Back in the New York groove
Quoting Ace Frehley is probably a good way to start this blog entry. I have not posted in a bit, as I have been busy working on our websites and the power has been less than reliable once again. Some interesting stuff has been happening lately. . . . .such as:
Return of the Ladrones
Recently while sleeping we were woken up by guys in the street screaming for us to open the door to the bulding by buzzing them in on the intercom. They claimed to be cops, but uniforms down here are pretty ragged or sometimes non existant. Cari told me not to buzz in anybody! She called the cops. Then a car came down the street and the guys in the street took off running! That of course lead us to believe they were thieves trying to scam us into letting them in the building! They returned shortly and were yelling for us to open the door. They said there were 4 thieves on the roof. Little by little more people were showing up, one guy carrying an axe and they were all yelling at me to open the damn door! Cari was having trouble getting the cops to answer, and I was freaking out. I woke up her son Joan and put him in the back bedroom. I spent what felt like eternity running back and forth from the back bedroom to see the status of the police coming and the patio door to see if anybody was close to breaking in.
I was so nervous, my mouth was "bone dry". I told cari that if people got in to lock herself and her son in the bedroom, move the bed against the door and not to open it for anybody. I was going to do my best to hold them off with a kitchen knife and frying pan! In retrospect. . . . . more thna just a bit dumb!
Then at one point a motor cycle pulls up. . . . .people start running. .. . .cops jump off the bike, draw pistols and give chase! They apparently shot at one guy and he stopped in his tracks. They dragged him back to the bike, cuffed him and then beat the crap out of him. He was knocked to the ground by a few really good punches to the face in an effort to make him talk. They also stuck a sawed off in his face and threatened to blow his brains out.
They threw him on the back of a motorcycle and left!!!! Now the angry mob returns and I'm thinking it is his friends and they are PISSED! Back to extreme panic mode! Cari is still calling the cops and finally a cop car pulls up. We already knew these guys from previous visits. They pull guns, we buzz them in and they search the building and rooftops etc.
I head downstairs and find out 2 of the guys screaming to get let in were in fact security guards for the government building on the corner. There were also some very concerned neighbors out there. One guy was sleeping in a car and saw the ladrone climb a utility cable onto my balcony. As I was sleeping on the floor right by the glass door, he skipped my place and climbed up to the 3rd floor trying to pry the sliding glass door off it's tracks, at the apartment of 2 Italian guys living there.
Our neighborhood is really the second oldest part of Santo Domingo, and is close to the Zona Colonial which is the oldest city in the new world. Our building is brand spanking new, Bright white paint job. Living there are myself with Cari and Joan, the 2 Italians, and a French couple on the 3rd floor. A brand new building in an older area, chock full of foreigners apparently makes a great target for cat burglars!
The guy they caught is going away for about 3 years and they are trying to make him "talk" as to the where abouts of his buddys and possibly my laptop etc. We offered 5,000 pesos reward to the cops if they recover my laptop. That is about 100 bucks, but about 3 months salary for these cops so they will do their best!
I am back in New York for a bit and spoke to Cari last night. The owner of the building was there all day installing locked metal gates at every entrance etc. Deadbolts on the doors etc. No cat burglars could get in now, so Cari can sleep better. . . . . .we hope!
Chillin on the Malecon. . . . .
On a much lighter note, because we were basically broke and also because we weren't crazy about leaving the apartment alone at night, we didn't go out much the last few weeks I was down there. Luckily we discovered a few ways to have a good time, very cheaply and more importantly within walking distance of our place.
There is a fairly big park right around the corner. The park is right on the Malecon. The Malecon is the main drag right on the water. There is no beach in Santo Domingo, just some rocks along the coast that the water gently "crashes" into. I took Joan there one afternoon while his Mom was busy taking more photos of girls for www.latinadominicana.com He was having a blast riding the swings etc. Then he tried these excersise rings and in the middle of trying a "backflip" fell to the ground. . . . .face first. Poor kid was crying, had sand stuck to his face and I was sure Mom would blame me. . . .. .so . . . . ..what to do? What else. . . . . take him for Ice Cream!
There is a "Helados Bon" right on the Malecon half a block from the park so we went there for Ice Cream. He loved it. hanging out just us "guys" eating Ice Cream etc.
He told Mom all about our "great" day later that evening. So the next day, we all went to the park. This time he brought his baseball glove and bat etc. We all played a bit of baseball together and Joan loved it. He was digging a day out with his "family". Every time he hit the ball anywhere he would jump up and down and scream "home ron". . . ."home run" and do a little dance!
