Cabarete - Day 4 (recap)

Finally we wake up to a typical Cabarete day...blue sky, warm waters that are not extreme with crazy storm swell...YAY!   Becky is excited as she is feeling like the conditions match her skill level now that the storm winds and swell have passed the island.  Her and I decide to head down to kite beach and ride from there.  Daniel decides to meet us later in the day by downwinding it from Bozo beach.

I pack Becky's gear down the beach for her...mine is already in a locker at F10.  Here I am with today's outfit, with both Becky's kites strapped to my back.

today's pimpin threads....Yes, this is today's outfit pic that I know you were waiting anxiously to see. ;)

By the time we arrive the wind is picking up, although it is still pretty light.  Most of the kites on the water are 13m-14m kites, but I decide to be optimistic and pump up my 10m...counting on good ol'faithful Cabarete winds to build as the afternoon progresses.

kite beach, Cabarete - day 4

Because it is so lite, my first few runs put me downwind...which require a small walk back up the beach.  Not that I mind, it is just great to be on the water!

It doesn't take too long until the wind is ripping.  I am lit out of my mind on my 10m.  Out near the reef it is rad hitting the flat water between the waves as the roll in...I ride for a good 2 hrs by myself.....then.....

Whoop whoop...here come Daniel Stoner joining me.

Another hour or two passes with the two of us tearing it up, fully lit, depowered even....we are both on our 10m kites, but there are 7m and 8m kites all around us at this point.

I finally decide to head in and take a break.  I know Daniel is running out of days here and that he really wants some pictures of him riding so I grab Becky's new waterproof camera and head out in the surf, treading water, to get pictures.

Of course, once the camera is in the water, all the camera hogs come out to play, so soon it becomes a bit more difficult for Daniel to get in close.  Not that it stops me from grabbing some cool shots of him.  I also get shots of Robinson, the local F-One team rider.

Daniel showing off boosting....

fail.....

watch this.....

as Daniel jumps near shore and put innocent people in danger.... heh heh heh

Pictures of Robinson: local Cabarete F-One team rider

While I am out taking picture, Alberto, the local kid who has taken to helping Becky and I setup and put away out kites each day for about $2 a day, decides to swim out and join me.  He is a really cute kid who is super helpful.  It pretty much kicks ass having a 14 year old kid pump up and then put away our gear for us everyday.  We befriend him and for the most part feed him every day as well.

After a long hard session...Oh, and I forgot to mention that Becky did great today.  Issac, my old instructor, spent time with her and said she was even making it upwind.... "there is nothing more I can teach her" he said, "from now on it's just time on the water." Becky was very glad to hear this....anyways, the three of us (Becky, Daniel, and I) catch a moto back up to Viva Tangerine.

It is pretty much dinner time when we get there...so we all head to our rooms for a quick shower and change.  Of course I always beat Becky...so I do my thing and head to the bar for a drink or two while I am waiting....and as usual Parker and Delany are waiting for us / me.  They join me at the bar, sherlie temples in hand.

There is an amazing glass blower artist doing art near the dining hall and Parker is obsessed with a glass blown Tarantula.  He is doing his best to talk Daniel into seeing that he "really really really could use a glass Tarantula".  Needless to say his dad, Daniel, doesn't see it his way...but being the "cool" guy I am when Becky gets to the bar I decide to go over and get him his glass spider....Parker also get a lesson is driving a hard bargain as $11 is what I pay...$15 is what they wanted. 

Parker happily shows off his glass Tarantula....Daniel is truly scared ;)

Delany is done up like a cat...leftovers from kids club.

Hear me roar!!!! meow.....

We also get to enjoy a local band playing near the bar.  The kids think that they just keep playing the same song over and over....funny! I'll let you decide....

Before we all head to the dining hall for dinner, we decide to get a few picture of us all.  Here is a great one of Anne and Daniel. 

And another great one of Delany and Becky.

It goes without saying that Parker was going to make the picture difficult...so here is what we got.

