Travels with Anita: November 2021

Saturday November 6, 2021 Las Terrenas Dominican Republic

On our last Friday in Santo Domingo, our grandchildren got home from school a little early so we all went downstairs to the pool area for the afternoon. The next morning we all drove to a park called Mirador where the street is closed for about 5 km. It’s a great place for people to walk, run, bike and play different sports. On the edge of the park we had lunch at a little restaurant that sells nothing but chicharones (deep fried hunks of pork with skin attached). Very tasty.

On Sunday, Zack, Maia, Noah, Anita and I got up early and drove to the Santo Domingo zoo while Annie went biking. The drive was through a less affluent area so we saw lots of abandoned cars and other signs of a less fortunate city life. The zoo has exotic animals like lions, tigers, camels, hippos, rhinos and so on plus a children’s area with more monkeys, reptiles and other animals and a play area. It wasn’t too busy but, as usual, by 11:30 the heat and humidity were taking their toll so we went back home for lunch and an afternoon in the air conditioning.

On Monday morning, we said our goodbyes to Noah before he went to school. Maia was studying online again because one of her teachers had tested positive for Covid. Being restricted to online learning has happened to her a number of times. (Fortunately she was back in school by Thursday).

Around 10:30 am we loaded our stuff into Zack’s car and he drove us to Las Terrenas. It’s a 3 hour drive on good toll roads. One way, the tolls cost about 1100 pesos (about $22 CDN) so by the time a taxi would drive from Santo Domingo, pick someone up and drive back there would be $44 in tolls plus 6 hours worth of gas at approximately Canadian prices. For that drive the taxi owner would normally charge $160 to $180 US. There doesn’t seem to be much cash left for the driver. Anyway, once we were out of the traffic congestion of Santo Domingo, we went through green countryside and “moist forest” that only got more beautiful as we approached Las Terrenas.

Las Terrenas has 2 main one way streets that run north-south toward the beach. The business area of the town is mostly on those two streets. Then there are a lot of 3 storey apartment hotels and small cottages along the malecon or road that runs east-west along the ocean. Our apartment is in a small complex called La Fenice at the eastern edge of town right across the road from the beach. To the west of La Fenice, the beach is quite narrow at high tide but just steps away to the east is Playa Punta Popy, a large public sandy point. It’s a popular swimming and sunbathing spot. Beyond that is beautiful empty beach lined with palm trees for kilometres. We’re really happy with our location. Our condo is costing us about $82 CDN per day for 7 weeks. That includes a cleaner coming once a week. Generally, we find we’re spending about 2x what we would in Ecuador but less than half of what we would for similar services in Canada.

We had contacted the property managers on WhatsApp to let them know we were here. They sent us a code for the lockbox so we could get the keys and let ourselves in. We have a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 terrace apartment on the 2nd and 3rd (top) floors of a 6 unit building. There are about 9 such buildings in the complex. While we settled in, Zack took a walk along the beach to sightsee. He found lots of restaurants and a little shop not too far away where he bought some cold beer.

After we enjoyed happy hour on the large upstairs terrace, we walked across the road for drinks and dinner. Most of the restaurants are on the south side of the road but have tables and umbrellas on the beach side. The waiters go back and forth across the road. It’s a little noisy with all the motorbikes and ATVs going by but it’s great dining right by the ocean waves. We spent about 2500 pesos ($50 CDN) on drinks and fried chicken with “patatas fritas” (French fries).

The next morning, Zack left early to find a surf beach before heading back to Santo Domingo. Over the last few days, we’ve been exploring the town. There are two supermarkets, the Lindo, which is a chain from France, and the Super Pola. Both will deliver. We carried a few groceries home in our backpacks from the Lindo one day and tried the Super Pola the next day. We really loaded up at the Super Pola, paid by credit card and got free delivery to our door about 40 minutes later. Good system. There’s also an app called Komida which allows us to order from the supermarkets and many restaurants online and get delivery. We haven’t tried it yet but we will.

We were told about a good little fruit and vegetable shop. The storefront is about 10 feet wide and the shop is about 40 feet deep with fresh produce on shelves lining both sides. It can be a little hectic but the produce and prices are very good. There’s also a French bakery about a 15 minute walk from our condo where we can get fresh baguettes every couple of days for about 60 pesos ($1.25 CDN).

On Tuesday night we dined at a slightly more upscale Italian restaurant, Le Tre Caravelle, with a 2nd floor terrace overlooking the malecon. The food was great and portions were large. With wine and beer we spent about $65 CDN. This is about 2x what we’re used to in Ecuador but probably half of what we’d pay in Ottawa. Twice now we’ve dined at Urecano, a little Cuban owned restaurant right beside La Fenice. Last night, we each had a really good mojito and split a tasty burger and fries for a total of 1100 pesos (about $22 CDN). They have a lot of Cuban dishes on the menu that we’ll have to try. We think we’ll be there a lot. Next to that is a pizza place that has a good reputation. We won’t go hungry. We’ll have dinner at home sometimes but it’s also very convenient to go out.

We’re getting into our routine of rising early, Pilates exercise, coffee and breakfast on the terrace and then an hour walk along the malecon or into town to pick up any supplies. After lunch we often stroll along the deserted beach to the east and stop to bob about in the warm water for a long time and enjoy the sun. When we get back we sometimes float in the pool for a while. Then we get cleaned up, enjoy happy hour on the terrace while the sun goes down and often walk somewhere nearby for dinner. Life is good today.