Yep – it’s hurricane season in the Caribbean!

In case you’re wondering (and even if you aren’t), I thought I’d start off by letting everyone know that we ARE keeping a close eye on the storms developing in the Caribbean. Fortunately Hurricane Danielle went well north of us – but it’s not yet clear how or if Hurricane Earl is going impact us. It’s truly a hour-by-hour watch. NOAA updates their site quite often and we are prepared for whatever Earl may bring.

It’s kind of like getting ready for a winter storm back home…make sure you have plenty of provisions (water, food, batteries, candles, etc.) in case there is no electricity for an extended period. We’re quite happy that we have the generator and feel comfortable that we could go several days, if needed, without power.

The one thing that we’re not sure about is how a storm might impact our internet connectivity – which is our link to the rest of the world. So for those of you who stay in touch on a more frequent basis – if you don’t hear from us for a bit, don’t worry…it’s likely that our internet has gone down and we’ll touch base as soon as possible.

Ok – on to more enjoyable topics from the tropics. (Sorry – couldn’t resist that one!)

We had another busy week (didn’t we come here to relax??)…but luckily no major setbacks or issues to deal with – yay! On Wednesday evening, we went to check out the “Sosua Residents Club”…another group of expats who get together monthly – similar the “Nice People’s Network” group, but different in that this group is more geared toward doing things for and around town – like helping build the tourist traffic, supporting a local children’s shelter, etc. while also being a network for the other expats in the area to find resources. It was a small group (8 including us) and it was interesting to meet a few new people.

On Thursday, we headed to Santiago with our lists for Ochoa (the DR version of Lowe’s) and PriceSmart (the DR Costco). As always, lots of interesting sights along the way:

Gotta hope they don't hit any bumps on this ride....









This is a traffic circle in Santiago...gives you an idea of what the traffic looks like down there - crazy!!







Many of the small villages have fruit stands set up along the roadside. No reason you can't get your daily 5 servings here.











This is a typical Domincan schoolhouse. The kids all wear uniforms - from the very youngest clear into the older grades - which is the next picture.








And finally, this may be one of the worst cases of moto overload that we've seen - of the human kind. I'm not sure that moto truly has a seat that is built for 4 butts. And doesn't the guy on the back look cute with his pink backpack? Makes you wonder if the gal with the cast got that injury sticking her foot too far out into traffic - yikes!!

Back to Santiago....one of the “must haves” on our list for the trip was a lawnmower. We had already been to Ochoa but we did not get one there (wanted to check prices at PriceSmart), but had shelves for the casita and storage drawers, a 6 and a 1 gallon gas can in addition to several other items – plus a cooler! We did get the lawn mower at PriceSmart…and were HOPING it would fit in Zuki with everything we already had – and had gotten at PriceSmart. Before we went to pay, we checked to be sure we could buy tie-down straps…just in case we had to put it on the roof (hey – when in Rome….!). Fortunately they had them…more than we would need, but they had them!

We proceeded to check out and go through the exit process. Unlike in the States where they do a cursory look at the receipt, here when you buy something like a lawn mower, they take you over to the side, open the box, unpack the whole thing to show you that all the pieces and parts are there, and you sign that you got everything. So while Steve was going through that process, I went out to Zuki and quickly started rearranging and trying to take strategic advantage of every square inch of space! I filled the storage drawers with the items we’d bought from Ochoa, stuffed things under the seats, etc.

Another difference here…a PriceSmart employee brings your stuff to your car and helps unload it (in this case, we had two). You should have seen their eyes when they got to the car! But with a little poking and prodding – and putting things in places I wouldn’t normally think of, we got everything in. Steve couldn’t use the rearview mirror – but heck, who needs that mirror, right? Here’s what Zuki looked like when we got home:



Friday afternoon we headed to the vivera (plant nursery) to buy some shrubs and plants for the yard. When we walked into the vivera, we were met by a huge, but very friendly, Rottweiler. The owner of the vivera greeted us and took us around to look at all of the different choices. We had an idea of what we wanted this time, but he gave us some great ideas for the next time – and they deliver, which is good because we can’t get very tall plants in Zuki! He showed us a beautiful tree that has flowers that are very fragrant, but not overpowering. We’re trying to think of a place we could put it so the breeze would blow the scent into the casa. We also want to get a fan palm, a lime tree, and an avocado tree. The only bad thing about the fruit trees is that they take about 5 years before they bear fruit, so we won’t get to enjoy our own crop for a while.


