Day 13

The reality that it was our last couple days at Blau Natura Park resort, we plotted our course…by this time we were so relaxed and downright lazy, that meant planning two goals instead of one for the day!  I wanted to find a set of wooden dominoes hand-made in the Dominican – we saw them at the resort gift shop but we thought one more trip to the market would be fun.  After breakfast, we wandered up the wooden path, through a shady lane and out the security gate to San Juan.  The sun was very hot on our shoulders.  As we neared the market, a new face greeted us to invite us into his shop.  We were mostly interested in connecting with Mario and acquiring the domino set.  The honour code is such that if you ask for a particular person, they find him and bow to the customer’s wish. 

Someone ran to find Mario-he shared his work hours between two shops.  We browsed around and found what we were looking for-but we weren’t here just to purchase but to reconnect with Mario and say our good-byes.

“My friend!”  Mario extended his hand to shake in greeting. He smiled warmly and we made small talk.  We told him we’d be leaving on Monday so wanted to see him before we left.  Then we began the dance of haggling over the souvenir I wanted.  “How many you want?  Better deal with more.”  He wasn’t open to much give and take so we ended up spending more per set than at the resort gift shop.  Oh, well!  It’s all about relationship. 

When we concluded our deal, he escorted us out the side door, but introduced us to “Tony” who was also an evangelical believer and they invited us to sit in the shade on lawn chairs to visit.  Tony had a Spanish Bible in his lap.  We chatted with him a while and his English was very good.  At first he shared cliché things about Christianity.  But after some time he opened up more about his past and his testimony in coming to Christ after a motorcycle accident without a helmet.  We had noticed some scars on the left side of his face.  Then he shared that his wife, Luce, had not received Jesus yet and they had three teenaged sons.  (He also had a daughter in university from before this marriage.) 

While sitting there, Mario brought 3 or 4 other men who shook our hands.  Apparently these also were believers so we met quite a few through Mario.  One guy pulled up an over-turned plastic five-gallon pail, “Where you from?”  I said, “Canada.”  I noticed his baseball cap had a maple leaf emblem on it!  So we conversed briefly.   His comment to me was, “You guys are different than other tourists.  You talk to us!”  Walter and Tony were quite engaged in their conversation, so the other guys came and left.  But it was a neat gathering; reminded us of visiting at a wake on a reserve in Canada with comfortable, easy going conversation and the importance of spending time and building relationship. 

Before we left for the resort, Walter had the privilege of praying with Tony.  He seemed to appreciate that gesture and we shook hands.  Mario saw us leaving and came to give us good-bye hugs.  We also assured him we’d continue to pray for him and his children in light of his marriage break-up.  We left our new brothers at the “Dominican Walmart”.

The sun beat down even hotter on our return walk so we longed for the coolness of the air conditioning.  But the housekeeper was just beginning our room so we stopped in the lounge for cold drinks.  We sat enjoying the ducks and flamingos . Then a group of guys sat at the wicker chairs next to us.  They were having fun and making hilarious and witty comments.   The bantering had us almost laughing out loud! 

As we stood to leave-I thought twenty minutes of eavesdropping may be a bit rude on our part-Walter let them know we had enjoyed their bantering and wondered if they were all doctors.   They were from various fields of the medical profession on a medical mission to the Dominican from the Chicago area.  Their mission was just over and they were at the resort to debrief before heading back to the U.S.  They included us in some experiences but mostly just needed some laugh therapy! We left them grinning and giggling to ourselves.

And back to the beach for our last sailing appointment.  We got out easily enough but the waves were quite choppy.  Walter had burned the fronts of his feet and shins the day before, so was wearing socks in his sandals to cover the burns.  I’m sure we looked like the tourists that we were: but we were thoroughly living in the moment, sailing on the ocean and counting our blessings.

As we brought in the sailboat and returned our lifejackets, we hoped for a chance to connect with the Barnabas at the booth.  He was a Pentecostal brother and he and Walter made a connection, as well.  Things were busy at the rental booth, so we didn’t chat long.  Then we went to read again on the beach.  Before we’d been there long, Louisjean headed our way.  Half an hour went by in a blink!  He not only knew his Bible but was knowledgeable about the history and politics of the island.  I had Walter and Louisjean pose together for a picture and promised to send it to him through Facebook.  Then he had to get back to business.

One more connection happened that afternoon with the two young couples we had met.  It was nice to hear their activities and compare notes on the resort.  We were all going back to Winnipeg on the same flight Monday. 

Dinner was as the “Media Luna”, the steakhouse a la carte restaurant.  The entrance was draped in red and white cloth, with a palm frond arbor woven in an archway.  Candles were glowing, set in brown bags along the sidewalk.  Would the bags burn?  It looked likely!

The hosts greeted us with beverages and beef ka-bob.  We were led to a private table overlooking the pond.  The waiters were all charming and attentive.  We ordered our steaks medium rare with Walter choosing onion soup while I had potato skins.  Everything was romantic and classy…until the Russian family we had seen at the pool and the buffet had some difficulty with their little girl.  She was an only child, cute but completely spoiled.  Part way through our meal, this girl began whining.  We couldn’t understand what they were saying, but the parents were definitely losing the battle.  At one point, the five year old’s lungs hit a decibel that made the hairs on our necks stand up!  Finally, the parents left, with screaming child in tow.  We breathed a sigh of relief.  Settling back into our chairs to finish our delicious steaks, we had just begun to relax when we heard the scream from behind us again.  I craned around to see the blonde girl, on the floor beside their table, crying and calling for her mommy!  Her parents were outside on the sidewalk calling her name.  They got pretty firm and stern and finally took her away.  Wow!  We finished our desserts (I had banana fritters with ice cream and chocolate drizzle, Walter enjoyed strawberry cheesecake) in blissful peace.

The ocean beckoned to us and we strolled along the shore in the moonlight.  Virtually no one was out as it was dark and security guards patrolled the beach. I pulled my shawl over my shoulders, shivering in the night breeze but we relished the experience of one of our last walks on the beach.