On one of our first days in Santo Domingo we discovered the Hotel Bougainvillea. It is a quarter of an hour’s walk away from our home and from the Don Quijote school. We buy cards to access the gym and swim area – this costs us 65 Dollars for four weeks. From now on we escape the blazing summer (verano) heat that weighs on Santo Domingo in the afternoon. Instead we enjoy the breeze at the pool, and we cool down by swimming. Often we are alone in the pool.

After the swim, we join this man on his bench…

and stroll around in the beautiful garden with shady trees, flowers, small and huge bromelias,…

an abundance of orchids,…

a Japanese garden representing the pacific ocean and…

with the many birds… no fotos of them, because they sit in the crowns of the trees. These men on the high stand are better equiped with huge telescopes and teleobjectives; they can shoot fotos of birds.

To wrap up the afternoon, we take a four fruit jugo (juice) in the friendly hotel bar.

We have booked the last two nights of our Costa Rica vacation in the hotel Bougainvillea to recover from our tour around the country and to get ready for the long flight home. Now we look forward to picking up our car. It will wait for us in the hotel Bougainvillea. Hasta luego.