wow haven't been here in 5 years...

In July it will be 5 years I haven't posted here.  With the coming of Facebook, Twitter and others of that sort I didn't feel the need to post here.

I got and email today that there was a spam comment left and  that is what brought me here.

If anyone really wants to read this please let me know and I will start it up again. If I don't get comments it will only be facebook where you can read my drivel:)

Hi folks

I know I haven't posted in months but a lot has been going on. First things first, been renovating two condos in Sosua with new windows, doors, Mahogony Kitchens and a/c's. I have bought a lot on the internet about 5 years ago in Cabrera when I was in NY to sell a property. What can I tell ya, I was bored as hell and was surfing ebay which I NEVER do. Saw a property in Cabrera I ended up buying for 7 dollars a m2. Had to pay a surveyor to show my friend where it was. 2000 m2 on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was a beautiful piece but no homes around it. La Catalina is a section of Cabrera where many foreigners live and I originally was going to build a home on that property to live in. Now that I have a home it looks like that is out of the question for now at least. I started work on the property a month ago when they started a new home directly next to the property. They had already build 2 houses behind me and another is half built next to those. It is turning into a decent neiborhood so I decided to make it nice. I started by clearing the land with a crew of Haitians. I then hired the same crew to clear 10 feet all around the property. I built Stone walls in the front with 10 ft high pillars at the entrance and put in Steel Gates that lock. I have been planting flowering shrubs and fruit trees in this 10 feet clearing around the property. I have hired a Haitian worker full time to maintain my house, my small finca and now this property in La Catalina. Today I went to my favorite Plant Nursery Cafe Flor. I was going to buy a truckload (my little SUV) but ended up buying a larger truck load since they are going to deliver for free. I bought a Cherry Tree, a Mango Tree, a striated Orange Tree for juice and a whole bunch of flowering shrubs. It is being delivered tomorrow at 9am and I will get the whole truck load in the ground by mid day hopefully:) I have pictures in my camera but too tired to resize and upload now but will soon. Hasta Pronto!

This is my new baby Goat born 2 weeks ago now. She is the exact same color of her father who was also born on my farm. Had a hiatus at the farm and didn't have and new kids in a while and I was happy when she popped out and was healthy.

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I have a few more pregnant ones running around so in a couple of weeks I expect more good news.

Below is my new baby lamb. I am starting to like the sheep a little more now for some reason. I plan on buying a few females to add to the 1 female and 3 males I already have so I can have more. I went last week into the campo to buy a few but the road was so bad I didn't know if I was going to have to sleep in my car because by the time I finally returned I had an awful time of getting out of mud. . I will return at the end of the month and hopefully the road to the finca where I want to buy some will be open. . Hasta Pronto!

The birds are coming

I have these vulture type birds flying all around the cliffs where I live. My guess is they like riding the currents. They do screw around with Elvis flying low and then running over the cliffs hoping he follows and then get a good meal but he is a little smarter, thankfully. He is getting great excercise now that I have the neighboring cows fenced out chasing these birds when the cows aren't in the neighboring field and he is herding them and harrassing them:) Now instead of "GET THE VACA" it is "Get the Birds" and off he goes. He is getting stronger and stronger now back to chasing animals. . Elvis started his first protection training last week and he hit the stuffed pillow real hard, spit it out and was looking for his agitator. He is going to be money well spent for sure! Most Dominicans and Haitians are scared to death of his agressiveness and his smile:) . Hasta Pronto!

One of my daily Bike Rides

I am still discovering this area so I go every nice day and a lot of day that aren't so nice on my dirt bike up in the mountains, down to the shore to visit beaches and all things to explore the area.

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When I lived in Sosua there were about 15 guys with both dirtbikes and 4 wheelers that would go just about every Sunday which I loved. Haven't met people with dirtbikes here yet so I am doing it by myself which isn't as much fun because I have no other person to laugh at and with yet. I am sure some of my friends will end up coming this way to see the area and I will meet some people here so I will eventually get a group together again. I can't wait but solo it is till it happens.

This is one of three private coves I had discovered in my jeep years ago but the trip in the mountains ended back on the main highway between Cabrera where I live and the next city down the road. So on my way back on the highway I decided to this one on the bike for the first time.

