Science Experiment

ILLUMINATION

This is the first annual entry into the Hiebert Family & Friends Science Fair.

The entry is titled "Illumination".

The idea came from a link on Facebook and it follows at the end of the blog. Please view it to see the application of this project. The object is to create illumination or light with simple objects.

We filled a 2 litre pop bottle with clean tap water and added 2 capfuls of household bleach. An empty box served as a "house" and a hole was cut in the top for the bottle to stick through and a hole at the bottom of one side to serve as a "door". A sheet of tinfoil was used to seal out the light around the bottle, around the edge of the hole in the box.





bottle & tinfoil bleach

The bottle of water was inserted through the open lid of the box and raised slightly on a platform made of a tin can, so that about a quarter of the bottle was sticking out the top of the box. The lid was closed and tin foil pushed around the edge so that only the top of the bottle was visible.

Papa Larry with project Grandma Pearl with project

We took the box outside in the sunlight and covered the top of the bottle with a dark cloth and took a picture of what the inside looked like.

Then we uncovered the top of the bottle and allowed the sun to shine on it and took pictures of what the inside of the box looked like with the light or illumination of the sun through the bottle of water looked like.bottle of water

uncovered bottle uncovered - close-up

Then we tried doing the same thing adding figures to the inside of the box, pretending it was their house, covered and then uncovered. (looks like light off and then on).

family in dark house family in illuminated house

It was a fun and easy experiment.

Unfortunately, the box was too small a space to do a true experiment of how much light would enter with only a hole cut in the top, but the bottle of water certainly disperses the light or illuminates over a larger area.

Please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zMAWztZ6TI&noredirect=1

Hopefully this works for you. If not, go on youtube and type in lite in a litre.

Seems like a great invention for those living where they do not have access to electricity like we have!
Have fun with the science fair and learn lots!

Out of Town Times

The spring and summer has been dotted with short jaunts, like work weekends at Sioux Narrows,

meeting our Californian friends in Minnesota watching them construct their log cabin,

an amazing fishing weekend in Sioux Narrows with our friend Perry and our Winnipeg kids and grandkids, an overnighter in Kenora with friends. So many great times.

Chad, Larry and Perry flew out (thanks Perry)for early morning fishing. They returned with a successful catch of pickerel and crappie

It was exciting to see how pumped the grandgirls were to go up in the air in this float plane, and going fishing to a fly-in lake.

The sunsets were incredible over the lake and we enjoyed the tranquil evenings (tired out).

Springtime in Winnipeg

With projects completed and after final farewells from Dominican friends, we headed home almost 3 weeks ago. We were greeted at the airport after midnight by Chad and it was so good to see him after 3 months away. He took us through the frosty night and deposited us at home, rather weary. Tannis met us at the door! She and their 3 children had taken a road trip from their home in BC and got here a couple of hours ahead of us. The kids were tucked in for the night at 1:00 am but Tan got up to welcome us.

The first week at home was a real treat with lots of family time, including day to day activity and some outings like exploring The Forks, Wildewood playground and the public library on a rainy day. We got together several times with Chad and Crystal and the girls, to hang out at their house, go swimming, have pizza supper, had a grandkids sleepover in our livingroom, and goodbye sundaes at McDonalds. The bonding time passed quickly and they were on their way home again. They got to spend some time with Mark and almost got bogged down in late spring snow.

So, we are again processing all the changes, jumping from culture to culture, hot country for a frozen land coming back to life. The spring flooding is happening in the Red River Valley once more but it appears the crest will not be as extreme as forecast earlier. There are communities evacuated and highways closed and we are following the development with interest.

We are glad to be home and happy to have had the chance to see extended family as well. Larry's family gathered at our house for an Easter dinner with the traditional baked ham, pan fried potatoes, salads, some plumi moos and lots of treats. As usual, it was a blast with all that Friesen humour out of hand.

