It is Feb 21st, 2023. We are now in the Dominican Republic. Here is a little recap of the last six weeks in the Caribbean. We got into Puerto Rico after a grueling red eye flight out of Seattle to Washington DC to Puerto Rico. We were dog tired when we got there not being able to do much sleeping on the plane. We got a shuttle to our rental car company. When we got there there were lots of unhappy people we were just the newest ones. Seems the rental car company had rented out all the cars and no other rental car company had any available until maybe later in the day and it started raining hard. We did not have a number for a taxi and did not see any on the street so decided to take the shuttle back to the airport and get a taxi there. At the airport we found some much needed food and coffee but were just worn out and needed sleep. We got a taxi to take us to our Airbnb without further issue. We checked in and took a long nap. Waking later in the early evening and the landlord had told us there really was no restaurants nearby. She did not speak any English but did offer to drive me over to a convenience store. So we spent out first night in Puerto Rico eating potato chips, cookies and some grub left over from our snack stash. No biggy we are used to issues such as this and took it in stride. The next day we got a number for a taxi and were able to rent a car. Now we were able to go eat and go to the grocery store. When you book a place in a foreign country proximity to food in a consideration as you expect to be totally lost when you get there. This Airbnb had said it was a walk to the grocery store, and it was, once you know where to walk to, and was about 30 minutes walk at that. All part of the great adventure. Did not take long to figure out traffic in San Juan was terrible, scary and confusing. We did a little exploring that first day but not too far out yet. The following day we had a plan to go out to a beach we had heard about. Got a little lost on the way and were a bit disappointed when we got there. This was a bit of a local beach and was covered with garbage. We had a nice dinner there and headed home. We were not sure how long we would stay in Puerto Rico before heading over to the next island of the Dominican Republic. One thing we had wanted to see was the old fort of San Juan. To get there we had to drive through the middle of town in the worst traffic. We went the wrong way and had to circle back. When we did get up to the old areas there was no parking to be had, and traffic was bumper to bumper. And it started raining hard. We came to the conclusion that if one wanted to see the fort areas it would be best to be dropped off by bus or taxi. We have seen lots of old port forts in our travels so felt we had seen enough of it and did not want to come back to the inner city again. There are a couple beach hotel strips close to the city with all the high end shopping and trendy restaurants, but that is exactly what we try to avoid. The following day, our third, we decided to drive as far to the east end of the island and around to the south as time would allow in a day. It was quite interesting exploring places not many tourist go. I felt like it was a bit like east L.A. Lots of indications that you were in a Spanish speaking and impoverished country, with big name American businesses in abundance, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McD’s, Burger King, WalMart… We found little fishing villages, small neighborhoods and lots of tropical growth. This end of the island is the wettest part with a rain forest. We headed home after finding dinner, it was a fun day. The next day we headed out in the other direction to the west heading for a different beach that we had heard good things about. After a bit of recon we found it. It was small but had a few restaurants right on the water and was not like the big tourist beaches in town. We hang out that afternoon, had a nice dinner on the beach watching the sunset. Since we got here we had been looking for a long term place to stay but was not finding anything we could afford. We had read that Puerto Rico was expensive. No more than the US except for imported items, but much more then Mexico or even southern Europe. The next day we drove across the island over the mountains to the southern side. It was much more arid on this side and more picturesque driving. We drove along the south shore and back up the west side heading for a beach area we had heard of named Rincon. This turned out to be the place we should have gotten an Airbnb. Right up our alley, a little funky surf town. By this time we had already decided we would take the ferry over to the Dominican the following day. We enjoyed another great day at a funky little beach bar and then drove a bit further up the coast discovering another little place that had a great malecon (concrete path along the shore). We had a great walk and ate ice cream watching the sun set on the water. The