This is a great piece of land with a beach that is a few miles wide and three coves with little beaches as well.

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This is cove number 2.

This is the third and last cove. I love this place and now that I am living closer I will have to remember to pack a lunch and cooler and take the family here one day or many days! Very rarely do I see more than a few people in miles and miles of beach.

This shot is at the ocean side of the cove with the waves splashing up over the short cliff. This is a small Island behind the shack. Not inhabited. . Hasta Pronto!

Bike trip

I stopped on my way home at a few beaches. I ended up back on the main highway somewhere between Cabrera and Nagua. Took a picture where they take tourists on these riduculas jeep Safari which means you get to bounce around on the back of an uncomfortable 5 ton truck and either bake or get wet the whole way:)

You sorry Assed tourists can't figure out on your own you are getting prepackaged BS for a lot of money:) This is near where the River meets the Ocean in La Entrada. This is one of many places here where Colombus first set forth in the New World:) There are at least 3 places here that claim that and since no one is left living we will never know if it was any of the three!

This is the start of the trip going south from my house up into the hills of the north coast. I am actually pretty far up into the hills already maybe 10-12 miles.

This is looking the other way down back towards the ocean. My home is on the first level cliff below but it looks like I am high up when you look from there.

This is my puppy Elvis coming back from a romp in the fields where he was chasing chickens around this morning and this is the bike I took today. It is a Yamaha TW200 and it is a great bike for here doing this kind of riding. Hasta Pronto!

Bee Stings

I went to the small finca in Cabrera to do some cleaning yesterday and must have been stung by 2 bees or hornets or something which was real painful. Also blew up like the Hulk.

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I knew I had a big head but now it even looks like it:)

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I have a picture but don't want the kids to get nightmares. BTW, I am allergic to bee stings so I look worse than others do.

My new bike!

This is the new bike I bought a month or so ago. It is a 2005 Yamaha Midnight Star Silverado 1700 cc Cruiser.

I also have a Yamaha 2007 TW200 on/off road bike but wanted a bike to take on the highway. Needless to say there aren't many bikes of this size here in the DR so it gets a lot of attention.

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This is bigger than I have ever owned or ridden and it took some getting used to. 800 lbs soaking wet is a big mother and I can't imagine what I will do if I ever drop it as I know I can never get the SOB back up by myself and would need 3 men and a boy to help me.

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I took it to Nagua on 3 Kings Day and boy did it draw a crowd!

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Hasta Pronto!

Plans for new Finca

I know many of you think I haven't been doing much because I haven't been blogging but alas, I have.

You will see below pictures of my new finca in Cabrera with the fruits and veggies but here is the basic design of a commercial plaza I am planning for this property.

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This isn't exactly how it will look but it is a start. I also am working on elevations of the front and will post them in a few days along with tweaked versions of this plan.

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Early bird catches the worms I am told:)

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Hasta pronto!

New mini finca in Cabrera

I just sold yesterday a small lot I owned in Sosua on the main Highway. I bought it 3 years ago and paid 30k for it and sold it for 100k. I have a good eye for Real Estate and have always been lucky as well as good.

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After moving to Cabrera I wanted to have a similar piece of property on the main hwy and got a little lucky as the people who owned it used it as a small farm.

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As most of you know I own a small farm in Sosua which is about 15000 m2 or close to 4 acres where I started from Scratch clearing, building stone walls, a farm building, 12000 gallon cistern, a roofed structure in a pasture so the animals can get out of the rain, and planting veggies and fruit trees along with raising Goats and Sheep.

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This is my second farm in Sosua because someone came and offered me STUPID money for the first which I rolled over into another that was three times the size and 5 times as nice. I actually had an offer on the newer finca in Sosua which fell apart as the Russian who wanted it got clipped in the worldwide financial crisis which didn't really bother me as I loved the place. So when I moved to Cabrera, I not only got the Highway property I wanted but I got a small farm which I have been eating beans, plantano, coconuts, bananas, oranges, grapefruit and battata already. This is a bunch of Plantains which will be ready in a few weeks.

