Onto Terrenas

s We are now in Las Terrenas, our second and last destination in the DR. Today is our third day here; we will be here 12 nights total. This is the second time we have been to Las Terrenas, and the same place we stayed last time. I probably said before, in a previous post, that it is rare for us to stay in the same place twice. We like to explore different places. There are so many places I'd like to go, and also so many I'd like to go back to. I have begun to acknowledge that I will never go to all the places I'd like to visit. Also, so many places seem overrun by tourism that I might not even like visiting them anymore. This VRBO house is unusual in that it is on the main street of the town. The front door is on the street. But the back door gate, through a garden, opens directly onto the beach. It feels like a secret garden opening into a different world. it is apparently the only house in the. town that is directly on the beach. We don't have the spectacular view we had in Cabarete, with the waves rushing almost up to our building. But we still can hear the waves from here, from the bedroom, and the garden. And the beach is low key. There are the dozen or so beach restaurants that we remember from a few years ago, most of them with tables in the sand. No need to wear shoes to dinner, which was also true in Cabarete. I'd be hard pressed to say which place I like the best, we have been happy with both. I'm kind of glad this place wasn't available the first few days we wanted to be here, this way we got to experience both. Last time we spent a few days in Santo Domingo. The hotel we stayed at was historic and charming, but I didn't care too much for the city. The first night here we chose a restaurant about halfway down the stretch along the beach. I think it was a one person operation. A delightful woman welcomed us, took our order, brought the food. I am guessing she also cooked it. Loring had chicken and I had pasta with shrimp in an Alfredo type sauce. Delicious but way too much to eat. I had the second part for lunch today. I may not want any supper! Our pattern is to have breakfast and lunch here, and dinner out. We bought yogurt, granola, bananas, cheese, crackers, cucumber and tomato at a couple of small grocery stores. Our routine was similar in Cabarete except for the sumptuous breakfasts they served. There is a French bakery a few doors down from us. A little incongruous. They have fruit tartes, croissants, various breads, and a bunch of other pastries. The first afternoon we just surveyed the place and said we'd be back in the morning. Next morning L went out early and brought back a baguette and an almond croissant. The croissant was so big and covered with almonds and powdered sugar that I couldn't make out the crescent shape and had to ask the woman what it was! I can't say the pastries are as good as in a French bakery, but I am not complaining! A beautiful beach, a garden and outdoor living room, and French pastries, what more could one want? L went to the bakery again this am and brought home another baguette, a strawberry tarte, and a delicious macaroon. We haven't had the tarte yet, I'll let you know how it is later. Our dinners last night were a wonderful ceviche and a fish filet. There was a choice of ceviches, and two styles, traditional and Thai! I order the mixed Thai, which was marinated in sesame oil and coconut. But pretty sure what I got was the traditional. That's ok. I'll go back another night for the Thai. Loring has gone for long swims every day, as he always does in beach environments. I have gone in for long dips every day, not always true for me. I like calm oceans, with gentle waves. Happily, that's been the case in both locations here. I go in with my underwater mp3 player and dance around in the waves for, I don't know, maybe a half hour? It's hard to estimate time here. Today I listened to Eminem, Debbie Harry, Bruce, the Chicks and more. I think if people are watching me in the water they must wonder what the hell I am doing. And speaking of watching people, we were really entertained this afternoon watching two young women at the edge of the water striking poses and taking selfies and pictures of each other. Loring said they'd already been there for about half an hour before I came out. There are a few kite surfers here, but nowhere like the number of ones in Cabarete. I think the beach they all take off from there is even called Kite Beach. We think a lot of them must have been local, because they all came out late in the afternoon, perhaps after work? Also, we've noticed a number of local children in both places, often without adults, which seems so nice. Not something you'd find in the States. The kids in both places seemed to appear at about 3 o'clock which would mean after school. Yesterday, two little girls came up to us speaking in Spanish that we couldn't understand. They seemed to be asking for something. Then one of them went into a recited monologe which was really two parts of a dialog she'd learned, ie " How are you, sir? I am fine, how are you? And then they both struck frozen poses. It was rather odd; probably some kind of game that we couldnt understand. Yesterday there was one sole kite surfer off the beach, really close to us in the water. . We were actually a little concerned that he might get tio close and we'd get caught in his cord. Well, I've almost run out of things to tell you about, and Loring is hinting that it's time to play cards. And also have our rum cocktails. So I will stop here. On to the next event. TBC.