La Vega

Today the plan is to get the heck out of Santiago. As much as I love it here, this is not the place to be. The COVID infection rate is high here, and there's a possibility (a rumor, really) the government will severely limit travel in and out of the city. According to one of my sources, they've blockaded the city before. I've already canceled the rest of my Airbnb stay and will get ghost this morning.

I heading to a place I've never been, a the city of La Vega. It is 40 minutes south of Santiago, a smaller city. There's a lawyer who lives there and she is smart (obviously) and pretty. She works out and eats healthy, doesn't seem caught up in all the social media nonsense, just works and takes care of her two young sons. I like her vibe. So that's the plan today, at least through the early afternoon. Afterwards I'll either get a room in La Vega or drive to Puerto Plata. It really depends on how I feel. I haven't been sleeping much because of heat, noise, and a restless mind. At some point I'm going to need to tune out for a while and catch up on sleep.

Whe. I do get back tk Puerto Plata, I'll see if I like the apartments being offered by a friend of a friend. If they are cost effective, it's possible I'll rent one. What I don't want, though, is a noisy place, and my buddy says it can get rowdy on weekends. I'd rather pay a bit more for a small "villa" without neighbors. But for now I'll check out the local options.

I want to mention something I observed yesterday that I have to commend the Dominican people on. They are very organized when it comes to enforcing serious mandates. I was standing outside of Bravo, a supermarket, in a long but fast moving line. There were armed men from the military outside the entrance ensuring everyone waited to be allowed in. People were required to enter with a mask. Also, everyone had to use hand sanitizer before walking in. This would never happen in the US, despite the fact it only makes sense to have police and sheriffs enforcing health regulations during a crisis. I guess that explains why the US leads the world in infections.

So here's my thoughts after seeing that display of enforcement... I am probably safer in DR than in Florida. In fact. I read that Florida and Arizona have the worst outbreak in the world going on right now. To be clear, ky statement needs to be offset by the fact I have been running around in public a bit too much the last few days (mask on, but still out and about...). However, assuming I stay my backside in the house more often when I get to Puerto Plata, I could see it being less risky than being in the US where half the people just don't care to wear a mask at all.