Sunday is "Malecon Libre" day. That means they close the Malecon to vehicles and it becomes a great pedestrian mall for families to bike ride, roller skate, fly kites etc etc etc . When it got too dark to play more baseball, we all went to Helados Bon again and stuffed our faces on Ice Cream, then walked down the Malecon to see what was happening. They had clowns, pop corn machines, vendors selling snacks and toys, beer, little kiosks selling rum, pizza, hot dogs etc.
We were going to go to "la ceniza" which usually serves the coldest beer on the planet but Cari wanted to check out "Adrian's". The only restaurant on the caribbean side of the Malecon. We got a nice table with a great view and drank some Ice Cold Grande Presidentes! Joan of course had Frozen Lemonades. Joan enjoyed playing with the Parrots they have at Adrian's. We spent a few hours there and wound up moving inside for some snacks. Cari ordered Mofongo and Joan and I split some pork ribs. Cari said the Mofongo was good. The ribs were different. No BBQ sauce etc. Just flavored with Garlic and grilled. Not bad really, just different. Our bill came to about 1,000 pesos which was about 20 bucks with the current exchange rate. Not bad for a few hours with a great view and ice cold beer etc. "Adrian's" will become a new hang out for us I am sure. It is not very far from our apartment and is near the Juragua Hotel so it is easily walkable. Walks down the Malecon are great reminders of why I decided to live in Santo Domingo for a while. With the location of our new apartment I am sure we will do this more often.
The last night I was in Santo Domingo, we returned to the park. Joan has learned how to say "let's go to the park" in English so I am sure we will be there quite a bit! This time we brought his nerf football, and we all played football for a while. They don't really play football in the DR, so Joan had asked me about this game he had seen me watch with a funny shaped ball and guys pounding the daylights out of each other. "football" was actually one of the first english words he learned. I took him to both Champions sports bar in the Juragua and Tony Romas to watch games on sunday afternoons. We have our little "guys day out" to watch football.
After playing football, we walked across the Malecon and sat down at a little plastic table and chairs outside of this shack that sells food,beer and rum etc. We hung out there, a few yards from the Caribbean, drinking beer taking pictures and talking about my trip back to New York. It was very mellow and a great way to end my stay in Santo Domingo. Total cost for this was under 5 bucks. I'm talking 5 large beers, a plate of some dominican dish for Cari and Joan and a soda plus bottle of water for Joan. I can see us returning to this "shack" or any of the others just like it on a regular basis!
Return of the Ladrones
Recently while sleeping we were woken up by guys in the street screaming for us to open the door to the bulding by buzzing them in on the intercom. They claimed to be cops, but uniforms down here are pretty ragged or sometimes non existant. Cari told me not to buzz in anybody! She called the cops. Then a car came down the street and the guys in the street took off running! That of course lead us to believe they were thieves trying to scam us into letting them in the building! They returned shortly and were yelling for us to open the door. They said there were 4 thieves on the roof. Little by little more people were showing up, one guy carrying an axe and they were all yelling at me to open the damn door! Cari was having trouble getting the cops to answer, and I was freaking out. I woke up her son Joan and put him in the back bedroom. I spent what felt like eternity running back and forth from the back bedroom to see the status of the police coming and the patio door to see if anybody was close to breaking in.
I was so nervous, my mouth was "bone dry". I told cari that if people got in to lock herself and her son in the bedroom, move the bed against the door and not to open it for anybody. I was going to do my best to hold them off with a kitchen knife and frying pan! In retrospect. . . . . more thna just a bit dumb!
Then at one point a motor cycle pulls up. . . . .people start running. .. . .cops jump off the bike, draw pistols and give chase! They apparently shot at one guy and he stopped in his tracks. They dragged him back to the bike, cuffed him and then beat the crap out of him. He was knocked to the ground by a few really good punches to the face in an effort to make him talk. They also stuck a sawed off in his face and threatened to blow his brains out.
They threw him on the back of a motorcycle and left!!!! Now the angry mob returns and I'm thinking it is his friends and they are PISSED! Back to extreme panic mode! Cari is still calling the cops and finally a cop car pulls up. We already knew these guys from previous visits. They pull guns, we buzz them in and they search the building and rooftops etc.
I head downstairs and find out 2 of the guys screaming to get let in were in fact security guards for the government building on the corner. There were also some very concerned neighbors out there. One guy was sleeping in a car and saw the ladrone climb a utility cable onto my balcony. As I was sleeping on the floor right by the glass door, he skipped my place and climbed up to the 3rd floor trying to pry the sliding glass door off it's tracks, at the apartment of 2 Italian guys living there.