We are not sure what lies ahead, but for now getting into a routine sounds good.

One month left (written in March 2011)

Life has assumed a normal day to day. We realize how much so when we get visitors from home and they comment on the novelties and we again see through their eyes. You got to love the donkeys and horses plodding along the country roads, same time every day, carrying the two big milk cans and a man in the saddle, occasionally an added sack of rice over the back for the man to sit on. Poor beast.

The house construction is progressing quickly. Though a small house, it takes time to get materials out there over that holey road, and everything takes longer with the lack of modern tools. A machete is a versatile tool, cutting through poles, cutting planks or tin for the roof. (Kind of like our multi-use utility knife or duct tape which is good for everything.)

The electricity is in, doors are installed, windows still missing. An outdoor kitchen with a firepit to cook on has been begun, with poles in place.

The family continues to be a joy. The father works hard everyday (little employment available right now anyway)helping the contractor. Mama tries to keep clothes washed, rice cooked and pigeon peas cooked, and tries to earn a little by selling lollipops, homemade peanut brittle and pencils to tourists coming by. The 2 girls are mostly just smiling and hugging while little brother is shy and does not yet speak.

We have had interesting involvement with work groups like Dominican Connection International and the Open Door Group from Winnipeg and Morris. As a result, we have been active in areas like Arroyo Seco, Los Charamicos, Villa Paraiso, and Los Algodones. We have assisted in picking and digging dirt, then compacting it for floors and going on fun outings like taking the cable car up the mountain in Puerto Plata. Amazing view of the Caribbean water, the city and rolling hills.

Here's a sampling of these activities.

These groups are so energetic (did I mention I turned 65 in the meanwhile?!) and inspiring in their compassion for the people.

Oh yeah, we were happy to assist an upstart church group in Villa Liberacion with pouring cement for their floor. What a transformation. At least now their plastic lawn chairs won't wobble around on rocks. They take this all in stride, happy without and happier with.

Most have been raised in poverty and we marvel at their positive attitudes and grateful worship of God who meets their daily needs.

We have had friends come and go, most sharing whole heartedly in our activities, opening their hearts to those they meet. Right now Lee & Gerri are here, with Lee staying till the end of the month. They are in the condo next to ours and we get to share work, food and friends.

There has been busyness and we have to deliberately remind ourselves to stop to see the beauty and quaintness around us, as well as enjoy our Dominican friends. Three months away from home seems like a very long time sometimes, especially when special occasions come and we miss our family and would love to be there with them. Always the balance.

One month down

It is already February which means we have spent one month here in the Dominican Republic. Life is good. The weather has been pretty much perfect from our perspective, with lots of sun and heat. We have had a few overnight showers to clean the air and keep dust down. Unfortunately, we made it to the beach only once last week when we went touring to Playa Grande with Lon & Pat (Larry's brother). They (http://pfriesen@blogspot.com) were here for a week and thoroughly enjoyed the change from the record snowfall back home. Much has happened since the last blog. Our friends Bert & Elma came for two weeks all inclusive vacation to the Casa Marina and while they were here, we came across a family in the country who were losing their rented shack and were hoping to finish purchasing a piece of property so they could build a house. As they have barely enough to put food on the table, their plan was to go cut wood on the hillsides and use that for constructing a shelter.

We and our friends felt compelled to assist them in their plight and so there is a simple brick house under contruction out in the country, on top of a little hill, in a valley between larger hills.

We are enjoying the happy people but are not that crazy about the road leading to the construction site. A 4x4 vehicle would better navigate the gouges (or a motorbike could skirt them?).

Dominican Republic de nuevo

Yes, we are back in the lovely breezy caribbean island. After a wonderful Christmas season with our Winnipeg and Calgary kids and grandkids and pets, (yeah, warm communication with the BC kids and grandkids), we again left Jan 4 for Sosua.