But needless to say, him and I are buds...even if he won't pose for a picture with me.

Cabarete - Day 3 (recap) Santiago nightlife

After leaving Carolina's house (with a Styrofoam cup of Cuba Libre in hand) we made our way downtown.  Carolina brought a CD of famous tunes redone by local meringue and salsa bands.  In this video you can hear some of that music while Carolina gives me a Spanish lesson on how to pronounce the name of the CD compilation.

The city is quite beautiful at night.  So many neon signs, people everywhere....a city that is alive after dark.  I loved it immediately.

After passing by a few colorful casinos in the downtown area, we arrive to our first stop which is at a monument that sits on a hill in the middle of the city over looking all of Santiago.  Alex performs one of the worst parking jobs I have ever seen after which we all pile out for pictures.  We even leave his car (halfway in the middle of the road) and head on up the road to get a view of the city at night.

Here is some video of us at the car taking pictures.  you really get to see how busy it is at night here.  Also in the video towards the end you will see the guard standing there with his machine gun....at least we know we won't get mugged here!

After walking to the top of the hill near the base of the monument, we are greeted with an amazing view of the city at night.

(view of the bars we visit a bit later) click for larger view

We also get a few group pictures taken.

Alex, Becky,me, Carolina stand in front of the cityscape

group shot with monumento in back of us....Styrofoam cups still in hand (Thanks Indy)

After taking pictures, we decide to head back to our car, hop in for a quick trip to the main strip of neon encrusted bars, in order to save ourselves a drunken walk back to our current parking spot.  The drive only took us a few minutes, as we were going to hit up the bars in the previous picture which reside at the bottom of the hill below the monumento. 

With all the neon lights outlining all the bars, the night life is just great...almost magical when walking around at night.  Just don't forget your street smarts as we have heard tourist get mugged at night fairly often.  Good thing we have two locals with us....although Indy is walking around with a $2000 camera around his neck which does not make anyone of us feel too secure.

Santiago night lights

almost magical...... click for larger view

We finally settle on a little bar that has a local band playing with plenty of people dancing.  We spend some time to having drinks and getting pictures.  Indy gets a ton of shots....and man oh man are the women here beautiful.  Check out this picture of the band playing and tell me that the singer (chick) isn't bangin!

Of course Becky was looking mighty fine this evening as well..

yep...I married a hottie!!!

Needless to say there was much drinking by all.  We even run into a friend of Carolina's from college who just happens to be from New York.  Here is a video of us all at the club.

Here are some more pics of our night.

Around 1am we decide that we are tired, and since Alex has a 2 hr drive in front of us to get back to Cabarete (Carolina did offer for us to stay at her place, but we wanted to get back to our all-inclusive), so we took Carolina back home so she could get her car and head back out on the town. 

We drive back.  I would like to tell you that the whole countryside of D.R. is beautiful at night...and it very well may be, but both Becky and I slept most of the way back, so honestly I have no clue.  We arrive at the Viva around 4am.

Anyways, I fall asleep content with having seen the two largest cities in the D.R. and vowing to be kiteboarding in the morning.   

Cabarete - Day 3 (recap) Road Trip!

I forgot to mention that on our previous trip to go say hi to Alex at F10, he mentioned to us that he would be going cross country to Santa Domingo to get furniture and appliances for his newly remodeled condo at the F10 kite club.  His wife Mary, child Maya, and him would all be moving in within a week or two.  Of course Becky and I jumped at a chance to see more of the Dominican Republic, so at 7:30am we were waiting outside of the Viva Tangerine to be picked up by Alex.

He arrived and after a quick stop by F10 to pick up Indy, a Estonian kiter staying at the kite club, we were off and on our way.