next day we turned in the car and got a taxi to take us to the ferry. The ferry is an over night affair. We could have taken a flight for the same money but would have gotten us in at a poor time to arrive. We like to get to places in the daylight if possible and then find a safe place to land. The ferry is more like a little cruise ship that locals take to have a little holiday fun. It is not a US or first world type of cruise ship. Being probably 50 years old with rooms on the utilitarian side, but just fine for us. So we were the only “Gringos” on the boat, just like we like it! They had a little entertainment, band, dancers and even a magician! We enjoyed to trip, dinner buffet and had a good nights sleep, albeit in separate small beds. We woke up to breakfast buffet and arrived in port the next morning. The downtown area looked pretty sketchy and we had read that one should be cautious in Santa Domingo. We found an old guy offering us a taxi, he looked harmless so we headed out to the parking lot with him, to find his “taxi’ was his personal car and had seen better days. No air conditioning, cracked windshield, tired everything, but he got us to the bus station. When we arrived at the bus he TOLD us to get on as the bus was just leaving. He stopped it for us and we waved goodbye to our new friend. The bus was packed, this was no tourist bus but a locals bus, old and cramped. We felt right at home. The temps were not too bad, in the eighties, but a little warm with no A/C or bathroom. Hopefully it will not take that long to get to the place we were headed. We had read about places in the Dominican. There are several “All Inclusive” resorts on the east coast, so we avoid those. But up north there is a small area called Las Terrenas. It boasts empty beaches, few big hotels, and a very multicultural experience, sounded like us. We arrived safely with our Airbnb sending a taxi to pick us up. Good thing because the little station was crowded with people and moto taxis competing to get fares. A moto taxi is a small motorcycle (typical 150cc). You just get on the back carrying what you can for a fare of $1 to $2. Full size taxis are few and far between. Arriving at our new HOME we were greeted and made to feel at home. We had a fairly large place, definitely a second world standard, but a good bed, hot water shower and a pool and veranda, just like we like it. And two large Rhodesian Ridgebacks to keep us safe. Stay tuned for more of our Dominican adventure. Addendum: A little delayed getting this posted, it is now March 23rd. We rented a quad to get around town and see a bit out of walking distance. All of the rental places wanted over $1,000 a month, not much of a break off the daily rate of $45. I posted a notice on one of the local F.B. forums and got the name of a guy who rents his out. So we got one four $400. Seemed like a great deal, except the guy said he would drop it off to us and then canceled the date and time to pick it up several times. I offered to take a taxi to his place but he said he would prefer to drop it off. So we finally get it and out four wheeling we go whoopie, except it broke the second day we had it. Took him a couple days to fix it and get it back to us. It had been leaking oil, but he said don’t worry about it as it just leaked a little. I told him it sounded bad, rattled a lot, he says it was just low on oil. Next day the engine blew up and we had to push the dam thing in heavy traffic. Then he tells us it’s our fault because we must have over reeved it (couldn’t have been the fact that it had probably ran out of oil a few times). So we were out $350 as he had given us a $50 discount due to it being delayed on arrival. So now we still needed one. Leiann was not interested in a scooter as the motorcycle traffic here is crazy, bikes flying between cars and each other pulling wheelie’s. So we end up finding another one for $600 (at a dealer) this time, old but has now worked fine for nearly two months. We are often out late to music events so it is nice to have to get back home, not to mention the grocery store run. After being told that there is little to no live music in town we have been able to find some and help promote more. I have been taking bass lessons for a local who speaks little English and my Spanish is terrible, but we have fun. Samana Santa (the holy week in Latin America) is coming up on April 1. We have been warned that is it total loco here that week, don’t expect there to be any money in the ATM’s, grocery stored will be picked clean, no place to park anything, bodies every ware as all of the Dominican Republic all come here for the week. Soooo, we are taking a trip to the capital port of Santa Domingo for the week, everyone says it will be a ghost town as everyone will come here. So we will post some more of that visit next. We have decided to make a side trip over to our home away from home La Paz, Mexico in May as we have many friends there. Stay tuned.