We have rented the same condo we were in last winter and have been re-connecting with so many Dominican friends. They always graciously welcome us and it is a pleasure to see everyone again. We entertained the first week back by inviting a family of 5 to our condo for espegetti and meatballs. There was a power outage just after the meal was done so we had our dessert on the balcony by dollarama led light.

There is always a transition time, from closer family & friends times during the holiday season at home to returning to relationships that have grown slightly distant over the last 9 months. It helps when, as in this year, the weather is beautiful rather than rainy for 2 weeks like last year. We are adjusting and are so thankful for internet for communication with you all.

This year, we will be assisting several work groups coming out from Manitoba and are expecting some friends and also some family to come check out the scene and enjoy a holiday. We are excited about that.

We are asking God to direct our involvement and know it will be an interesting time.

Thanksgiving 2010

Oh, way overdue on this posting.
Our family travelled to Canmore, Alberta some from BC, some from Manitoba and from Alberta for the Thanksgiving weekend. Unfortunately our car developed a mechanical problem and we had to stop for a quick repair in Calgary before moving on. We all booked in at the Poccaterra Inn where we again enjoyed the pool (with fast waterslide), hot tub, great complementary breakfasts and ping pong in the games room. The area is breathtakingly beautiful and everyone got out to hike a local trail.

It was fun to watch the cousins re-connecting after a year, as though no time had elapsed. They spent hours in the pool and slide, running the hallways and just hanging out. The energy was pretty impressive.

Family times like this are memory makers and we returned home after a quick visit to the Okanagan to see Tannis & Jer and the family in their home, and spending an ovenighter with Mark & Roel in Calgary.
p.s. we have the best family ever.

Calgary

We viewed some beautiful countryside on our swift weekend roadtrip to Calgary a week ago. We had not seen Mark & Roel since they visited us in December. They have experienced several months of travel to countries such as Australia, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc. It was intriguing to see some of their photos from their large collection of great pictures.
We also met their new labradoodle, a gentle spirit who allows his playful puppy mode to take over when taken out. They are taking the training seriously and Sunny listens well (until left alone when he becomes devious).
We took the Sunday to slip out to Banff and ended up hiking up Sulfur Mountain. It started innocently enough, intention being to hike a bit and then take the gondola up. After about 15 minutes following the trail we figured what can be so difficult. I found out the last 20 minutes climb, when I got winded and had to make very frequent stops to catch my breath! We did it in the basic 2 hours though. What breathtaking views (no, that was not what winded me). It puts me in awe of creation.
We are back to work, me at the Mission and Larry doing a small carpentry project.
Gotta earn more so we can fund these jaunts!

Family

We love the DR connections, the friends and the beautiful country but the down side is always missing family and missing out on special occasions. This last winter was no exception. The grandkids are involved in activities and lessons, including music theatre, musical performances, gymnastics (pre-competitive and competitive), fiddling, skating. We missed a photography show in an art gallery in BC. One grand daughter competed in the Manitoba Winter Games and came back with some medals!
We are very appreciative of the family keeping us posted on all these activities and there are still some home videos we want to see to finish catching up.

About two weeks after arriving home and before I returned to work, we did a quick road trip to BC again to visit family. We spent 4 days with them and got to be a part of their family times and got reacquainted with an energetic 2 year old and the two girls. We hiked the trail below their property, went out for ice cream, played around with the spanish language. Beautiful times.

It is good to be back in a routine, working mornings and getting opportunities to hang out with family here. The girls had a sleep over here a couple of weeks ago and we tried to cram in as much as we could from visiting a favourite playground to a campfire, making butter and watching a movie. They are always ready to get into it.

Now our globe trotting sons are back in Canada and we are excited to have them settle down for now. Looking forward to more road trips and meeting their new puppy!

