Places to go off POP with two elderly people?

Well, this is a great morning, because it is the start of a day that was never going to happen:
My parents will arrive from ZRH-MIA at POP this afternoon. This alone may not seem big news until one realizes that my father is almost 88 years old, frail and plagued by Alzheimer-Levi.
But my Mom really and dearly need some time off and we finally decided that it was also a good way to escape the Swiss mountain winter to come here an relax for almost 2 months.
They will stay with a personal help at one of the finest local (Puerto Plata) AI's, so she won't even have to concern herself about anything.
It all took quite a bit of organization and balls from their side, but it's "ON".

Anyway, I don't want to bore y'all with my family's adventures.
The question is:
Where can we go? What can we do?
My dad uses a wheel chair but I have a covered double cabin pick-up truck, so we can reach most locations well equipped.

I would love to hear about most anything and especially not leave out nature and local traditions related attractions.

We will definitely do the teleferico, maybe Ocean World, go to "el rio" and brew some sancocho with my Dominican family, go see "la fortaleza" and the malecon of mi Puelto Plata lindo (sadly we'll have to leave out the central park of POP as it's under re-construction, but I'll showcase our brand spanking new roundabout ).
I was wondering if it would seem doable to do a whale watching expedition to Samana (or are there any closer points). Do any know if the boats doing these tours can handle loading somebody on a wheel chair?

Thanks! ... J-D.

Well, we all would... except her. It's a conscience thing... old love and the denial of his condition. Being an Alzheimer-Levi mix, he can at times "seem" to be quite lucid and then fall into absence or go erratic. It's a though cookie to crack... if she could leave him alone (with the care taker) she could also could have found the courage to hand him over to a professional care facility, one or two years ago... It's a family thing... always 'till the bitter end.

So, while the help will give her peace of mind to sleep her hours and also sometimes enjoy a meal alone or at her pace, if we go anywhere, it will be "incoporate", in other words "the full monty".

I can handle that... I just need options and ideas which may be doable.

And Marco, yes, that's the plan... heck I might even arrange for you to get an audition.

The Malecon is ON.
Teleferico also.
El rio and the kids and "to'o el meneo", is booked too
and Kathy's mom is already shopping for the right ingredients for a great sancocho.



Thanks for all your kind thoughts!

... J-D.

marliejaneca said:

I have to agree with the bolded part.

My grandmother had Alzheimers as well. She would become agitated when out of her familiar surroundings ( mind you that would encompass the whole trip!)

This is not to say that you can't take him places, but certainly small trips to surrounding attractions would give you the peace of mind that you can just leave and get back to the hotel quickly if need be.

Of course, I realize that this advice is not what you are asking for! You would like a list of places to go which you have not already mentioned, and since you are the only one who knows your father and what stage he is in, you will be able to figure this out on your own.

I think for those of us who have had to be a caregiver to someone with Alzheimers, we tend to jump in and give advice as it has affected us so dramatically. Sorry if we are off base in adding our comments, but just know that you have our support - it is one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with.

Marlie

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Nooo, you are welcome... your intentions are good.
He tires rapidly... that's also his age, but he seems to decay when bored and enjoy seeing things.

... J-D.

BushBaby said:

Hmmm, Being 88 years young & with Alzheimers he sounds just like his son!:cheeky:! Why not do what his son loves? Go to the Malecon for a drink & watch all the attractive girls go by?? :ermm: irate: :tired:

Seriously J-D, I think the Whale watching would be good for your Mom but question the road conditions as being suitable for your Dad. Pot holes are the order of the day once past Sabaneta due to the recent rains! Have a word with Kim Beddall (her details are on this board somewhere) & ask her about wheelchair facilities on the boats. I would think a two day trip might be more sensible for your Dad though!

Cabarete beach for an evening meal?
A trip to Jarabacoa to see the moutainous area?
A trip round the cutural centres & museums at Santiago?

My Mother (84) enjoyed Ocean World so that should please both parents - Dad can go win all the jackpots at the Casino too!!!

Have fun - we expect to see something of you during their stay!! ~ Grahame.

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You mean, we'd be better off taking him whale watching on Pedro Clisante at nite in Sosua?

Hey, I could drop him off at your place some day... you two could talk about the good ol' times! I know you Brits just love buffing up your French!

Cabarete beach supper is a good addition to the list, thanks!

... J-D.

Lambada said:

Would he be interested in watching/participating in artisan crafts? Watching the jewellery makers make jewellery, or learning how to roll a cigar? If you know some of the Haitian painters why not commission a portrait of your Dad? It won't look like what you'd expect in a portrait but it would give him 1-1 contact with the same artist over several days of the 'sitting' and when completed you could hang it in your home and your Dad would know there was a lasting momento of the holiday in front of you every day. Haitian painter because he & your Dad could both communicate in French (unless your Dad has Spanish as well?) And how about a visit to Hogar de Ancianos up on the main road going in the direction of Costambar? Then that could lead to a discussion of facilities for the elderly in the DR as compared to Switzerland. If he used to be interested in cars or driving take him to the quietest (!) gomero/talleres you can find so he can watch how they make mufflers here............ All of these things are very different to how they're done in his organised homeland, but in small doses and on a lucid day they could actually get him involved in some way, advising perhaps? Likewise, I don't know what he did in his working life, but if it was possible to visit a company/factory which does the same thing here he might find that interesting. Course, if he was an airline pilot, that wouldn't be possible..........

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Thanks for a whole new line of activities, Ma'm.
Do we have any cigar rolling factories around Cabarete to POP... I'd be glad to smoke a cigar my old man's rolled! It'd be a once in a life time experience for both.
Until last time I saw him he was happy to give technical advise to most anybody and in any field! He was going to revolutionize the approaches taken to most anything, actually.

Thanks! ... J-D.

Lambada said:

There used to be a lady cigar roller in the tourist shop on corner of Separacion & 12 de Julio, diagonally across from the Post Office. Could still be there, I just don't go into tourist shops very often. If your Dad is a technological wizard JD he is going to have a field day here: I would think any factory would be of immense interest (& producing either 'Sacrebleu!' or 'Vive la difference' ). The milk factory (I think that's what it is) behind Silverio Messon supermarket, the electricity planta towards Fort San Felipe end of Malecon, the Free Zone factories near Costambar, the port if you can pull it off (parts are restricted under the new international agreements), maybe the paint factory. Have you considered also taking them to Maimon for fish lunch with the locals and a little wander through the nearby communities? He might like to see a barrio you can drive through in the daytime like El Javillar or Gregorio Luperon where he wouldn't need to get out of the vehicle.

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Yes, Maimon was / is on my list of to do things, I forgot to mention. Nobody visits me without being dragged out there .
Barrio life experiences are pre-guaranteed... but more on the Sosua side.
I wil try to screen the Zona Franca factories and see if there's anything we can really visit and that would get his heart rate up. He likes seeing machines.
The port? I don't know yet. But I am trying to gain access to the military base in Cangrejos-La Union.

Thanks for all the good ideas with a new slant.
... J-D.

Thanks Grahame for the kind offer. YES, it's tue, since I am not touristy inclined at all, I would almost need a tourist guide to guide me thru that side of the commercial jungle.
Or we'll go out and buy a cut off cachemba [sp?] and roll our own on Ginnie's lap?

... J-D.