All the different political parties are out in full force this week. They play deafening music as they set up their posts in the parks, plazas and street corners. People waving their flags, yelling, dancing and showing their support for their chosen candidate.

They drive around with large trucks loaded down with speakers. Not just a few speakers but the truck beds are filled with giant speakers playing as loud as they possible are able. No important if people and babies are sleeping, resting comfortably in their homes, or hanging out on the street. The speakers are no respecter of persons. It is so loud that I cannot hear the tv in my own home. Teli, the dog, runs for cover. My windows have vibrated a few times. I cannot believe how loud these speakers are.

Here are a few videos I took out my window.

This morning after I took Teli for her morning walk and was settling down to work a bit I heard from the street “Cereza, cereza” as the vendor was pushing his cart down the street. I wanted some of this yummy fruit. So I yelled out the window down three floors for him to wait.

I grabbed my cash and bounded…well not bounded but walk briskly…down the stairs. I heard Teli barking her “where are you mommy” bark because I didn’t even tell her I was going out and I didn’t say goodbye. But I had no time to mess around. The vendor awaited.

So I got his large tin can full two times. $30 pesos per can. Then I was back up the steps with my loot.

Teli was at the door greeting me like I had been gone for hours instead of minutes. I love my dog.

Cerezas for me taste like a mix between a cherry and cranberry. Tart and sweet. They are high in in ascorbic acid and have the highest vitamin C content among all the cultivated fruits. Here people drink the juice when they have a cold or sickness.

I made me some juice and am now enjoying munching on the fruit. Teli will not eat it which is good. More for me! Isn’t it just too beautiful?

It finally happened. They are ready for pickin’ and eatin’. Oh yeah!

I cannot reach the trees from the park. All the mangoes fall into the Marine base grounds so I got this young boy that lives somewhere around there to get me some. I gave him a large bag from the Colmado and Teli (my dog) and I waited for Jimmy to return.

He came back in about 20 minutes with a bag full of mangoes! They smelt sooo good. I gave him some money for it. He was happy and so was I.

I was told that Dominican dogs love mangoes. My Teli is a Dominican dog but she turns her nose up at them. I kept trying to give her one and she finally gave me the look telling me “Thats enough! I do not want a stupid MANGO!”

Now I had to figure out what to do with all these sticky fibrous amazing fruits. Posted on Facebook to ask friends and I took a few of their ideas.

I made mango salsa. It was really good. I would have never thought that a sweet and a spicy would go together.

I made mango ice milk ice cream and froze it.

I made mango smoothie shakes which I love with any fruit I have at the time.

I made mango bread.

Today Ill make a mango enchilada.

Who knows what tomorrow mango goodies we will come up with…

This was my breakfast – All Things Mango. By the way, that is not mango coffee. I had to put my foot down someplace.

The roads are filling with water. The pigeon is hanging out on the rooftop.

Politur abandons their motorbike and takes refuge in the Larimar Museum while the poor bike drowns.

The roads are wet. The large bus stops to wait out the downpour. The pigeon watches….

The motor bike passes, the humans are huddled under the porch of the Palacio de Borgellá hiding from the wetness. The pigeon is enjoying a free shower.

If you had a choice and you were not afraid of having to be “adult” or “grown-up” or “responsible” where would you rather be? Under the porch with the frightened hoards of humans or the pigeon on the rooftop enjoying the feeling of the water flowing down your back? I am with the bird!

I was nervous about going down to the Malecon in Santo Domingo to watch and take pictures. A few years ago my camera was stolen right out of my hand. I cannot afford this to happen each year. I had asked a friend to come and be my Guachiman but he could not make it. He said his daughter was visiting and in their barrio, near to Zona Colonial, they were having big problems with thieves and tigres coming in from other areas hoping to take advantage of and rob non-suspecting spectators. He said there were even gun shots. So he did not make it to be the guarding of my camera.