Passage of Time

The winter in the DR was filled with lots of activity, rain, sun, sand, and precious time with both Dominican friends and visiting Canadians. We were priveleged to help with some leadership/translation with a work group from the Open Door church in Morris (See their DR Report 2010 at www.opendoorchurch.ca/). It was an active group, having joined a group of young people from Kitchener Ontario. We painted buildings, played with children, visited an orphanage, toured villages, among the many activities. What a quality group.
We were able to add to some existing projects by assisting getting interior walls plastered in a new church building being constructed in Villa Liberacion. We helped our friends from Winnipeg, Lee & Gerri, throw a hot dog bbq/picnic in the country, in Arroyo Seco where the DCI sponsored school is situated. It was a festive happy day.
There were several more projects such as coordinating tiling of the pastor family's new home in A.S. and construction of a water tank stand. The plumbing was hooked up to the water tank placed on it so they now have access to water (gravity flow) when the electricity is off in the community.
We were incredibly moved when invited to accompany the pastor and his wife and a few of the local women in climbing the prayer mountain behind the school property. The women ascend the high hill almost daily for worship and prayer time. There is a definite sense of reverence and awe as they pour out their hearts unashamedly. We prayed together and then they encircled us and prayed passionately over us. They are so poor by our standards and yet so rich in faith, love and devotion.
The last month there, I hurriedly picked up the laptop computer in its carrying case to take it out and did not realize the case was unzipped. The computer fell on the tile floor and the screen broke. It was heartbreaking as that meant we had no access to the hard drive to empty our pictures from the camera and we were dependent on internet cafes for communication.
It is now fixed and we are off and running again. We were gone from Jan 3 to March 30 and came back to an amazing spring in Winnipeg.

Let it go...

Another week of special activity has come and gone. We welcomed brother John and Alvina and sister Nita last week and said goodbye yesterday. Their flight in to the DR was scheduled to arrive the 28th at 2:10 and after being "diverted" to Orlando for repairs (something wrong with the door), they arrived in an airplane flown in from Canada at 1:30am. They were mighty tired, and since the hotel here did not have a clean room for them after all, they crashed with us in our condo for a night. It was wonderful to spend time together and show them around. Bobbing in the waves and soaking in the sun were highlights, as well as visitng friends, sightseeing, eating, etc.
So we have let them go again...
It feels empty but know they were ready to hit the ground running again back home. Thanks for coming to visit.

Some of our friends are showing up in the DR too, as a matter of fact, we have Lee & Gerri living in the condo next to us. It has been refreshing to share experiences with them. The last few days have been hot and pleasant but the waves were high and beaches shut down.
Tuesday we drove out to visit the school, Garcia and Jenny and a local family at Arroyo Seco. Lee & Gerri were able to visit their sponsored child's family and the groceries they brought to them were very timely, as the mom (of 7) was sick in bed.
We climbed the prayer mountain behind the church property with Jenny and two others. It is always exhilarating as the view is astonishingly beautiful and pastoral. The church people consider this their prayer mountain as this is where the pastor originally would go (at times all night) pray and ask God for a church and a school to help the community. Now a few women still make it a daily trek to just worship and pray.
It was very moving to have Jenny and Lupe encircle us with their prayers and sing spontaneously over us. These people have so much faith and keen awareness of God.

The Vacation With a Purpose group arrived yesterday and we met them at the airport. It was a joyous time with numerous Dominicans there to welcome them.

today was a free day and some of us spent time bobbing in the waves and enjoying the sun and sand. (Hope my aging skin survives).
Tomorrow we return to the airport to welcome brother John and Alvina and sister Nita. We are so excited to have family come and spend a week here.
Safe travels!

