Coco Hotel Sosua

... has goats, chickens, pigs, horses, a donkey, and a few other animals that I am sure I'm forgetting. Driving to this point was around 4 hours, and we were all quite tired when we arrived. We had a lovely meal, and chatted outside until late at night, as it was pleasantly cool in the mountains - a very nice change from the sweltering heat of Juan Dolio! <br><br>The next morning, Matilda, her son, and I went on a little walk around the property, armed with ...

... ed to Laguna Dudu, an unfortunately named but really magical spot. It's a natural pool set at the bottom of 30-40 foot cliffs, with vines and plants hanging down the cliff walls all the way to the water. We were again impressed with the level of investment in tourism infrastructure. One side of the pool has a concrete platform with a ladder going down to the water, and there are several rope swings. When we arrived there were about a dozen locals ...

... for the guy to come the next day, and we walked over to Playa Preciosa, where the waves are usually a little better. It was still pretty bad - he caught a few waves on Thursday, but overall it was a bust.<br><br>We got back to the hotel right in time to have a drink on the terrace and watch the sun set over the ocean. Perfect! We went out for dinner and finally found food that wasn't of animal provenance. I ...

... the next six months.  The<br>comforts of home with the people I love, will surely see me through. That I<br>know for sure-<br>I hope you have all enjoyed the blog.  I have loved sharing some thoughts,<br>albeit probably a bit superficial at times, as feelings are often difficult to<br>retrieve-<br><br>Thank you for following my journey.  <br>Please look for more pictures in the days to come.<br><br>Love,<br><br>Lani<br><br>< !--EndFragment--><br><br><br>

... long he has been at home since the release.  He kept tugging at his ears, so I'm sure he has an ear infection on top of the Dengue.  He was so listless that he couldn't hold his head up for very long, and was unable to smile or reach out for a ball.<br>As we were evaluating him, his father walked in.  Drunk.  When we recommended to the father that he seek medical care ...

... never get dessert,<br>Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,<br>Who watch their parents watch them die.<br>We pray for those who can't find any bread to steal,<br>Who don't have any rooms to clean up,<br>Whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,<br>Whose monsters are real,<br>Whose nightmares come in the daytime.<br>And we pray for those who will eat anything,<br>Who have never seen a dentist,<br ...

... only in underwear.  Sweet kids, but resorting to desperation (pinching others, manipulation, etc.) in order to get attention.  One child kept pinching the little girl I was holding!  So sad!  We will offer a health clinic to them on Thursday afternoon.  They speak mostly Creole, limited Spanish, so communication will be interesting.<br>We are watching Hurricane Bill, who looks like he ...

... from Days 1-4 on this blog, and then, with less than 2 minutes to spare, managed to get it sent out! So I hope my efforts are appreciated! It's after midnight now as I write this and I just heard another bout of rain outside (which didn't seem to last very long). Tomorrow we are going to Ocean World, where all of the kiddies, except for Jonathan, will be swimming with dolphins. Jonathan, on the other hand, will be eaten by a shark tomorrow. (poor guy)

... waves. The huge, stormy waves had made a huge indentation into the sand into the beach so that it had caused about a 3 or 4 foot "wall". (My dad said they will have to groom it when it gets to be swimming weather again.) The beach was closed today - a red flag was erected. It would have been VERY dangerous to go out swimming today! Leanna and I went back to the room after that and we slept. There wasn't nothing else much to do, but I wasn't feeling ...

... any pesos and nothing smaller than a $20 bill in US dollars, but then Leanna had had the "bright" idea to give him a Canadian quarter, just to appease and get rid of him, but he refused it and gave it back to her saying "no bueno, no bueno". Finally, I mustered up the intelligence to say to him "No tengo pesos, solomente dinero Canandian" (I don't have pesos, only Canadian money) and as soon as I said that, he went away!! Finally, we arrived back to the ...