Second Vacation this Month!

We enjoyed another week’s vacation this month. Dan came without Jenny because she needed to be at work. We missed you Jenny. Beverly and Jessica took a week off from school for their own personal Spring Break. We enjoy a beautiful Spring here in the Dominican Republic during the winter months. Both the Walkers and Dan and Beverly and Jessica were blessed with great beach weather. It didn’t rain and spoil their sunbathing although it wouldn’t impact swimming much.

Our guests wanted to focus on the beach. That is always an excellent choice here. We first went to Juan Dolio, found pretty shells and coral and eased into the snorkeling. Then we decided the next day to drive further to Bayahibe which had been highly recommended. On the way we stopped in La Romana to visit El Artisano. This place originated with one man’s metal art which he sold to make a living. He began with tin cans and tin snips. He gradually built a factory and offered training to youth who needed to turn their lives around. He tells a tale of three boys the police brought to him because they were always getting into trouble. Two became highly skilled and still work in his factory. The other one didn’t want to work and went back to his old life. The factory enjoys working on special projects for the big hotels and for customers around the world. They will take your sketch and turn it into heavy metal art. The factory is on one side of the street and the store and school is on the other. They sell furniture and paintings and metal sculptures and all sorts of crafts. The school is open free of charge to the youth who live in the area. There are also art classes for adults. It is a lovely building with great stuff of many varieties. Lewis is tired of going there but I like it a lot. Beverly trying on a mask that is suitable for "Carnaval" - a big party in Latin American countries near the end of February.

We found what we thought was Bayahibe and lots of hotels but we had trouble finding access to the beach. Finally someone told us to drive to the end of a dirt road and turn right. We did and came to a very lovely beach. Turns out we were in Dominicus but we were very happy to be there. We could rent a beach umbrella and as many lounge chairs as we wanted and the water was as clear as on Catalina Island. It was beautiful. Dan had brought the book Inkheart so I enjoyed relaxing and reading in the shade. The rest of our group splashed and snorkeled and worked on their tans. It was a wonderful day. We decided that we wanted to come back so we looked around for a place to stay. We found a great all inclusive resort and decided to splurge but their reservation desk was closed. They told us to come back the next day and make a reservation when they opened at 9:00 AM. We called at 9:00 while were still traveling and they told us that they were full and had no room for us. Fortunately, we looked around and found a great apartment in Bayahibe we could rent for far less money. A German family has built a small apartment building, lives on the second floor and rents out the rest of the apartments to people on vacation. The restaurant right near the beach in Dominicus had surprisingly good food and we had a great time. At dinnertime we asked around and found the first restaurant built in Bayahibe. It sits on the shoreline with a nice dining room but also there are tables on the sand right next to the water. We watched the sun go down and the waitress spent time and patience talking to us about their community. They have lights shining on the water so we could see small fish swimming just a few feet away. The food was delicious and the setting was wonderful. And I didn't bring my camera. Agh! In Bayahibe and Dominicus we spent lots of time on the beach, took breaks to walk through the gift shops and eat and thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing time.

We also went to the Cueva Maravillosa. This is a very large cave, discovered by a Boy Scout troop early in the 19^th Century which contains Taino paintings. The Tainos were the original inhabitants who welcomed Christopher Columbus to the new world. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long until there was lots of conflict between the two groups and most of the Tainos were killed. We learned that their culture included the belief that the head of a dead person needed to be removed so the spirit could leave the body and be reincarnated. He told us that one group also buried the favorite wife (alive) when the husband was buried. Our guide explained the meaning of some of the symbols (many remain a mystery) and told us that the stalagmites and stalactites grow at the rate of one centimeter every 100 years. As they grow toward one another, some become columns. The cave is protected by the government and a private company has purchased the rights to give tours. They have built stairs, handrails, motion activated lighting and there is even an elevator to take you back to the surface after the tour. They added marble flooring in one huge cavern suitable for formal events. It is beautiful but the guide says that it fills a foot deep with water in heavy rain. It was cool and we could see tree roots snaking across the ceiling. Every once in a while a drip would fall on your head and the walkways were wet. We were told that a damp cave is a live cave and continues to grow. It is home to thousands of bats and was a very interesting place to visit.

Jessica was hit by a bad cold during her vacation but she was a brave soldier and still enjoyed her vacation. Thank you for coming Dan and Beverly. We are grateful that we had time to spend together and lovely places to see. We live in a beautiful world and are happy to be together and experience fun times. Is anyone else able to come?

Don't show the photo below to the children. This is not typical missionary behavior. (After they serve their first mission they will really appreciate their senior missions.)

We did hold a great fireside in Gazcue on Sunday evening. It was wonderful because Yrisenia, the Stake Specialist did such a good job of inviting all of the young people to come and prepared all of the priesthood leaders who spoke. Yea, one person has caught the vision and is doing all she can to help! We still have a long ways to go with other specialists.

The internet has not been functioning since the middle of last week. I hate to be cut off! When this goes up you will know we are connected to the world again. No. We are still frustrated with no internet, but came back to the office at night to blog.

Love, Grandma/Mom/Jeri

February is Vacation Month

We love it when we have to take a vacation! Most of the Idaho Walker family (Randy, Susan, Alyssa, Rachel and Lydia) spent a week with us at the beginning of February. Sarah vacationed with the Evans family. They enjoyed her company but most of the clan spent most of the week with the flu. The week was not a vacation for Nancy. Or the rest of you either I suppose. We had enough fun for you all. The weather was kind, the Walkers were easy to please, and everyone loved the beach.