Sitting on our balcony and listening to the lively laughter of the parties happening down the street. Right now it is lightly raining and there is the hum of motorbikes running up & down the streets. There are also planes regularly coming & going in the distance. Oh, that motorbike wsn't humming, but revving!
On that note, Larry & I had a supper invitation from a family on the other side of town last night. We didn't have a car and it would be too dark to walk the 25 minutes through the beach area (not safe). So we found what seemed to be a reasonable motoconcho (125cc motorbike taxi) who then took the both of us with him. What a ride, with the dirver basically sitting on my lap (Pearl) and Larry sitting on the steel bar behind the seat.(mostly) Had a fun family time with chuleta (browned pork chops), fried onion and deep fried platano on the menu. yummy!
This is a family whose daughter we are supporting in university. She is studying to become a doctor. SO, to return home at 9:30, the host & his wife came up the stone stairs to the main road and flagged down a meandering motoconcho (someone they were somewhat familiar with). The only downside we noticed as we hopped on was that the bike had no rear lights. A little scarey when we hit the highway (3km ride back), but not unusual here.

Would love to post pictures but the system is not co-operating. Can someone help me out here?
Whenever I upload a picture it shows up on the blog as gobbledy-gook script. Is there a setting that needs changing, or...?

We went to the next town, Cabarete, this afternoon taking Maury with us, with the intention of enjoying the beach. We had a period of sunshime before leaving but it was pouring rain by the time we got there. We ended up having a good time, browsing and then having coffee/smoothies at an open air restaurant (had a roof and we kept dry!).

Chat again soon.

The whole world has heard the news about the devastating earthquake yesterday in Haiti. As we (DR) share the island with Haiti we experienced tremors here as well on the north coast. This was a first for us and wondered what was going on when we started swaying in our third floor condo. It took only moments to realize that no, it's not a migraine starting, but rather there must have been an earthquake somewhere. It is gut wrenching to hear of the extent of destruction and loss of life. Our hearts and prayers go out to those in the area.

there has been no damage in our area though the quake registered as a 4. There is fear here and our friends were having a visit with a local Dominican pastor & his wife here when this happened. The immediate response was that the pastor started praying. They experienced a quake here in 2003 and there are a number of deserted damaged buildings in Sosua still standing.

We have been very fortunate and thank God.

It is January 13, 2010 and we have been in the DR for 10 days.
We have been slow in blogging because we have been running into obstacles in getting consistent wireless connection.
So, right now a quick word while we probably very briefly have reception in our condo doorway. We are settled for now into a furnished 1 bedroom condo, third floor in a fairly ideal central location in Sosua.
We are very familiar with the constant rain, in case you read lst year's entries. We had 2 glorious days of sunshine on the weekend and made use of them by beaching, in Cabarete and in Sosua. Perfect days.
We have reconnected with a number of Dominican friends and have been to several homes visiting. What a warm and endearing welcome back.
Looking forward for what is in store for the next couple of months and will try to blog as able.

Hasta Luego

What a special Christmas season this year celebrating Jesus' birthday by sharing love and good times. We started early with decorating the house, cracking peanuts and munching mandarin oranges, and early family get togethers. Tyra and Marissa both got to play Mrs. Claus in their school plays giving a superb performance. My family came over for a turkey dinner on December 11th and we were so pleased that 15 if us sibs were able to be here.
Tannis showed up for a 5 day pre-Christmas holiday and we hung out while Larry drove to Mpls to pick up Mark & Roel where they had flown to on business. Tan & I were able to join Chad & Crystal in taking in Marissa's gymnastics competition & seeing her gain a place in the Manitoba Games Team.
We had great family activity times with food, outdoor skating, guitar & singing, food, WII challenges, knipsbraat, Friesen family Christmas,more food, etc. We missed Jer and the family but they seemed to be partying in BC with the Hieberts and attended a concert where Ivy fiddled.
Lots of warm family times marked the season and on the 28th, Larry & I took Mark & Roel to Fargo for their flight back home. We had a scare when we had an hour and 40 minutes' wait at the border fearing we would not get them there on time. They made it!
Looking ahead into 2010, we have our bags packed ready for take-off to the Dominican Republic once again. This means parting with loving family and friends, but we know there are also friends waiting down south. We are trusting God for providing appropriate housing while we leave our home here in the capable hands of our renters.
Ready or not, here we go.