We took the scenic route which is over 3 mountains.  Here is the first picture that we took when we stopped to check out the view.  Amazing countryside to say the least!

click picture for large view

On thing that was particularly noticeable when driving through the country was how well taken care of the streets and countryside are.  I guess both Becky and I were expecting something much more similar to Mexico, where trash lines every street, but it was not like this at all.  While those living in the countryside were obviously extremely poor, they all seemed to take great pride, and thus great care, of the land, the side of the street, and the general appearance of their surroundings.  We did not see trash piled up anywhere.

On the way there we stopped at a little candy shop along side of a country road where all sweets were made with white cocoa instead of sugar.  Regardless it was too sweet for my pallet.

So, after 4 hrs of driving we finally made it to Santa Domingo only to be greeted with a closed road and all kinds of traffic delays because of it.  I got some video of Alex driving into the city.  Mind you that there really aren't many laws that govern driving, so it is pretty much a free-for-all.  I am glad Alex was driving and not me as we were in crazy traffic for at least 2 hrs, just to get 2 km across the city.  By this time we realize as well that a IKEA store has opened up just two weeks earlier...and that is in fact our destination.

traffic gets better around the 1 min mark - Santa Domingo

So we finally arrived at IKEA after fighting traffic for several hours.  When then helped Alex, with a little assistance from a computer, design his new kitchen.  Seeing IKEA virgins, such as Alex, for their first time is quite entertaining...with the endless stream of "oooohhhh, aahhhhhh, wow..."

After 5 hours of designing his kitchen we were finally done.  Starved too, so we ate in the IKEA lunch area.  Here is a picture taken out a window of the downtown Santa Domingo area.

click picture to see the whole image

After finishing up and Alex scheduling a time for IKEA employees to make a trip to his condo in order to make sure everything will fit as planned, we were back in the car and heading out of the city.  One thing I noticed was just how run down Santa Domingo felt.  Too many people, not enough money is what is seemed like to me.  Although maybe all the construction going on gave it that kind of broke down feel as well.

At all the stops guys are running out, cleaning wind shields, trying to hawk goods.  I noticed a guy holding a little bushel of what appeared to be natures lollipops.  I asked Alex about them so he grabbed a bundle off a guy for around 50 cents.  Indy and I really enjoyed them.  Here is a picture or two, and some video of the fruit called "lemoncillo".

bundle of Lemoncillo

Here is a video of me explaining the fruit, and how to eat it.

And here is a picture of me remarking how striking the resemblance of a Lemoncillo is to that of an eyeball.

Along the way, after leaving Santa Domingo far behind,  we decided to stop at a countryside "cafe" where they serve food, drinks and cold beer.  Indy took this picture of us.

Becky and I had made plans to have dinner at the Viva's Mexican restaurant, but with the traffic the way it was, it was obvious that we would not make it back in time, so we decided instead to make a trip to Santiago to have a little fun and meet up with a friend of Alex.  We decide to cool off and meet his friend Carolina by heading to a bowling alley and playing a few rounds.

Santiago or bust!

We arrive, time to show these Dominicans how to bowl

As the caption above reads, the truth is that Indy, our friend from Estonia, was the only one who had never bowled before in his life.  And the funny part is that he ended up being really good.  Here is a picture of Indy and I as we enjoy some really tasty cheese pizza (normally I do not like plain old cheese pizza, but this stuff rocked)!

Indy and I

best cheese pizza ever!

A shot of me bowling...

 As I mentioned it was quite funny that Indy was such a proficient bowler, since he had never done it, while Carolina was pretty horrible and she had bowled before...although not avidly, of that we can be sure.  Here is a gutter ball I caught on video.  I am sure she would be happy to know that I got this on video and i am sharing with the world.  Your welcome Carolina mi amiga!!!

After bowling we all goofed around and took our pictures with a trophy, as if we had been the ones to win it with our stellar scores.

Becky and I bask in the glory

Carolina finds a more unique way to show off her win

So, after 2 hrs of bowling we decide that we must see and experience some of the night life that Santiago has to offer.  Already we can tell that there are less people (1 million instead of 3 million) than Santa Domingo...and more money as the town feels just like any major city in the US.  Clean streets, traffic lights and people obeying them (for the most part) and just a liveliness that we had you to find in the D.R.

