Day 52 Luperon DR

Wow thats amazing to say, it feels like its been a slow moving line of time, like a lava flow or a molasses spill. The more I know and see of Luperon and the Dominicans, the less my opinion changes from that first warm, safe, contented, unspoiled beauty. As living on a boat is one(large) kind of compromise, so is Luperon. I will gladly trade the lack of electricity, lack of basic infrastructure, lack of clam sauce for pasta, and bits of garbage and trash for the air conditioners/appliances/plug-in noisemakers, for too much infrastructure, for the McDonalds & Walmarts, and for the overabundance of garbage any day.
Its so easy to become critical until you remember the price paid for each and every convenience.
I can look outside and get a saxophone concert from the sailboat across the way, breathe fresh air (with the exception of the occasional generator cough), feel the Trade Winds and the Land Breezes blow, watch a school of fish cruise by, check out the mangroves for birds and the sound of livestock munching down on some tasty greens, and feel the majestic security of the ring of mountains surrounding the harbor. I am not assaulted by high rise buildings, power lines, pollution, or the buzz of air and commercial sea traffic.
We dinghy into town on Tuesday mornings for Market, and buy fresh, large sized, local produce at amazing prices. Produce grown with no pesticides or chemicals. I have made myself a promise to not buy any more buckets of mangoes(that would be twelve mangoes), armfuls of pineapples(try eight), entire stalks of bananas(too many), or the seven papayas for three dollars.... must resist the temptation. Sometimes they come round to the marinas and docks in pick up trucks loaded full of produce and its amazing to buy pineapples, papayas, mangoes, bananas, limes(limon), squash, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, beans, celery, onions, peppers, tomatoes, lettuces, thyme, cilantro, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes....and while Dominicans live a simple life, with the exception of cell phones, there is no hunger(and no obesity.) I am in love with the local yogurt and homemade queso, pan de agua(water bread) and the coffee grown in the mountains here.
I went to the Hospital last week after not being able to get Rock's insulin at the three local pharmacies in town (getting medications or anything else by mail is another compromise that is gradually starting to work out.) It was an odd feeling to see laundry hanging out of the windows, to know there is a sterilizer there that no one knows how to set up... but the pharmacy is professional, no prescription is required, and running at a brisk (and inexpensive) pace.
I only mention inexpensive because not everything is "cheapy cheapy" here. Gringos say rub your elbow and say "cheapy cheapy" before asking "cuantos pesos?" of any Dominican. I still find this alittle Christopher Columbus Offensive. Just as I find the cost of living here to be low, it is not my primary enjoyment, or reason to be here after 51 days. It reminds me of the greedy Yankees (I am a New Yorker, so I have the right to talk) in South Carolina who just can't resist divulging how much they sold their property in New York for and how cheapy cheapy their gated community, golf course front mansion cost and that they found a New York deli that gets them their bagels and....well its the same everywhere! But it is just the added bonus here, not to be treated like a Tourista (or worse yet, Ugly American!)
Stay tuned for more Luperon adventures, culinary and otherwise. Max and Alma have asked for a Dog's View, as they have not yet given their perspective. That would be a head down, eyes up look coming soon.