When I got to the spot where I wanted to take pictures I scoped the area for the police and there was a man inside the fence. I asked him how I could get inside and explained to him about my fears. He let me come in to the press area and take pictures. I was so grateful. He kept laughing at me at first when I lifted the camera to take a picture. I would check around me, making sure it was safe. He kept telling me it was not necessary and that I was safe inside the fence.

I stayed and took pictures and videos until close to dusk. I wanted to be back home in my own area before dark hit. I was so glad I left when I did. It took me forever to go 2 blocks. The people were jammed in tight. There was no sneaking through the crowds. I just pushed forward trying not to bump into too many people. I really am not into crowds.

One masked man stopped me and told me not to go down one street as there was trouble happening there. I asked what was happening but he was talking so fast in Spanish I could not keep up with his words.

I got home and all was safe. I only got hit on the butt once by a little boy with his rubber ball called a vejiga. I did come close a few times to being whipped with one of the latigo snapping masked creatures. I took Teli, The Dominican Dog, out for her evening walkabout. Came home and went to work uploading all the pictures and videos to share with the world.

Enjoy all the pictures of Carnaval 2012.

This video is one of my favorite troupes. They made me laugh they looked so silly.
Carnaval Dominicano 2012 Africanas on Stilts

Here are lins to all the videos I took on You Tube. Please be cautious, some of these videos are very LOUD so take care with the speakers. ENJOY!
*Carnival 2012 Gaga Esperanza and Los Liones del Diablo
*Carnival Dominicano 2012 – Ucave Carnaval Vegano
*Carnival Dominicano 2012 – Haiti
*Carnaval Republica Dominicana 2012 – Sparkle Men
*Dominican Republic Carnival 2012 – The Group From Samana
*Carnaval Dominicano 2012 – Los Brujos
*Carnaval Dominican Republic 2012 – Lechones and Facebook
*Carnival Dominicano 2012 – Ali Baba and Other Groups
*Carnival 2012 Los Pintao Barahona
*Carnaval Dominicano 2012 Africanas on Stilts
*Roba la Gallina, Dominican Republic Carnival 2012
*Republica Dominicana Carnaval 2012 Los Indios and Fire Blower
*Carnaval Dominicano 2012 Dragon, Devil and Cavemen
*Gaga de Boca Chica Carnaval Dominicano 2012
*Dominican Republic Carnival 2012 Diablo Cojuelos

As usual, I undid Telis leash so she could run up and down the stairs to the 3rd floor and back down. She likes to play and it also tires her out. This time she was just starting to bound up the stairs when she stopped abruptly and came back to me looking a bit perplexed. She would not go up the stairs and she kept looking at me as if something was wrong.

then I saw it. Two glowing eyes on the 3rd step and a black outline. First thing I thought was that it was a rat. I backed away to the door and Teli just stood there at my side. Now what were we to do. i could no see what was there. It was not moving. I was not going to go up the steps and have something bite me on my ankle as I passed…oh what a delemma.

I got out my cellphone and opened it for a little light. There for sure was something sitting on the stairs. I took out my camera to maybe use the flash to see what it was just sitting on the stairs. All this time the brave Teli was sitting at my side to afraid to go up the stairs.

I snapped three pictures before I realized it was a bird. It still did not move even after the flash so I went up the stairs as close to the opposite wall as possible. Teli followed running past the black bird just sitting on the stairs.

We made it into the house with no more incidences. But what was that bird doing sitting there on the stairs?

The next morning I was looking for it and has some sunflower seeds to feed it but it was gone. The only clue that it was there was the pictures I took and a few bird droppings on the stairs.

I remember when I moved in and could not figure out why there was no hot water in the kitchen when the shower had hot water. I was checking pipes to see if maybe it was turned off or was broken. I saw nothing. So I called the landlord. She spoke a little English and I spoke very little Spanish at that time. I tried to explain to her that the hot water was broken. She went in the shower and checked and said it was working fine. I took her into the kitchen and turned on the hot water facet and nothing came out. She started laughing at me. I had no idea what was funny. No water came out and she would have to fix it. Was that funny? Then she explained it all to me. The ole imaginary light came on above my head. The only place in the apartment that had hot water was the shower. Hardly anyone had hot water throughout the house. This is the way it is in Dominican Republic.

