Sunday, June 29, 2003
As you may know we do like to keep you up to date on the parasol situation here at Playa Vista because it is so dear to our hearts and the latest is a major breakthrough with Coca-Cola. Unfortunately it comes at a cost of… well, money actually.
We did omit to mention in a previous entry that in addition to daily parasol put-outs we also have four eight-foot diameter parasols which stay out the full 24 hours. Originally supplied by Coca-Cola - thank you very much, but poorly supported thereafter. In spite of them very kindly coming up with 3 bright shiny replacement Coca-Cola canvases for the very sadly faded originals about one and a half years ago (remember we needed four) the intervening period of coaxing, cajoling and then almost begging for just one more yielded a big zero. Until this week that is, when our desperate offer to pay for half the cost of production tempted them out of their reticence. The cheque has been issued, the order has been made and we are now eagerly looking forward to be able to brag about Playa Vista actually now sponsoring Coca-Cola! – The Real Thing!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 02:41 PM CST
Saturday, June 21, 2003
Just in case those of you with pesos investments were getting worried about the situation in the good old DomRep we can bring you some financially reassuring news. The Dominican peso has not only stopped its uncharacteristically rapid descent of late against the US dollar but is now heading back in the other direction. At its worst we heard that it was nudging into the 40s per dollar but is now well back below 28 and expected to recover still more. One of our close financially informed colleagues has reiterated the belief that the Banco Intercontinental (Baninter) scandal lit a blue touch paper but this is being defused by the purchase of a yet bigger bank, Banco Nacional de Crédito (Bancrédito) by the solidly operated León Jimenes Group who among other things successfully control the vast majority of beer sales on the island and of even greater relevance an agreement to support the country from the International Monetary Fund is imminent. For those of you not at all worried by any of this and just interested in a cheap holiday the recent losses of the Dominican peso will just make the beer impossibly avoidable for you at Playa Vista while you at the same time ponder anew the many possibilities for making your adventurous and highly rewarding investments in this up and coming economy!
Cheers!!!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 04:35 PM CST
Monday, June 16, 2003
99% of the time, and we mean not just 99% of some kind of limited season but 99% of the 365 days of our planetary year, we do enjoy a tropical paradise here - however the remaining 1% of the time we take great note of the difference, and the other day we were visited by a wind of such gusting strength that we had to close the bar hatches and then the bar to protect ourselves from both the wind and the sand. Anyway it was an early finish to the day’s proceedings rare though that is.
Talking of wind prompts the subject of hurricanes which we experienced with full force in Boca Chica back in 1998 when we were visited by “George” who came with a ferocity previously unknown to us coming from outside the hurricane/typhoon zones of the world. Perhaps more of that story another day.
By the way if you are planning a visit the exchange rate is now so much in your favour you will feel guilty over our bar prices!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 04:00 PM CST
Friday, June 6, 2003
PARASOLS… is a theme dear to our hearts here on the sun-drenched Caribbean beach. For many strange reasons - all due to the suppliers holding on to their precious parasols with an unheard of passion - we haven’t got too many of them in general. The ones we have got are placed out there on the beach each day and brought in at night. In the interim they have quite a life: they are opened and closed on a regular basis depending on the whim of the customer/visitor for sun or shade at any given moment, which is naturally their prime function, but they do stand out there the whole time taking whatever punishment the weather may dish out. The sun causes severe fading at the very least but it is the wind that tests their true “metal”, so much so that with the occasional serious gust or even mini whirlwind they can go dancing off down the beach cannoning into whatever may be in their path. All this activity is seriously taking its toll and has forced us to carry out some very ingenious and intricate repairs to continually breathe new life into the old guard of “Presidente’ and ‘Coca-Cola’ parasols still standing.
Though we have over the years offered some of the leading drinks companies here full exposure if they would just kindly come up with a reasonable amount of parasols, it has been a difficult ride trying to make these companies see the benefits of donating their precious parasols in return for having a prime publicity location on the beach. Actually we are constantly working at it and were therefore pleasantly surprised the other day to be offered over the bar four very sound and solid umbrellas at a very reasonable price but certainly not advertising anything cool and refreshing that you might buy at the bar, seemingly not even publicizing anything available in this country… but the price was right, the timing was certainly right and as for what they are advertising well… even a short trip our way would of course reveal all!
Cheers!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 04:52 PM CST
Sunday, June 1, 2003
Most days throw up quite a few challenges to traditional ways of doing things in this little corner of our island and the reward this week, for our little group of legal businesses on the Boca Chica beach confronting one of those challenges, is a more hassle-free beach for visitors in search of a relaxing time at a reasonable price. The beach has in many ways been left to its own devices over the years which has resulted in a lot of set ups and behaviour patterns that have led in turn directly to the mentioned challenges.
Well, surprise surprise… at least in our part of the beach the local tourist police have taken it upon themselves - with a certain amount of vocal persuasion via the two commercial associations in the town - to stop more or less illegal ‘profiteering middlemen’, known in local lingo as ‘fisgones’ or ‘buscones’, literally roaming all over the beach trying with all means including untrue and misleading propaganda to persuade visitors to accompany them to use the facilities of a more or less legal bar/restaurant where the ‘figon’ gets a cut of the bill… not uncommonly of a seriously hyped bill.
The current commander-in-chief of Politur has now posted a watchman or two in the vicinity specifically to deal with this problem…A small step for mankind, but a big step forward for Boca Chica. Well done the local tourist police! Hopefully the tendency to finally recognize some common sense – not to mention the law of the country - will spread and prevail to the benefit of good old Boca Chica.
See you!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 02:02 PM CST
