As the weather changes to cold in the United States, the weather here in the Dominican Republic has been beyond spectacular. The humidity seems to be non-existent and there is a constant breeze in the air. It just got finished with a little 5 minute spritz, and now the sun is out beaming again. I just love tropical weather (at least today).

The Byron has updated his blog again. I am so glad that Byron is back. He has a distinct voice and because he is actually working a 9-5, he has some great insights into the day-to-day Dominican drama. Welcome back Byron, and don't stay away so long next time.

With this dreaded curfew still in effect many here thought the gay tourism market was going to take a significant hit. We have all been proven wrong. There have been many tourists gracing this fair island, and most (i'm sure not all) seem to be having a nice time. I hope everyone keeps coming down for a visit. It was just announced today that the country is expecting over 100 thousand Dominicans for the Christmas holiday's. That would explain why I have been getting so many complaints about how high the airline ticket prices are for that time. I guess the airlines don't need to run any specials if you got that many people coming down for a visit.

This past weekend were many people this past weekend. James Saunders was here celebrating his birthday with a group of friends from the States. DaJuan Xavier popped down to celebrate his birthday (we had a great time!). I even saw a friend that I had not seen in over 20 years. He reminded me the last time we saw each other in person was at Diana Ross' concert in Central Park. Wow! That was some time ago.

Yesterday was a Merengue music festival on the Malecon. There were thousands of people there. I thought I would walk over, but then I went looking for a supermarket that was open around 6pm yesterday and could find none. BUT, the traffic was horrendous, and as I absolutely hate crowds of that size I decided to stay home and watch it on TV. They ended the show with a great fireworks display. As I don't live to far from the Malecon, I thought I was in Iraq because the noise was SO loud!

Went to Jay-Dee's on Friday and Saturday. Very nice crowds both nights and Saturday's as you know are "Sabado Sexy," with some great strippers each week. Again, some attractive people were populating the place and bringing the sexy quotient to high (boiling).

Mario Sessions is planning his annual birthday celebration for next March. Go to http://www.santodmingodirect.com/ for more information. (Happy, Mario??!!)

Just found out about another beautiful place in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo. A friend I used to work with in NYC came down for a visit and stayed a couple of days in a beautiful guesthouse called Hotel Atarazana. Stop by and check it out on your next visit.

The photo up at the top is of Marcos Diaz, who swam from the Coral Hamaca in Boca Chica to the Hilton on the Malecon. He is a long-distance swimmer with many world records under his belt. People lined the Malecon to cheer him on. Congratulations Marcos!

That's all for now, until next time.