So when I moved to the Colonial Zone to my new apartment there was no hot water at all. But then half, or more than half, the time there was no water at all. I learned to bucket shower and run a hose from the facet in the street to get water. Then the last place I had we had water in the morning only so it was shower early when there was water pressure or bucket shower. If the water was too clod just had to heat some on the stove.

Now I moved to this new apartment. There is almost always water. The pressure is good. So I guess I am a bit spoiled now. I do not want to heat water on the stove when it is really cold. I want to take a real shower with hot water. So, for my Christmas present from my parents this year, I got hot water in my shower.

It was too expensive to put in a hot water heater tank and we could not figure out all the pipes in this old building. So I opted for the shower head with the heat coils inside. It was the easiest way to install hot water.

My shower is really small. If I drop the soap and ave to stoop down to get it I have to get out and pick it up. Its about the size of a refrigerator box and the ceiling is really low too. So it took some finagling to get the shower head in where I didn’t have to take a shower on my knees.

My Fit-it, repair man Rudolf, is wonderful. He came on time to check out the situation and to see what he could do to get me hot water. He thought he could get me a hot water tank but I did not have enough funds for that. So he said he could fix the pipe in the shower so I could stand underneath and shower in comfort.

He got all the pipe in. Got the heater hooked up. turned it on and pop! The fuse blew. When he checked the fuse box the fuse was way to small to handle the wattage so he went and got a higher amperage fuse and put it in. When he had the fuse box open I was totally amazed with what I saw inside. Whoever did the electric work had the wiring all electric taped together. I never in my life saw anything like that before. But I shouldn’t really be surprised with the way stuff is done here. Yet every time I see the wiring, in houses, businesses and in the streets I am just amazed.

So I got my hot water all hooked up thanks to Rudolf and took my first hot shower in my apartment. I was so content. I will not use it all the time. Only when it is cold and there is no sun to heat the water in the pipes. Electric here is very expensive and I do not want to run up my bill. But it is so nice to know that I gave hot water when I want it. Thanks to my mommy and daddy for the Christmas present and to Rudolf for fixing it for me.

By the way, I highly recommend Rudolf if you need anything done. His business is called Xpress Dominicana – (check the link for more information about the Handy Man Services) Maintenance and Handyman Services. He does Repairs & Maintenance, Handyman Service, Major & Minor repairs, Painting, Re-Refurbishments & Upgrades, Project Co-Ordinations, Moving & Packing Services, Point Of Sale Installations, Prepare Home for Sale or Auction. Commercial & Residential Cleaning Service. He speaks English which was a really big help. My Teli, The Dominican Dog, really liked him too! His contact information is: 829-665-4144, 829-474-4144 xpressdominicana@gmail.com. Tell him Janette, The Dominicana Gringa sent you!

Enjoy your day as Teli (The Dominican Dog) and I will be enjoying ours.

The above picture has the Caribbean Sea circled. It is the same color gray as the sky. It is difficult to distinguish where one ends and the other begins. This is the view out my Colonial Zone balcony window to the right.

I love the sky with its evil looking clouds. I put some arrows to point out the points of interest. This is the view out my Zona Colonial balcony window to the left. I hope the pointers pointing the points make their point. Ok, I am being just plain silly but I hope I made my point. Anyhow, here is a little picture tour or my window view.
Red arrow – The oldest cathedral in the Americas, The Cathedral de Santa Maria.
Teal arrow – The Hard Rock Cafe sign.
Blue arrow – The Palacio de Borgellá.
Pink arrow – ChuChu Colons Coke-a-Cola train.
Purple arrow – A human watchman.
Yellow arrow – La Casa del Sacramento. The place where the Archbishop of the Dominican Republic hangs out.

This is the view out my balcony window straight ahead.

If I live to be that age I can only hope that I have her energy.

Happy birthday Leonida Artiles. I hope you have as many more birthdays as you want. If I was there I would buy you a beer and maybe dance a little Bachata with you! You go girl!