We had a great time in the Dominican Republic. We went there not really knowing what to expect or what we would do. In the end, we did a lot of relaxing on the beach and by the pool.
Wednesday, 6/17
We left Tampa and headed to the Dominican Republic at 11 in the morning. We flew American Airlines again this year, after all of the problems we had with them last year. I was a little worried but how many more problems could we have this year. When we got on board our flight in Miami, we had to wait an hour because several people decided that they didn't want to go to the Dominican Republic anymore and their luggage had to be taken off. Why anyone would decide to not go to the Dominican Republic is beyond me but still, we had to wait on a hot plane. Not so fun! Once we got in the air, I was excited because I knew we would be there soon.
Upon arrival, we took the Expedia van (which I booked with our trip) and drove through the city of Puerto Plata. There was not as much poverty as in Jamaica but there was still a lot of it. People just lay on the side of the road or on the side of a wall. They drive mopeds everywhere and they drive like crazy. They pass on the right, on the left, and they always use their horn. This is the common driving technique for all of the Caribbean I think. There are few stoplights (I think there were 2 in the 45 minutes it took us to get to our resort) but once you get passed the city, it's beautiful. The country looks like Hawaii, but with less money. It truly is something you have to see if you have never seen it before.
When we arrived at the RIU Bachata we checked in and were off to our room. We got there before dinner was served so we decided to go exploring. Our resort was next to 2 other RIU resorts so we went and explored those resorts too. We had the best amenities though (that's why I booked it). We made our way to dinner at the buffet and were starving. We ate different kinds of things and were stuffed. We then decided to go and explore the beach at night. How gorgeous! It was a great start to our trip.
Thursday, 6/18
Today we spent most of the day on the beach. The beach is great because they have planted trees in the sand. So if you want to get some shade, you move your sun lounger into the shade of the tree. Renato put suntan lotion on me, all over, but somehow I still managed to burn, badly! We did make it into the water, which was a little rocky and we could have used our water shoes for, and we walked most of the beach. It was nice, blue water where you could see everything.
Me reading "Mommywood" by Tori Spelling
The view from our loungers
After I needed to get out of the sun, we went and had lunch (which they do a lot of things with bananas) and had some drinks by the pool bar. Everyday they have a different drink on special and those were always good. Renato managed to get a little drunk off of the drink we had. It was some purple concoction and it was good! We went back to our room and took a nap (we did this almost everyday) and got ready for dinner.
The purple concoction drink
We made reservations for dinner this time because we were over the buffet. We had a nice Italian dinner. Shortly before we were finished, it started to rain. I figured it would rain so we brought the umbrella that they provide for you (they tell you that you will need it and they were right!) and had some fun taking pictures in the rain. What else were we suppose to do?
Us after our dinner playing in the rain
We finished the night off by watching the Michael Jackson show (which was similar to the one in Jamaica) and went off to bed. Another great day!
Friday, 6/19
Each morning we started off by having breakfast at the breakfast buffet. We both LOVE breakfast buffets! This one had fresh, hot pancakes and these french toast things that were soooo good! I had several of those everyday. I think I had 7 at one point on 1 day. They were that good.
We had our traditional couples massage in the morning and decided to get facials as well. Renato has never had one and wanted to try it. It was very relaxing. After the massage, I found out that Renato was asked by his lady (she was old) to flip over and she didn't cover him up. So he was fully exposed for her to enjoy! How funny. My lady covered me up just fine. Renato also had to get naked in front of his old lady. Mine left the room for me. I got a good laugh out of this once he told me about it. I bet she enjoyed seeing my husband naked!
We headed to the pool after and got a seat under a covered area. They have tree-like covers all around the pool for shade. It's nice! We were hot very quickly though so we went into the pool and enjoyed drinks from the swim-up bar. Renato got us drinks of the day, which were the Miami Vice drinks and those are really good. We had them in Jamaica and I forgot how good they are.
In the covered shade
After that we walked along the back path of our hotel and found a private beach. We were the only hotel guests on it! We walked over to the shops where the locals try to bargain with you and they bargained with us. Renato is a great bargainer. I just keep my mouth shut! He made friends with them, as usual, and even brought them some drinks. My husband! They thought he was part of the mafia, which I got a good laugh out of that. After we bought some things, we headed out to the lookout that was on top of the cliff of our hotel to look out over the Dominican Republic and the Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed the view, as you could see everything. There were mountains all around and there was a deep drop into the water which was very rocky. Renato had to go down as far as he could so he could be dangerous. I don't know about boys and danger but Renato likes it!
At the private beach
Renato and the "Liquidators"
My husband, the daredevil!
We had some time to kill so we enjoyed the local beer and the cigars Renato bought from the locals. Both were good! We headed to dinner at the nice restaurant and tonight was steak. It was very enjoyable. It's always nice to get dressed up for dinner and enjoy a good meal.
Enjoying a cigar and a cold beer on our patio
We decided to go back to the hotel and take a nap before we went out to the Disco. About 10:00, we got a phone call. It was Roxy calling to say she had her baby. I about flipped! I couldn't believe she had tracked us down in DR and called to say she had the baby. It made my night! After that, I couldn't go back to sleep. I was too wired up! However, my husband kept sleeping and we never made it to the Disco. I managed to get to sleep finally at 1:00.
Saturday, 6/20
We decided to spend the day at the beach and then at the pool. We wanted to enjoy both aspects today. We also wanted to go on the free paddle boats they have but we had to wait until 4:00 and we didn't want to wait. So we just enjoyed the beach. When we were hungry, we went to the pool, had lunch, and laid out. There is one thing I have to say about people who come to these resorts. They LOVE speedos and too-small bikinis. There were a lot of big people and small suits. I mean come on, put on a better bathing suit. 2-pieces are not designed for everyone! Just because you can get in to it, does not mean it looks good. We did get a good laugh out of all of the people in their suits!
One of the many unflattering people by the pool
Throughout the pool, which there are 2, there are different games you can play. Renato and I decided to try volleyball today and we had a blast. I won, even after he made us play the best of 5 because he was losing!
We had our final romantic dinner at the Italian restaurant again. It was nice! We took pictures along the beach after. Renato loves to take pictures of me. I think he could do take pictures as a hobby and make good money. We went to watch the final show and it was a Caribbean theme dancer show. At one point a Mariah Carey song played and we both looked at each other and thought "I didn't know this was a Caribbean song." We finished up the night by shopping at the street within the hotel that has lots of different little shops. It was a nice evening.
Our final romantic dinner
One of the many pictures Renato took of me
Sunday, 6/21
We enjoyed our final morning with breakfast and packing. We didn't have to check out until noon and once we did, our Expedia van was ready to take us back to the airport. I do have to say that the Puerto Plata airport is one of the smallest and hottest we have been to. Hawaii's was a little bit smaller and hotter but this one was not much better. They did have duty free shopping so we stocked up on liquor and got on our plane. The plane ride was smooth but once we arrived in Miami, I opened my suitcase and someone had gone through it. My lotions were opened and all over my shoes and clothes. They also went through my jewelry and it was opened and all over my suitcase. I did lose at least 1 pair of earrings, or maybe they were stolen. Not a good way to end the trip!
I got over it though so that I wouldn't make the end of our trip bad and we went and had dinner. We walked around that airport for over an hour trying to find a good place to eat and we finally settled on the food court right outside our terminal. Go figure!
This trip was a great trip. We needed rest and relaxation badly! It was hard to come home but in the end, we were ready. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go away someplace else soon!