Passing of Time

Wow, it's been about 6 months since the last entry and yes, there have been intentional meanderings happening. We arrived home from thte DR April 1st and were able to move back into our home, which had been rented out, by the 18th of the month. In the meantime we were warmly welcomed by our son and his family and then temporarily moved into Larry's sister's basement spare room.

In April we also made a road trip to BC to see our daughter and her husband and children and were astounded at how much children grow in six months. Actually it was more like eight months since we had seen the one year old and his vocabulary and expressions, as well as his ability to blow up balloons and blow bubbles convinced us that he would join the rest of our grandchildren in being super smart and gifted!
We were joined by our youngest son from Vancouver for a weekend getaway. It was a partial family "gathering" but that is the now generation, with family scattered here & there.

Larry and I shared some reno and painting projects this spring and summer, thoroughly enjoying working together, with transformations of houses resulting. Interestingly, these projects occurred in south Winnipeg, Hecla Island and near Winnipeg Beach. Lovely places to hang out in. Besides, mosquitoes were almost non-existent.

While Larry worked for family in the Swan Valley during seeding and harvest seasons, I was able to visit him several times, complete a 5 day TESOL Foundation course in Winnipeg (& two online specialization courses), hang out with two grand daughters in the city while their parents worked, do some house painting in Whytewold, and fly to BC again for a week to spend time with our daughter and family.

We had opportunity during the summer months to do our annual road trip to visit our Californian friends at their property in Minnesota and then touch base with a friend in Mpls for an overnighter. Our kids from BC (except for our youngest son) came for a visit early summer and as a family, we spent a weekend in the Whiteshell enjoying each other's company at a lodge with a pool and hottub (rainy & stormy all weekend!). Oh yes, we did a day trip back into the Whiteshell late summer to visit our Wpg kids at a cottage they were renting. So there has been some travel and great family bonding times.

This is an abbreviation of the living that went into this spring & summer. There were many highlights and the whole month of September was gloriously warm, after an unusually cool & wet summer. The garden has been emptied in preparation for the coming winter.

We are already anticipating our son's fall visit as he has developed the travel bug also and wants to go more global this next year. It will be a treat to have him here for a couple of weeks and catch up with all the changes in his life. Our winter plans are slowly taking shape and hopefully I can be more faithful in keeping up entries.

DR This and That

It is a month and a half since the last entry. Time has passed quickly with taking some time for relaxation with friends after the Vacation With a Purpose group left. The weather after one week of sunshine in February has continued with a mix of rain and sun. We have been surprised at the amount of rain this year and cool weather evenings. It is still very pleasant, especially when we hear of the brutally cold winter back home. It is amazing people survive in that cold.

There has been progress in the construction of the house out in the country with walls going up and some backfill happening. The construction has been slowed down by rain. It is so peaceful in that area with farm animals from the adjoining pasture checking out the scene now and then. The methods and tools of construction used are reminiscent of the era when I was little, well, maybe further back than that because the water for the cement mixer was hauled by mule & water cans from a nearby creek.

You also hear the sounds of the school children up in their classrooms counting together loudly in spanish or later, swinging and shouting in the playground. It does not take long for them to spot us and come running to cling to our hands. The roosters crowing is constant. The vegetation looks lush and green, with a large mango tree and upcoming citrus tree in the backyard of the construction lot. There are still towering palms in the pasture and the hillsides all around are dotted with palms and various trees and bushes. It will be a major therapeutic change for the pastor and his wife and family to make the move from a crowded back lane house in town to the serenity of the country.

Something has changed in the way pictures are being uploaded to the blogsite as the last few times I have tried to add photos all that happens is gobbledy gook instead of an actual photo. So maybe I'll settle for words rather than work on trying to solve the issue.

