Monday, February 4 (lunes, 4 de febrero)

Caribbean World Series (Serie del Caribe)

Three of the six rounds of the Caribbean World Series are finished and las Aguilas de Cibaenas, (representing the Dominican Republic), are in 1st place. Three more wins would bring the Caribbean title home to the Dominican Republic and the people around here will once again be in the streets celebrating.

Last night las Aguilas defeated las Gigantes de Carolina, the Puerto Rican champion, by a score of 12-0. As I am writing this las Aguilas lead los Tigres de Aragua of Venezuela 4-1 in the seventh inning of today's game.

This is one of the many pages in the newspaper today devoted to last night's game.

I was thinking today, being a year-round baseball fan, I have two favorite teams. From April through October my life is all about the St. Louis Cardinals. From November through February, I switch to las Aguilas de Cibaenas. If las Aguilas go on to win the CWS, both of my teams will be World Series Champions this year. A baseball year to remember for sure!

Favorites ... Best place in Sosua to get fresh fruit and vegetables, in my opinion, is the little store in Plaza Sosua just before you reach Colmado Yogelis. It is very small and if you are not looking for it you might miss it. But, do go in there as the fruit is fresh and cheap.

Today, before my novia and I went to the beach, I stopped by the little store for oranges, mandarin oranges (tangerines) and bananas. I bought five oranges, five large mandarin oranges and three bananas for $40 pesos.

At the beach there is a man walking around selling mandarin oranges. He has them tied together in groups of six and tries to sell them all at the same time for $160 pesos. If you want to buy less than that amount, he will tell you he can't sell them individually. Thats a pile of (?"!@#$%).

The last time we went to the beach I tried to buy two mandarine oranges from him. He didn't want to sell me two of course. I told him I live here and that I wanted two not six. I told him I would pay him $20 pesos for two mandarin oranges.

It took me 15 minutes of haggling to convince him I wasn't a tourist and I was not going to fall for his marketing ploy. Finally I told him we no longer wanted to buy the mandarin oranges and at that point he finally did sell me two for the price I offered.

If you are going to the beach and like my girlfriend and I, you like to eat fruit at the beach, it might be worth a trip to this little store before you go.

A Bartering Tip ... On the street leading down to the beach and all along the back of the beach there are many little shops, all selling basically the same things. Tourists like to browse these shops for souvenirs. There is artwork, cheap jewelry, towels, swimsuits, little carved statues, sunglasses, beach towels and things of this nature.

If you think the used car salesmen in the United States employ the hard sell, let me assure they do not in any way compare to what you have to endure from the Dominicans and Haitians who work in these shops. Once you even turn your head and look in the direction of their shop they descend on you.

Remember the golden word in the Dominican Republic...NO!

Let's say you want to buy a medium size oil painting as an example.

I know that the merchants have less than $500 pesos tied up in one of these pieces of art. I have several of these in my apartments in the states and here in Sosua and never pay more than $300 pesos for a small one and $500 pesos for a medium to large cuadro.

If you find something you like and ask the price, he will quote you a price that is ridiculous and totally out of the ballpark for what the item is worth.

He will probably quote you a price in the $2000 to $3000 peso range. Believe me, his offer will be way out of line. You must be smart enough to know that his first offer is designed to make your counter offer much higher than it might otherwise be.

The rule is your counter offer should be so low that it embarrasses you to make it. This counter offer is very important. Counter his $2000 offer with an offer of $200. As he recovers from his pretended stroke you must stand your ground with a straight face.

After five minutes of histrionics on his part, his next offer should drop down to between $500 and $1000 pesos. If he doesn't counter with something closer to what the item is worth, walk away. Your feet are your best bartering tool. Believe me when you turn to walk away, he will drop the price. He won't let you walk away.

Remember, no matter what, you are not going to pay a peso more than $500 for that artwork. Raise your offer slightly. Be ready for him to tell you how sick is daughter is and how poor he is. If you don't fall for this and stand your ground he will probably counter again.

By now you should be within $200 pesos of each other. Offer him $500 and stick to that. He will start haggling with you for $550, then $530 and so on. He is thinking $50 pesos is nothing to you and if he pesters you enough, you will cave in.

Stick to your guns. Bartering over several hundred pesos is an economic thing. Bartering over $50 pesos is a pride thing. After he has put in all that work and gotten close to the sale, he is not going to let a few pesos get in the way. Time to walk away again. At this point you probably have it bought for the price you want.

I hate bartering with these guys, but I am tight with my money and it is a matter of pride not to get taken by them.

They hate bartering with those of us that live down here. I don't understand why they don't realize that everyone of them sell the same thing and it is quite easy to go somewhere else and find the very same item.

This and That

My friend Angela's daughter Grismeris with one of my Aguilas caps.

My Norwegian friend Leif and his fiancee Estefania at Hamburger Paradise. We have a great group of guys who hang out together at the restaurant which is now in the process of being moved across the street.

El Molino market in Puerto Plata. There are hundreds of pairs of shoes there for sale along with everything else imaginable. It is certainly worth an afternoon of browsing.

My friend Griselda walking down the street. She always has a big smile for me. If one of you guys out there wants to meet an attractive girl with a big heart, let me know. Griselda is a keeper.

This is some of my novia's stepfathers work. He is a basket weaver and also weaves these interior blinds for windows and doorways. Let me know if you are in need of a custom made set of blinds or a basket. He is quite talented.

How cold is it where you are? It is 85 degrees farenheit here.

Angela's oldest daughter Charina with one of her friends. Isn't she beautiful?

My novia Carolina. I love it when she is happy and smiling like this.

My good friend Helmut walking across the street for a conversation. Helmut is my favorite German in Sosua. We have some great conversations at the restaurant or around the pool.

You can buy motorcycles and pasolas at El Molina market in POP.

The beach was awesome today.

The La Cienega gua gua stop. The motoconcho drivers are waiting for the next bus. That is Carolina pretending she doesn't know the crazy gringo across the road taking pictures.

Word For The Day

Listo (leee stow) ... ready

If you travel about on the motoconchos you can tell the driver you are on safely with your feet on the footbars by saying listo (ready when you are).

By the way, I hope you know that you always get onto and off the moto from the left side. Just like riding a horse. That is unless you want a Dominican tattoo from the exhaust pipe on the right side.

La Vida Aqui Es Bueno ... Mas Luego!