So in the meantime, we’re trying our hand at some other things – tomatoes and jalapenos. We planted our “crop” a week ago Saturday. Here’s what the tomato sprouts look like now. Still waiting for the jalapenos to pop up…maybe in the next few days.

We also got to play with a little Rottweiler puppy – about 3 months old and as cute and sweet as could be! She loved the water and the vivera owner showed us how she would put her head under the faucet and play. He really seemed to like the dogs – but I’m guessing if we had inquired about buying the puppy, she would have been ours. Good thing we aren’t in the puppy market right now – but if we were – we’d have taken her in a heartbeat. What a cutie (and wouldn’t you know, I didn’t have my camera – darn it)!

On Friday night, we joined Pam and Dennis and 5 other people for pizza at a restaurant which is right next to the military base – which is about half way to Puerto Plata. Pam and Dennis had heard good things about it – but we were a little leery when Steve and Dennis each ordered a Sprite and they had one (actually a 7-Up) – for them to split between them! Another guy, Bill, ordered a cuba libre (coke & rum) and they didn’t have any rum – in the Dominican Republic (rum is the national drink here, people!!)!! Pam half jokingly asked if they had pizza. The waitress assured us they did. So we ordered and kept our fingers crossed.

Pretty soon, the waitress showed up with a small bottle of rum and two more bottles of 7-Up for Dennis and Steve. Apparently they sent their delivery moto to the store to get some! And the pizza was very good – probably the best we’ve had since we got here. We were also pleasantly surprised when the bill came. It was about $9 per person – and several of us had beer with our pizza (ok, more than one) plus we all took pizza home! So it was definitely worth the trip! We got to meet a few more people and enjoyed visiting with Pam and Dennis too.

Saturday was another work on the yard day. We had Jean Claude come to help us. While he cleared the weeds in the empty lot next to our fence, we went to work on building forms to pour a concrete pad in front of the casita. We also had him plant our new colorful bushes outside our fence and the little shrubs in the front of the house (that’s the picture at the top of this post).


We were really glad we had Jean Claude to help with the concrete. It took 4 large wheelbarrows full, all mixed by hand, which is HARD, HOT work! We did get a picture of him – busy at work.

We finished up the concrete and sent Jean Claude home…but we kept working. Steve put up the blinds in the casita and I started moving things in that we had, up until now, stored on the back patio. We finally called it quits a little after 5. We were pooped – but isn’t the casita looking nice? The one bad thing…the concrete splashed on my nice paint job, so I need to give it another coat. That’s ok, because I still need to paint the back sides – they are still white!!




Sunday morning we went to Cabarete and had breakfast with Al and Glenda again. We had a relaxing morning – watched the waves that were much stronger than when we’d been there last Sunday…I think they were remnants of Danielle who had passed well north of us a day or so before.




We got home around 1 and ran to Playero (our grocery store) to get groceries – and a few more provisions. When we got home, I gave Dusty a haircut while Steve gave the grass one – testing out the new mower! We also tested out our generator…made sure everything was working as it should be and did a few more odds and ends around the house. At one point Steve looked out the front door and caught Bamboo, the ladron, carrying a toy we had given to Archie down the street – just as proud as could be! Steve was able to convince Bamboo to drop the toy and come into our house…with a promise of peanut butter (one of his favorite treats). So while I distracted him with his reward for listening and coming to us when we called him, Steve went out and retrieved Archie’s toy - which Steve put on the iron work...just out of Bamboo's reach. Check out this picture…looks like Sierra is giving him a talking to, doesn’t it?


Today (Monday) we’ve been keeping an eye on Earl. It was sunny and hot – with a couple of hit and run rainstorms, but tonight it’s been very, very still. The outside temperature has dropped, so we can tell the storm is getting closer. We aren’t under any watches or warnings as of the last NOAA update, so that’s good. We’ve battened down the hatches and brought in anything that we don’t want ending up in the neighbor’s yard. So hopefully we’ve done everything we needed to in preparation for anything Earl might hurl at us! We’ll let you know how it goes!

And hopefully Earl (and Fiona – the tropical storm lining up right behind him) will be long gone and leaving only good waves by Thursday when we plan to go try DR surfing with Max and Richard! Hang ten!!

Take care – and we’ll be in touch again soon!