Some photos are viewable here.
Well this has been a quiet week for us. We visited the Tkachyks in Club Paradise at Cofresi Beach, near Ocean World Park, a ten minute taxi ride west from Puerto Plata. The McIntoshs and Mary Hetherington were there too, and we had a pleasant morning looking around at their condos, chatting, and visiting. They have beautiful places, and are enjoying a great view of the ocean. On their way to Sosua for the afternoon, we hitched a ride back with them and their driver Rambo, (sorry, couldn't resist the link) and had lunch at La Roca restaurant.
We didn't go into Ocean World Park, since it wasn't open early, but it looks like a huge attraction. There is a Casino, Marina, and Adventure Park within the complex. In the area close to it, there are a large number of all-inclusive resorts. We drove through them on the way to Santiago, a couple of weeks ago, picking up fellow bus travelers.
Thursday we said good bye to our condo friends, Dave, Carol, Pat, and Ian who were on their way back to Arizona. They are coming back here at the end of March, but of course, we will be gone. We had a great shrimp dinner at La Casita in Cabarete, and enjoyed the night-time atmosphere along the Cabarete restaurant strip.
In the middle of the week I started to feel a bit congested, and by Friday I had a heavy cold. Kris had picked up something too, so we took it easy on the weekend.
We did spend another morning in Puerto Plata, and explored the local Fortaleza San Felipe, (interesting video clip) built in 1577, when the Spanish were colonizing the area. It is quite small as far as forts go, and two bus loads of people tend to fill it up. We managed to get in and out between loads. The harbour at Puerto Plata is really pretty, and the main road, the Malecon, which skirts the sea edge is gorgeous. As always lunch by the waterside was required. That day none of the shoe shine boys asked if I wanted my sandals shined. The Dominicans mostly wear dress shoes, and have them polished regularly. I have seen the boys polishing black running shoes, but my sandals are polish-free so far.
Happy Valentine's Day,
Dunc & Kris
