A small catamaran off the west coast of the Dominican Republic
They still use some horses in both San Pedro and Santo Domingo. Fuel is free and they seem to get a lot of business, It seems strange to see a someone driving a horse drawn wagon and talking on a cell phone. That's how business is done here when you use horses.
One of the older building in San Pedro, actually two are somewhat joined together. Last time Gloria and I were downtown I noticed they were beginning to renovate a couple of the old buildings. These building are usually about 100 years old. Renovating the original area of San Pedro will certainly help the tourist industry.
They love bright colours. A fairly new apartment/business building near the center of San Pedro. People here work hard. Nearly everyone has something to do. Casas are in various states of construction. Everyone seems to have a real desire for a nice looking home. It may take them awhile but it gets done.
One of the main employment opportunities for young men is the motorcycle taxi. Two on a bike is common. Gloria and I have our motorbike taxi that we try to use all the time. He is probably in his early 20's and a very careful driver. Some of the drivers must believe they are part of NASCAR the way they drive. You have to be careful who you choose to ride with. I think one of these girls must like the driver.
On the highway to Santo Domingo
Coming or going this the first and last thing you remember about Santo Domingo. A very large flag flying over the free way.
The other thing you remember are the huge traffic jams. This picture doesn't really show how congested it can be. Laying the horns is a common practice however the horns all seem to have a more friendly tone than those in North America.
Central Park, Santo Domingo. People were having lunch or reading. I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of people sitting on park benches reading their Bibles, both young and old.
High rises are becoming more and more common. Santo Domingo is a large city. There is poverty but most are working hard to get out of poverty. One thing I did notice was the generosity of the Dominican people. Those that can are not afraid to help their neighbours whether they know them or not. I often saw them slipping some money into their hand.
December 31, 2011 - New Years Eve
This day was spent much like the day before Christmas. Cleaning house and cooking the New Years supper. We ate very late - around midnight and watched all the fireworks which included setting prepared trees which were cut earlier and soaked in gas then set on fire. It is quite spectacular lighting up the night sending showers of sparks up into the sky.
At midnight we all wished each other Feliz Nuevo Ano - Happy New Year - with much hugging. It was around 2 am when we settles down for the night.
Jan.1/12
We had planned on a quite day but Ilda invited us to go with them and meet her family. She comes from a family of 15 children.
Her mother has more than 70 grandchildren.
Ilda's mother prepared jugo natural, here in the Dominican women make tamarind, passion fruit, lime, orange, apple, strawberry, papaya, guava, and some I can,t name because I don't know the English name for the fruit.
Unfortunately, Daniel, Victors son apartment was broken in to, some items were taken. We are becoming more careful of our own security practises.
Jan.2/12
Monday is our laundry day. I am up at 6 and, by 9:30 the clothes are outside on the clothes line and are dry by 12:30.
Then Rick made a call to Wagner our mototaxi driver. We use him all the time now, he doesn't speed, he signals, slows down for speed bumps and will come back to pick us up wherever we are at. He is a very considerate and careful driver.
This afternoon just as we were leaving the bike dropped to the left, checking it out he discovered a missing nut caused the left shock to separate from the frame. A buddy of his was just passing by so he took us the rest of the way while Wagner went to find another nut. His friends name was Lindo which means pretty. or lovely.
Last Friday we were out walking. During our walk we met a young Evangelist who invited us to his street meetings to be held January 23 to the 26, he asked us to pray for these meetings. He and a missionary also introduced us to Pastor of an Apostolic church. The 5 of us had a long visit on his patio deck.
Yesterday Ilda's sister took us to her church, a Baptist church. We listened to an American evangelist from Arkansas. The church was small but packed and one man went forward at the end and accepted Jesus as his saviour.
Our mototaxi
December 31, 2011 - New Years Eve
This day was spent much like the day before Christmas. Cleaning house and cooking the New Years supper. We ate very late - around midnight and watched all the fireworks which included setting prepared trees which were cut earlier and soaked in gas then set on fire. It is quite spectacular lighting up the night sending showers of sparks up into the sky.
At midnight we all wished each other Feliz Nuevo Ano - Happy New Year - with much hugging. It was around 2 am when we settles down for the night.
Jan.1/12
We had planned on a quite day but Ilda invited us to go with them and meet her family. She comes from a family of 15 children.
Her mother has more than 70 grandchildren.
Ilda's mother prepared jugo natural, here in the Dominican women make tamarind, passion fruit, lime, orange, apple, strawberry, papaya, guava, and some I can,t name because I don't know the English name for the fruit.
Unfortunately, Daniel, Victors son apartment was broken in to, some items were taken. We are becoming more careful of our own security practises.
Jan.2/12
Monday is our laundry day. I am up at 6 and, by 9:30 the clothes are outside on the clothes line and are dry by 12:30.
Then Rick made a call to Wagner our mototaxi driver. We use him all the time now, he doesn't speed, he signals, slows down for speed bumps and will come back to pick us up wherever we are at. He is a very considerate and careful driver.
This afternoon just as we were leaving the bike dropped to the left, checking it out he discovered a missing nut caused the left shock to separate from the frame. A buddy of his was just passing by so he took us the rest of the way while Wagner went to find another nut. His friends name was Lindo which means pretty. or lovely.
Last Friday we were out walking. During our walk we met a young Evangelist who invited us to his street meetings to be held January 23 to the 26, he asked us to pray for these meetings. He and a missionary also introduced us to Pastor of an Apostolic church. The 5 of us had a long visit on his patio deck.
Our mototaxi
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