta Plata I was anxious to get through immigration so I could get to baggage claim....and there was Hermann's crate sitting there waiting for us!  We did have to go into the officina to process his paperwork and the agent there spoke no English...but luckily my bad Spanish was enough to get it completed.

And our driver, Juan, was waiting for us!  He took us to the supermercardo and the money exchange shop before we got to the condo.  Our property manager, Juan Luis, got us checked in.  The condo is very nice, a little dark in the kitchen but that's ok. We did have  a few glitches.  We couldn't figure out how to start the gas stove so I decided to use the grill at the pool, but couldn't figure out how to light it.  Luckily, the security guard, Juan, was there to help.  Do you get the impression every man in the DR is named Juan?  Then this morning there was no hot water in our shower.  But luckily the gardener, Bennie, helped us with these little problems and now we are in business.

Matt is not crazy about the location, it's much more remote than he would like.  There are some condo complexes around us.  But there are also two large resorts that have gone belly up.  These means that a lot of bars and restaurants in the area also have gone out of business. 

But here's what I like!  Check out the view of "our" beach this morning when we took an early walk:

Later in the day we went down to the beach and sunned and swam.  We only saw a handful of people in either direction.

We met a couple, Andre and Michael Lynn, who own one of the condos in our building.  They only visit a couple of times a year and are here until Wednesday.  They took us on a tour of the area in their rental car and we really saw some incredible places:  a cool little snorkeling spot near the mangroves, a beautiful little beach and some cool outdoor restaurants and bars..  We're thinking about checking into buying a motor scooter so we can get to these places.

More pics tomorrow!

Yes...we do have time for Hermann!

One thing I've discovered is it's crazy expensive to take a pet out of the country.  Before we left KC, Matt took Hermann to our local vet to make sure he was healthy enough to receive his International Health Certificate (as in no parasites!).  He was fine but we also got him a bordatella (sp?) vaccine so we could board him in Ft. Lauderdale when while we were in Cancun.  Bill for that $70.  The health check in Ft. Lauderdale ran $75.  The fee to have the Dept of Agriculture stamp his health certificate is $38....plus a trip to Miami.  Then $165 to get him on the plane.

Matt and I did have a pretty intense conversation yesterday as to whether or not this was all worth the trouble.  Well....you see who won!  Herm will be on the flight with us Saturday.

Looking forward to Thanskgiving with Ryan and Brandee...they even bought us a real (as in not tofu) turkey breast.  Brandee is making the entire meal except that Ryan is hanndling dessert.  Me....I get to do the dishes.  Not a bad deal.

Missing my usual crew for Thanksgiving.  First time away from my sisters for this holiday! 

I did enjoy meeting Bryce's new girlfriend, Jennifer.  Her mother is Dominican and Jennifer recently lived in the DR for about a year very near where we will be.  She had some good advice and pleasant things to say about the area.  Of course she's bi-lingual....so wish I could take her with me!

A week in Cancun (Riviera Maya).  Last week we went and stayed at Palace Resorts Aventura Spa in Mexico.  It really was a great time because our dear, dear, dear, dear, dear friends (did that for you Karen) Mike and Karen met us there and we enjoyed living in the lap of luxery for an all-inclusive 7 days.  It was also special for Karen and Mike as they ask us to help them celebrate their committment ceremony, I got to officiate.  That was such an honor and I felt so privilaged.  Syd took pictures and held the rings.  

We are back in Ft. Lauderdale now getting ready for Thanksgiving with Ryan and Brandee as well as rushing around taking care of last minute details to get ready to head to Cabarete, DR on Saturday at noon.  We did have dinner with Bryce, Ryan, Brandee, and Bryce's new Girlfriend Jennifer last night at Kitchenetta http://kitchenetta.com/ very nice Italian.  Jennifer was a real hit with Syd and we all enjoyed meeting her, a keeper Bryce.  If you ever plan on taking a pet with you internationally do your research very carefully.  Hermann is going and we thought all we needed to do was get an international certificate from a local vet here but as it turns out we have to make a rush trip to Miami Friday morning to the USDA office so they can certify his travel documents,  we don't really have time for this but he is part of the package.  All for now except a few more pictures from Mexico.  Next entry, I hope, will come from the Dominican Republic. 

 

Today, thanks to Ryan's suggestion we headed to the Everglades to the Shark Valley Loop which is in the heart of Everglades National Park.  This is a 15 mile loop trail that can be taken by Tram ($17) or like we did by Bike.  This is an amazing experience to be up close to wildlife (alligators, snakes, and many species of birds and fish).  At the 7 mile mark there is an observation tower that is very easily accessible and provides a birds eye view of a huge amount of the Everglades.  We had a very easy ride to the observation tower but, the headwinds on the 8 mile return to the visitors center almost did us in.  The trail is very level just like most of Florida but the constant wind in your face today made it more of an exercise then an adventure.  All and all we were very glad to take this bike adventure and enjoyed the whole experience.  As a catch up from the last couple days, the beach of course and Syd and I did have a really nice round of golf at the Inverrary Country Club course.  I can't hardly believe that it has already been a week since we left KC.  Now it's time to start getting ready to head off to Aventura Spa in Cancun next week with our great friends Mike and Karen. 

Here are a few pictures to go along with Syd's post today.

Busy few days!  We had our retirement party on Thursday at Hoopers.  Lots of fun!  But sad to say goodbye to so many good friends.  Then a luncheon at my work before we headed out of town.

We made it to Florida on Sunday.  Staying with Ryan and Brandee for a bit....or till they boot us out!  So far so good! 

Monday we went to the beach; today we voted (glad we registered in Florida!) and then took Hermann and Buster to Jupiter for Herm's first beach visit.  He's not much of a water dog...but he did like digging in the sand.  Tomorrow Matt's going to take me to the golf course so I can break in my retirement present from him...new clubs!