We have two and a half weeks left before returning home. Time has passed swiftly although a few times it felt so slow, especially when I had broken my toe or when I was down with bronchitis. We are both well now and are trying to take care of many details and make use of the remaining time. We spent a few hours at the new beach at Sosua by the Sea and it was awesome. The waves were quite high again but local kids were riding them with their boogie boards having a blast getting tumbled too.

Beaches come and go here. Last March we watched as the beach at Sosua by the Sea resort disappeared within a matter of two days leaving only a rocky dropff of a few feet and last month it returned it seemed within 2 or 3 days. The same kinds of changes have happened in other resorts and it is fascinating to watch the power of the sea.

We have just come through a week of major roof renos here at our condo and it has been the challenge of the winter. The tar patches on our floor and inside the condo have been cleaned up and we think the project is over. We have not had a heavy rain since it was completed but we are hoping the holes have been sealed. We are still waiting for power to be restored to our ceiling lights in the front rooms of the condo but the noise overhead is gone and it is peaceful again. Whew, once again only the sound of roosters, dogs and motor bikes.

It is breezy and chilly as I sit on the balcony entering this blog. We are getting somewhat spoiled thinking 18 degrees is cold and my fingers don't want to cooperate with the shivering. Maybe it's the dampness that seeps through.
There has been a fair amount more rain than previous times we've been in the DR and at this time when the large Vacation With a Purpose group is out, it is dirupting some of the planned activities. Flexibility is a huge asset to have at the best of times in another culture and this is no exception.
Yesterday we were to have a construction crew going out to do some digging for a foundation of a house out in the country but due to the road conditions and unpredictability of river levels, it got cancelled. The ladies meeting planned for the same area in the country has been re-scheduled for Monday morning and we trust the sky will have cleared up by then. This makes for a real challenge, with logistics re transportation, translators, etc. We have a large group of 35-40 people in the group at any one time.

Today we held two medical clinics, hiring 4 Dominican doctors and having our two Canadian doctors working alongside. One team worked in a new village and was overwhelmed with the extreme poverty and young age of many mothers.

Our team leader had a death in the family back home and is leaving tomorrow for home, planning to return later in the week. His brother who was with us for our annual trip for the last 3 years died suddenly of a heart attack this week and this has been a real loss for many who had grown to love and appreciate him. We treasure having had the opportunity to get to know him and work with him. He had a very strong faith in God and was a real inspiration.

God bless you and take care of you.

Road Trip

We have friends visiting us from Swan River, Elmer & Maryann Friesen, and we have been doing more of the tourist scene the last two weeks. We have done a lot of walking, beaching in Sosua, and a little shopping on the beach.
Together we rented a car and spent an overnighter down the north shore at Samana on the weekend. Travel is fairly slow because you must be cautious at all times of both cavernous potholes the car could break down in and the crazy driving habits of others on the road.
We saw beautiful white sand and blue ocean water, dense coconut palm groves and some rolling hilly terrain covered with lush growth. There were rice paddies with young plants emerging. We drove through centres like Cabarete, Rio San Juan, Nagua (an area that was devastated by floods last winter) and Samana. We found a quaint old hotel to stay in at $25/night per room. It was small but very adequate and in the evening we sat on the spacious balcony and played some hilarious card games. There was a beautiful historic looking church across the street and we heard the singing from their Sunday night service.
The boat ride to the island Cayo Levantado was an adventure because it seemed the boat was really too small for the rolling waves/troughs. The island was exotic with its white sand and gradual beach but somewhat disappointing because of its' strong tourist focus. We had hoped it would be less developed. But, you don't grumble when you are in paradise!
Samana has an amazing long footbridge from the mainland to a small island and makes for a lovely walk. We saw local young guys having fun diving/jumping off the bridge to the sea below. The water looked awfully shallow for that to be safe but they thought that comment was funny and offered to do it again. Maryann was queasy at that point and asked them not to.
Arriving back in Sosua we all agreed this location is as beautiful as any and we were glad to be back.