Utilities

The utilities in the Dominican Republic are a bit different than the US. Our stove is gas, but fed from a tank under the counter. The set up is similar to when we lived on the boat.

Electric service is about 10-12 hours per day but the times available are irregular. Our host, Mike, has a huge set of batteries to provide power when the electrical grid is off. The refrigerator, lights, and TV all work, but De Anne must time her hot shower to the power. The electric hot water heater only works when the grid is on. There is a on/off switch with a power light for the water heater in the bathroom.

The problem is political not a lack of capacity. There is a large squatters settlement behind the neighborhood that illegally taps the power lines. No one wants the headache of constantly policing the lines or depriving the poor folks of some electric power, but randomly shutting it down reminds them it is not a right to have free power.

We have running water at the tap, but don't drink it! Everyone here drinks and cooks with bottle water. De Anne carried a couple gallons home from the grocery store, but that got old very fast. We met Johnnie and he delivered a 5 gallon bottle. The deposit on our first jug was 110 pesos and the water is 40 pesos. A week's supply of water costs us $1.04.

Mike has a satellite dish so we watched Monday Night football on ESPN and get NYC news.
From our balcony looking down the street:

See the different patch of blue between the trees? That's the Atlantic:

Wash day

It's not all lounging on the beach, listening to the surf with a long neck Presidente in hand. There are still a few chores to do. Today was wash day.


The washing machine is in the gazebo. To use it, simply pile in some clothes, a little soap, then turn on the garden hose and fill. Once the clothes are clean - using the hose again - a couple rinses then into the spinner on the right side of the machine. The drain hose is led to the yard where the water does double duty watering the plants.


The final step is one few Americans will recognize, hanging the damp clothes on a line with clothes pins. Younger readers may want to study the picture below for proper technique.

New friends

One of the best parts of traveling is meeting folks you would never otherwise know.

Neighbors down the street, Bruce and Kelly from Vancouver Canada invited us over Thursday evening. In addition to a great meal and an entertaining evening they aquainted us with some of the differences in Dominican life.



We had a great night out Friday night. Johnnie, our new Dominican friend, recommended the beach bar we pass every day at the beach access point. Yesterday a new ex-pat friend, Tom - told us the owner was a very good chef and we could not go wrong eating there. Both were right. For the evening, dinner and drinks totaled 550 pesos, or the princely sum of $14.41 in US dollars.



This afternoon we watched the kiteboarders on the beach, then on the way home met up with Bruce and Kelly at the beach bar.

What did you do today?

We went to the beach!

De Anne played in the waves until a large wave summersaulted her. I was watching and for a brief moment all that showed was 2 legs pointed straight up in the foam. This wave also added, at no extra cost, a double wardrobe malfunction. After her escape she vowed to wear the one piece bathing suit next time. It was interesting that 2 pieces of clothing, so close together, would move in completely opposite directions.

She joined me under the thatched cabana after that:

Secure

To those of you who questioned our choice of the Dominican Republic as a destination, please note we are now more secure than any other time in our lives.

The house is in a gated community (the gatekeeper has a 12 gauge pump shotgun), with a roving night guard (ditto the 12 gauge). Our windows, door, and porch are wrought-ironed covered. The house is walled and topped with razor wire. Bruno, the giant rotweiller is on duty, and backed up by a security guard (another 12 gauge) in the yard 24/7.

Of course, De Anne still roams the streets alone sometimes. I just can't stop her.

You can see our porch through the trees


Our apartment from the street


De Anne in the pool


One of the house guards

October home

Our Dominican Republic home for October is a 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment over the garage of a very nice home in a gated community. We are just a block from the beach and our 2nd floor apartment puts us above most of the flora so the cooling ocean breezes pass through the apartment.

The resident guard dog is the biggest rotweiller I have ever seen.


A man exercising his horses on the beach.

In the DR

Two flights, two taxis, and one bus later we have arrived on the Atlantic shore of the Dominican Republic.

I have a cold, so De Anne will be striking out this morning solo for provisions. In light of her loss of her pack animal husband I have authorized her to spend the seventy cents on a cab ride.

More to come........