Our neighborhood is really the second oldest part of Santo Domingo, and is close to the Zona Colonial which is the oldest city in the new world. Our building is brand spanking new, Bright white paint job. Living there are myself with Cari and Joan, the 2 Italians, and a French couple on the 3rd floor. A brand new building in an older area, chock full of foreigners apparently makes a great target for cat burglars!
The guy they caught is going away for about 3 years and they are trying to make him "talk" as to the where abouts of his buddys and possibly my laptop etc. We offered 5,000 pesos reward to the cops if they recover my laptop. That is about 100 bucks, but about 3 months salary for these cops so they will do their best!
I am back in New York for a bit and spoke to Cari last night. The owner of the building was there all day installing locked metal gates at every entrance etc. Deadbolts on the doors etc. No cat burglars could get in now, so Cari can sleep better. . . . . .we hope!
Chillin on the Malecon. . . . .
On a much lighter note, because we were basically broke and also because we weren't crazy about leaving the apartment alone at night, we didn't go out much the last few weeks I was down there. Luckily we discovered a few ways to have a good time, very cheaply and more importantly within walking distance of our place.
There is a fairly big park right around the corner. The park is right on the Malecon. The Malecon is the main drag right on the water. There is no beach in Santo Domingo, just some rocks along the coast that the water gently "crashes" into. I took Joan there one afternoon while his Mom was busy taking more photos of girls for www.latinadominicana.com He was having a blast riding the swings etc. Then he tried these excersise rings and in the middle of trying a "backflip" fell to the ground. . . . .face first. Poor kid was crying, had sand stuck to his face and I was sure Mom would blame me. . . .. .so . . . . ..what to do? What else. . . . . take him for Ice Cream!
There is a "Helados Bon" right on the Malecon half a block from the park so we went there for Ice Cream. He loved it. hanging out just us "guys" eating Ice Cream etc.
He told Mom all about our "great" day later that evening. So the next day, we all went to the park. This time he brought his baseball glove and bat etc. We all played a bit of baseball together and Joan loved it. He was digging a day out with his "family". Every time he hit the ball anywhere he would jump up and down and scream "home ron". . . ."home run" and do a little dance!
Sunday is "Malecon Libre" day. That means they close the Malecon to vehicles and it becomes a great pedestrian mall for families to bike ride, roller skate, fly kites etc etc etc . When it got too dark to play more baseball, we all went to Helados Bon again and stuffed our faces on Ice Cream, then walked down the Malecon to see what was happening. They had clowns, pop corn machines, vendors selling snacks and toys, beer, little kiosks selling rum, pizza, hot dogs etc.
We were going to go to "la ceniza" which usually serves the coldest beer on the planet but Cari wanted to check out "Adrian's". The only restaurant on the caribbean side of the Malecon. We got a nice table with a great view and drank some Ice Cold Grande Presidentes! Joan of course had Frozen Lemonades. Joan enjoyed playing with the Parrots they have at Adrian's. We spent a few hours there and wound up moving inside for some snacks. Cari ordered Mofongo and Joan and I split some pork ribs. Cari said the Mofongo was good. The ribs were different. No BBQ sauce etc. Just flavored with Garlic and grilled. Not bad really, just different. Our bill came to about 1,000 pesos which was about 20 bucks with the current exchange rate. Not bad for a few hours with a great view and ice cold beer etc. "Adrian's" will become a new hang out for us I am sure. It is not very far from our apartment and is near the Juragua Hotel so it is easily walkable. Walks down the Malecon are great reminders of why I decided to live in Santo Domingo for a while. With the location of our new apartment I am sure we will do this more often.
The last night I was in Santo Domingo, we returned to the park. Joan has learned how to say "let's go to the park" in English so I am sure we will be there quite a bit! This time we brought his nerf football, and we all played football for a while. They don't really play football in the DR, so Joan had asked me about this game he had seen me watch with a funny shaped ball and guys pounding the daylights out of each other. "football" was actually one of the first english words he learned. I took him to both Champions sports bar in the Juragua and Tony Romas to watch games on sunday afternoons. We have our little "guys day out" to watch football.
After playing football, we walked across the Malecon and sat down at a little plastic table and chairs outside of this shack that sells food,beer and rum etc. We hung out there, a few yards from the Caribbean, drinking beer taking pictures and talking about my trip back to New York. It was very mellow and a great way to end my stay in Santo Domingo. Total cost for this was under 5 bucks. I'm talking 5 large beers, a plate of some dominican dish for Cari and Joan and a soda plus bottle of water for Joan. I can see us returning to this "shack" or any of the others just like it on a regular basis!
posted by rafael at 1/31/2004 05:06:00 PM