One of many huge coconut trees. Too high for me but they fall down and we take them home for the juice inside which maria cooks with.

I have in addition Manzano de Oro, Catania, Mango, Avacados, and much much more. . My girlfriend negotiated this deal and closed the deal with only advice from me. She is finishing a degree in "Infomatica" which I believe is "I T" or information technology but I want her to have the skills to make real money:) I found the property and when I saw the owners were elderly Dominicans I asked my girlfriend to do the deal which she readily agreed. She hired a attorney and a surveyor and although there were a few problems such as having 200 m2 less than the title said completed the deal successfully at a very good price.

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I am sure I can double or triple my money in a year or two on this deal!

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Hasta Pronto!

Some differences between Sosua and Cabrera

Sosua is a tourist town that on any given night will have 200-500 hookers in the streets plying their trade. Although sex for money is different here than in the States it is a bit much for me at times.

Cabrera is NOT a real tourist town although it has what is called "Villa Tourism" where people spend from 5000 to 50,000 US dollars for a week in various villas.

Since we don't get the cheap tourist by the droves the amount of prostitutes is much less although there are some here. The ones here are also way more Low Keyed and hard to know sometimes although I can say the same for Sosua where there are some very nice gals working as prosititutes.

So, the name of the blog is no longer connecting with FantasyLand as it was when I was living in Sosua. It is now relating to the "Ponderosa" with Horse and Little Joe because that is what the difference feels like to me.

Sorry no pics of hookers:)

Hasta Pronto!

Elvis in da house

This fine lad is Elvis. He is a German Shepherd I bought as a pup and if you go back in the blog you will see this guy as a little person. He is actually still a little person at under 8 months old but he is healthy and strong. He was living on my farm in Sosua working with goats and sheep till about 3 weeks ago when I brought him up to Cabrera to protect the house. I had been hearing a lot of stories of robberies before Christmas when things get a bit crazy here in the DR with crime. Haven't heard a thing since and haven't had a problem.

The fellow I bought this guy from also owns the father and mother. The father just finished his Dominican Championship. I plan on showing Elvis as I think he will also do very well in the show ring. I know he is a great specimen because he can run down a sheep in 2 minutes and since this is what they were bred for he must move very well to do it so fast. Movement and looks is what they are judged on so he has both. He is about 70 lbs now although he lost some shape since coming over from the farm and no long works other than protecting the house.

Man the more I look at him the more I like him as a good specimen of the German Shepherd Dog (in Spanish "Pasteur Aleman".

It will be exciting to see what he looks at in 1 year. That's when he will be full grown.

Hasta Pronto!

Ok folks I am back!~

First I would like to wish everyone a very very happy and healthy New Year!

I laid off the blog for several reasons. First my dad died in October which was right in the middle of me moving to Cabrera but I was in NY for 10 days trying to sort things out after the funeral.

I then moved to Cabrera which was a big chore since I didn't actually move much other than personal stuff because I continue to own and rent my condos in Sosua so it was decorating, furnishing and finishing the home as well.

My dad died just before his 93rd birthday. He wasn't taking any medications, was driving and working up until the day he died. He lived a great life and a very interesting life and rejoiced in it totally. He died the perfect death which to me was rapidly without pain, without laying in a hospital bed and happy as a lark.

I spoke with him the night before he died. He had dinner with my sister at friends of theirs and he was elated he didn't have to cook or clean:) He was a pisser up until the final day may he rest in peace!

I have no bad feelings about him nor his death. After my mother passed away about 8 years ago I had a lot of personal time with my dad. He told me then he was going to go quickly and not spend one day in a hospital. My mother spent 6 months in one before her death. We bought and paid for his funeral before my mother passed when we bought and paid for hers. We also did estate planning so there was no big deal other than his car at his death. Well planned for many years and no problems generally associated with this type of thing others worry about.

I have now fully moved in to the new home in Cabrera, have had my first Christmas/New Years holiday here and love the place. As you can see I am now not blogging from Sosualand anymore and have changed the introduction to the blog.

No pictures today but they will follow shortly in the next installments. If you are still reading this give a comment please! Hasta Pronto!