We stopped at Carolina's house to drop her car off, let her freshen up, and for a drink of some wicked good rum (Carolina raided her dad's liquor cabinet).

Next stop downtown Santiago!

Day 1 & 2 Cabarete (recap)

Becky and I left at 10pm from Seattle on Monday and arrived in Puerta Plata at 4pm on Tuesday.  Needless to say we were both beat.  We did however have a great dinner with Daniel Stoner, his wife Anne, daughter Delaney, and son Parker.  They are a great family who you will see more of in the next few posts.

After a great dinner we watched a show put on by the Viva Tangerine's sun crew, who always do their best to put on a good show.

When the show ended Becky and I went next door to the Maraja Beach Bar for a drink, and to use their wifi access.  Here is a picture the waitress took of us.

So, while Tuesday was officially my first day...I did not ride until day 2.

And holey moley it was crazy.  The first 2 days there a cyclone system aka tropical storm was moving through the region and because of it the ocean swell was pretty intense.  In fact, both Becky and I started questioning whether last years trip even had flat water as we seemed to remember...or if in fact the waters were crazy, but since we were just learning, maybe we forgot about that in all the hectic sessions that come with learning and lessons.  Not only that, but it was quite a bit darker and gloomier than we remembered as well.

Before riding Becky and I took a walk down to kite beach to see my friend Alex (the owner of F10).  We took Parker and Delaney with us to give Daniel and Anne some much needed alone time and a break from the kids.

Here is a picture of the 3 of us at kite beach.

After my riding session I went for a swim and we tried out Becky's new Pentex camera which is water proof, shock proof, freeze proof....oh, and Ryan proof.  Here is a video of hanging with the kids in the pool.

In the evening we watched another fun show....and the pre-show was Delaney hamming it up on stage....6 going on 16 I tell ya!

Oh, and not to forget one last item of the day...here is my 1st boardshort and rash guard combo worn on day 2. 

Yeah, I make this look good!

Cabarete....I miss you already!

Hola'.  Yes, I am back from Cabarete, and once again I have to apologize for not keeping my blog up to date.  But you know, how can you blame me for unplugging from life and truly just relaxing and getting the most out of all that the Dominican Republic has to offer.

And offer up it did.  I rode 9-10 days of the 14 days Becky and I were there.  One or two of the days I did not ride was just due to being spoiled such that it was 13m weather and I wasn't feeling like riding unless it was 10m or smaller.  Yes, that is definitely the sign of a good kiteboarding vacation.

Also, if you are reading this and you are one of the fellow Seattle / NW riders who gave me shit about heading to Cabarete because the summers here rawk and I was going to miss out on all the action...well, let's compair....I had 12 days of ride-able wind....to your...hrmmmm.....2 or 3 in a two week period.  Eat crow..... because Cabarete kicked ass!

So, to continue, as before I will be updating my blog over the next week or so with a full recap of the trip.  To start you off and to give you a little teaser, posted below are several of the highlights of my trip.  Explanations will follow in future posts, but for now....enjoy!

kiteboarding buddies: Sir Richard Branson, Becky, Me, Laurel Eastman

me and Susi Mai....a major highlight!!!!!

I might also mention that before I left some of the PNW locals were trying to convince me that I need only bring 2 t-shirts, 1 pair of board shorts, flip flops, and one extra pair of shorts for the trip.  I found this quite funny, so I took a picture of my boardshort and rash guard/t-shirt combo most days I was there.....and from the above picture you can see the reason that having enough gear to look good at all times is essential on your kiteboarding vacations! 

I mean who wants to jock on a Susi Mai, Linn Svendsen, or Sjoukje Bredenkamp in dirty, ocean funktified clothes?   Yes, you can see I am smiling because I am next to one of the hottest chicks around, but also because I didn't listen to the stinky Seattle natives when I packed my suitcase!!!

Ahhh.....I miss Cabarete..... :(