Looking back at Christmas and New Years at the villas this year. All I can say it that it was excellent. After being “chop blocked” last year

by last minute cancellations, this year went with nary a hitch. A good holiday here at the beach villas celebrated with our good friends.

We had Neil ( Oso Panda), “Crocodile ” Don Dee ( called Papi Chulo by the girls), ChiTown Steve, Craig from Canada, and a visit from Bomba.

Bomba has now retired and is here enjoying island life , and is a “regular” visitor here at the villas.

We had turkey and roast pork pernil for dinner, then a bonfire on the beach, and a late night visit to the VIP rooftop bar at OJOS on Cabarete Beach.

To bring in the New Year , and enjoy a great view of the beach fire works over the ocean there. Great company and good times.

Then after the holiday tidings , we had the good, the bad , and the ugly. Dennis the “the Grump” was here. A retired policeman who “set the bar pretty

low” when he arrived. ” I want you to know that I just had surgery, , I brought $200 for extras this week, and I have paid my money, now entertain me.”

Hmm. Not off to a great start. And it did not get much better. Reluctance to join in any activities, lack of communication about what he wanted to do,

and some personal hygiene issues did not make him the most popular guy in the villas.. I was not surprised when we got a phone call after he returned

to his home , stating, ” I did not have a good time, it rained most of the time, and I want my money back. ” OK. Interesting. Let me try to understand this.

James ( Jungle Jim from Snake Island) was back again on his second visit in 3 months. He said this trip to the villas was even better than his first one.

” Every trip is different, each one unique ” I told him. He will be returning in March.

Matt was here on his 2nd visit in 3 months . And Mitch ( Salvaje – The Wild One) was here for his 3rd time in 3 months ! BUT he may now be in love…….

Danger Will Smith, Danger ! Some people , even those that are intelligent, insist on letting little head think for big head.. Love or lust. Makes no sense.

Also in January, Grande C was here for his 5th visit in 12 months. Whoa ! Reminds me of ex Army Ranger and esteemed guest Chaka Nui ( Matthew )

at the Margarita Island villas. ( When in Panama a few years back he” met ” General Noriega ) He wound up marrying one of the Venezuelan girls.

And in January Big Tim was here for his first visit to our beach villas. His vacation was paid for by his wife., who stayed at home ! A birthday present. !

Tim, where did you ever find a woman like that ? And she called him every day to ask if he was having a good time . Crazy, but true. Holy smokes !

The last week of January, Paper Tiger was here with his top managers Ice Man ,and The “Pick”. Here for their 3rd visit in 12 months . Great group .

All of them 50 yrs + and some with some physical ” limitations”, but absolutely adored by the girls here at the villas. They
inaugurated the new VIP Villa

Oh yeah, congrats to Paper Tiger on the National Football Championship for his Ohio State Buckeyes .. And THAT is coming from me, Magnum, a

Florida Gator. Don’t anyone tell the Tarpon King, Dave, that I said that. (number One salesman in The WORLD for a major
pharmacy company ). 14.5 M

And a Florida Booster.

On the down side, we had a visit from “Cloudy” and his good friend . Both of them changed their reservations because of severe weather conditions

in New York. And then within 24 hours they changed them back again when a better weather forecast was released. We did a monumental juggling act

to accommodate them in the new VIP Villa . Kudos to Indiana for being able to handle their inflated egos. My favorite quote from them was ” We are

practicing attorneys and fully expect our vacation to be exclusive with a private beach, our own villa with no contact with other guests. And a special menu

with a private chef. And of course 12 companions ” .

Wait what’s wrong with this picture ? Then , upon arriving, they said that they did not have enough

money to pay. (ha !) They wanted to wait until Monday to call their bank and authorize the use of their credit card to get the money in the Dominican Republic.

Really ? ” Two days later… ” I have heard this one before, And it was from another wise guy from New York years ago. No, I said do not unpack your bags

because Joel is going to take you to a hotel. Then the money to pay for their vacation suddenly appeared in maybe 3 minutes. And , what a surprise ! They

even ” found ” enough money to go to the casino that night !