A Christmas present arrived with the Walkers. Thank you so much for the wonderful book! My favorite subject so beautifully presented. Thank you Nancy for putting it together. I will show it to all of you when we return.

The beach was the favored destination. We live very close to the ocean but a beach with sand where you can enter the water is 45 minutes away. We spent two days, four hours away at the north east corner of our island on the peninsula called Samaná. We went to Las Terrenas and stayed in a rental vacation condo. It was great. There was a beautiful pool with a hot tub and the beach was just across a dirt road. The water was less clear and there were fewer shells than at Juan Dolio but it had palm trees for the girls to climb (harder than they thought) warmer water than California beaches (even in the summer) and a lot less crowded, even though this is the busy season. The Atlantic Ocean is on the north side of our island so now the Walkers have visited both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. We walked around the town, visited several gift shops, watched a man make peanut brittle, talked to the parrots that were for sale (they didn´t talk back) and bought fresh bread to eat for breakfast. It was a beautiful setting in which to play Dominos and Take 2 and spend time together.

The next morning we went to the small town of Limon and rode horses to see an amazing waterfall. Two men and two boys went with us. I was grateful that they took such good care of us. The two young men rode behind the saddles with Lydia and Alyssa. Lydia would need help during the journey and Alyssa’s horse was able to carry them both. We first rode at the edge of the highway along a steep curve and I was fearful that cars would not be able to see us but we made it safely. Then we rode through a neighborhood of tiny wooden houses and down to the river. Obviously this path is used a great deal by people going to see the waterfall but it was a bit tricky. It was very steep going up and down and very rocky as well as muddy. We crossed the river in two places. I got wet way past my ankles even on horseback. I was glad Lydia had someone with her but everyone did very well. I found that it was impossible to take focused photos on horseback but my camera survived the experience and I have a few shots worth keeping. Grandpa and I declined the last leg of the journey walking down to the face of the waterfall. When they returned I was very glad that I stayed put because the teenager carried everyone across the river except Randy. It was an extremely steep and slippery climb. The two men walked the entire way in their tall rubber boots. I hope they received decent pay for their labor. There are not a lot of jobs available in this area. I suppose it is a good opportunity to make money for their family. The boys said that they go to school in the afternoons. Of course there was an opportunity to purchase souvenirs at the top and Randy bought his girls each a necklace.

Turned out that the favorite beach was the closest to home. The southern side of the island faces the Caribbean Sea. Juan Dolio Beach is where the Arellanos visited as well. We were a bit further east this time and found fewer sea anemones (better for your feet) and more shells (fun to take home and share). No one in our group was interested in fresh seafood but we saw a boat pull up and the man clean and cut his catch. No one came by with horses but we had had our fill of horseback riding at Limon. Danae had shared her snorkeling equipment so everyone could see the underwater sea life and find a few medium sized shells and some broken large shells. We found lots and lots of small shells. The sun was hot and the breeze was cool and the water was refreshing. We went on three different days. Not many beach opportunities are available in Idaho.

We enjoyed visiting the Botanical Gardens in Santo Domingo. We rode a “train” and found that the gardens are pretty extensive. We saw a bride and groom having their photos taken in the Japanese Garden and Alyssa and Rachel did their gymnastic routine for me. They are both brave and strong and coordinated.

The girls were pleased that their Primary teacher on Sunday spoke both English and Spanish. She grew up in Blackfoot with Spanish speaking parents, went to Guatemala as a teacher and married there. His work brought their family to the Dominican Republic last year. One of our first weeks here she was giving a talk in church and had her husband read a scripture for her. I couldn’t understand why someone who sounded like a native Spanish speaker had someone else read for her. She told me later that she never learned the verb forms that are in the scriptures in Spanish and wasn’t sure she would pronounce them correctly. I didn’t know whether I should feel comforted or even more frustrated with Spanish verbs. So Alyssa, Rachel and Lydia got to listen to their class lesson in both English and Spanish so everyone could understand.

When Susan and Randy went to the temple we went to the park across the street. No beautiful lawns in this park, no grass at all, but there are trees with vines strong enough to swing from. I haven't seen jungle vines in a park before. There was also a stage that the girls put to good use with an impromptu play about a brave mouse.

Another thing we enjoyed was going to El Canuco Restaurant. The food is typically Dominican, rice, chicken, pork, bread, fruit. Good but not exciting. But the music and dancing are very fun. There is a drum and a scrapey thing that are traditional instruments. I suppose that it was the Meringue that they were dancing most of the time. The highlight is when one of the girls plants the ball of her foot on the top of the narrow neck of a bottle and the guy spins her around and around and around. It is quite impressive. All of the dancers involve the diners. Lydia loved the dancing and her Dad danced with her for several numbers until the performers wanted a turn and danced with her as well. All of the girls participated and were taught some new dance steps and took turns playing the guira. The drum is called a tombora. We had a great time and stayed long enough to watch the bottle dance for the second time.

We have worked really hard to get stuff done and are ready for our second vacation beginning Sunday evening. We welcome Dan and Beverly and Jessica! Hope they will enjoy their week with us and also go home with good memories of this beautiful country and the lovely people who live here.

Love, Grandma Pettingill