WE'RE HERE...WE'RE HERE !!
...AND SINGING "GOD BLESS AMERICA" EVERY DAY! No, no complaints about dear ole DR, nor the wonderful people - I guess it's just us: too old and 'in a rut' to adjust to life elsewhere.
On December 17 (my birthday!) we just headed home ... seems like we feel young, but can't face the fact that we're not spring chickens any more and ... well, after one week at the Lusitania apartments in Las Galeras (fine, fine place, folks!) we rented a really nice looking, fine 2-bedroom, 2 bath house just a little way off Main Street and agreed with the owner to stay four months. (Fortunately, there was no paper contract, and she was very understanding... so we had no problem leaving so shortly.) Well, I was delighted with the kitchen - it had everything - but it also had ants , armies and armies of them!- impossible to avoid, impossible to exterminate! The owner had used the back yard as a "trash dump" and a man would come around almost everyday and "burn" it - even right after it had rained. Sure, right... duh! So we choked on trashy, smoldering, smoke. Okay. How about no hot water (in this "lovely" house for 350 pesos a month?); and a "trickle" of water for the showers.
Oh, yeah : the screens were in pretty bad shape; witness my legs and arms for that - I'm still scarred! Okay, so it rained and rained and rained; the only paved street is Main Street; we got tired of washing our shoes! which would, then, not dry because of the wet weather. I did some laundry - it hung outdoors for the entire stay! I wanted to make a temporary "home" for us in that lovely house and, of course, wanted to cook some meals. Huh! where does one find the usual foods that are cooked in U.S.?
I found it impossible to prepare a meal - oh, I'm not saying they don't have food, but it's not what us ole geezers usually eat (but if we did, am sure we'd be much healthier!!) Food in restaurants was excellent and, even with the easy prices for meals, we had to watch every penny in order to "make it." Then, of course, the walks to restaurants -- even though short - were mud up to our knees, in the rain. The waters were so rough we couldn't even wade (and we had brought along scooba diving things!); along with that the winds (not "breeze") was colder than a witch's tit!
Also, Ed's anxiety and frustration - especially because he couldn't communicate with people, caused him to go to a doctor ... he had spent a whole lot of time in the bathroom ...!!!!!
Wah, Wah! Simply, we just got chicken to stay ... okay, go ahead and laugh, but this is why I've been saying for so long that "it's great for the young..." 65+ can't hack it. (You young people will understand this when you get up there!) I know you're saying, "Well, why didn't you just go somewhere else ...?" Well, good idea, but the weather was still there, the grocery stores were still no "stocked" ... and, of course, with Ed getting a huge belly ache in his small stomach ... what would you do??
The highlight of the trip, however, was flying into Santiago and having Hillbilly greet us and take care of our needs, showing us some of the wonderful sights, putting us up at a mountain-top resort and taking us to the bus station the next day (for the ride to Las Galeras)... the man is a SAINT!! He is obviously a very prominent man in his city - we saw many signs of his beloved popularity everywhere ... people yelled his name in delight as we passed by here and there and everywhere. A very, very fine man and "person."
We'd still like to go back, though - the place "haunts" you once you've been there. Something about it ... But, next time we'll have to stay at an all inclusive resort - now I know why people do that - even with the disadvatages of THAT, too!
Missed you all, friends, and anxious to get back in here to visit more often. (No, PLEASE don't make fun of us - we're just old and finally have come to realize it - regardless of the young spirit and mind!! LOL!!) Later... Mame
So, folks, we faced the truth about ourselves and decided we just better get ourselves home.