I was ready to show them the door anyway, but Indiana insisted that she would handle them.

Well, she did an exceptional job of catering to their demands for 3 days. And when they left they showed what “class” individuals they were by , among

other things, leaving a 100 peso tip for the chef ( Bartolo ) who was brought into the villa to cook especially for them ( special dietary needs).. 100 PESOS !.

That is $2.50 US. Yes………. Two dollars and fifty cents !

If they did that in a New York restaurant they would be stopped at the door as they left.

with someone saying ” Sir, I think that you have forgotten something. ” Well, they also did not even say so much as a ” thank you” to Indiana for her efforts.

More than 20 hours of in house supervision to make sure that everything went well for them. When I went by the VIP Villa after they had left, Indiana was

sitting at the dining table crying. Indiana ! Imagine ! I have got to say it. What is it about some people from New York ? The city that is. Something in

the air there ? The water ? Thank goodness for 99 % of our guests that come to our villas. They truly become our friends. And 80 % of our new guests

return to the villas within 12 months. But I think that as we grow , with more reservations each month, that it becomes a “numbers game “. We are going to

get a small number of “culos”. As long as it is controlled and they do not affect the vacations of our other “good’ guests.

Well, now that bad experience has been exorcised, let’s get on with some good news. February , so far, has been an outstanding month. Ian,

Grande C , Doctor M, Ronald (called Ron Blanco / white rum by the girls), Mikey Likes It, and El Perro (the Dog ) from Boston and Travis.

The girls here at the villa jokingly say that “all men are dogs” . But not really. Then again there is Neal , the Dog. Always trying to think “what can

we do next ? ” And stirring things up. Fatima is our “Energizer Bunny” but Neal is our “Party Animal”. After returning to the Pirates Grotto Villa

after an outing to Cabarete Beach’s Lazy Dog , and Ono’s, Neal got together with the girls to suggest they give Mike ( Mikey Likes It ) a surprise.

The girls had all “disappeared” and Mike asked Neal where they were. ” Dunno ” was his answer. So he went looking for them. But the last place that he

thought of was HIS own room. When he went into his room he found 10 naked girls waiting for him ! . Now that may be a new villas record . A 10 for 1.

The Super Bowl was enjoyed by all in the beach villas with the 50 inch flat screen TV and an extra external speaker for effects. The girls did not watch

the game ( none of them understand American football , baseball yes but not football ) BUT.. BUT… BUT they all showed up on cue at halftime to give

the “boys” a super halftime strip tease and lap dance show.. Smoken hot…….It almost made us forget about football. ALMOST . But we went back to

watch the second half of the best Super Bowl ever and maybe the best football game I have ever seen. Everyone went crazy after the game. And the

girls like anything CRAZY.

Bomba has been a regular visitor to the villas. We may have some news from him very soon about his new “island life”.

Moving along to other topics I think that the delivery of our very own new soon to be 9 bedroom villa is imminent. A lengthy battle with the seller for

beach of contract is almost over. The seller is from the southern USA and thinks that the island here is “monkey jungle” with no laws or rules. But that

is not the case. A contract is a contract. We have been relentless in the
pursuit of our goal. And as soon as we have clear title awarded to us we will be

offering a new opportunity for members participation in our adventure vacation club and the new villa. It promises to be very exciting.

We will start our next newsletter with a report on ” Valentines Week At The MWV Villas / Love or Lust ?”  With the “Skin Doctor”, Ian the Old Bull,

Ron Blanco ( White Rum ) as he is called by the girls. And Frederico ( also known as Clark Kent) who morphs from a mild mannered barrister into

the “man of Steel” when he arrives at the villas. Also coming is a report of a special gift sent to the villas by “Crocodile Don Dee “. Stay tuned.

I should be signing off now because it is time to round up everyone for a trip down to La Boca for some drinks and seafood. We hope that you can

take a break soon from the miserable winter weather up north and come visit us here in our “little slice of paradise”.

Hey Carmen ! I think we may have enough time for you mix up another batch of those salty Margaritas . One for the road.

Cheers, Thomas