So it begins

Settling in

Published Date : March 31, 2008

I had hoped to sleep in a bit this morning, but I was up and wide awake by 8am.  It was a beautiful morning with clear skies and a light breeze.  Making my way over to the main buffet restaurant, I found it nearly empty except for a growing line-up at the omelette station.  Not wanting to deal with a queue first thing in the morning, I sampled a few items from the buffet.   I had French toast with some scrambled eggs and bacon and some juice.  The food was decent, about typical for my experience with buffets anywhere else in the world.  The juice on the other hand, was sickeningly sweet.  I had noticed the same issue last night at the bar, but had thought it was just the mixers they were using for the alcoholic drinks.  Nope.  Turns out it’s the goal of management to send all of their guests home with about a dozen cavities each.   Yuck!

Wandering around the resort, I had hoped to take some photos in the early morning light, but my camera decided to bite the dust.  My little Pentax Optio S4 has travelled the globe with me since 2004, but this morning it refused to turn on.  I’m hoping it’s just a battery problem.  I would be sad to see the end of it, but it has definitely served me well over the last 4 years!

There’s an information session later in the day that will go over some of the amenities and tours available, but with a couple of hours to kill before then, I made my way down to the beach again to enjoy it in daylight.  Not surprisingly, it was deserted so early in the morning – I didn’t expect the sun worshippers to start crawling out of bed for another couple of hours at least.  The beach of Puerto Plata did not disappoint.  White sand bordered by palm trees on one side and azure water on the other stretched in either direction as far as I could see.   There were tour boats and charters anchored in sporadic groups along the shore line.  Further out to sea there were a few local fishing boats motoring along.  Absolutely beautiful.

Deciding to explore a little ways down the coastline, I noticed several local men standing seemingly in the middle of nowhere on the beach.  As I drew closer they all started calling to me to check out their shops or buy their wares.  A few even offered to find me some marijuana if that was my thing.  Unlike other countries I’ve visited, these touts didn’t come across as threatening at all.  They respected my firm “No thanks” and returned to their conversations. 

As I continued on down the beach, one of the men caught up with me and asked if I wanted some company for my walk.  Rodrigo was a family man in his 30s who ran a local souvenir shop with his cousin.  He explained to me that the men were standing where they were because the resorts all have very strict rules that ban them from selling on resort grounds.  They had been standing at the boundary of Paraiso del Sol’s property.  Our chat was pleasant but short.  When we reached the property line of the next resort, he turned back and I continued on my way, promising to visit his shop sometime during my stay.

Returning to the resort, I decided to hunt for some batteries for my camera.  After visiting all the shops on site, I was not surprised to see that the prices for everything were exorbitant.   Unfortunately, none of them had the battery I was looking for.  I’ll just have to go sans camera on this trip!

The info session was useful.  It gave a good overview of what the resort had to offer and the off-resort tour options available.  Three off-resort tours were definite standouts for me:  a drive up into the mountain to see a couple of villages, a trip into Santiago, and SCUBA.   Unfortunately I don’t have the money for all three, so it will be SCUBA and one of the tours.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking the beach as far as I could go.  Stretching 11km, there was plenty of beach left by the time I turned back!  Stopping off at the tour booking desk back at the resort, I let the numbers make the decision for me.  There were several busloads of resort guests going into Santiago, but only two other people on the mountain village tour.  Mountain village it is!

For dinner that night, the restaurant was packed, so I joined a table with a mixed group of visitors.  All were in their twenties, a British couple, a German couple and a group of friends from the US.  Conversation was pleasant, the food was decent – I had some type of jerk fish from the buffet – and they even served a nice wine.  A great first day in the DR.

Heading inland

Published Date : April 1, 2008

Up early this morning, for breakfast I found my way to the smaller restaurant that one of the Brits had told me about last night.  A little bit further out of the way and only open for breakfast and lunch, it was much quieter than the main buffet.  Most importantly though, there was no queue for the omelettes!  There’s a reason they are popular at this resort – they are made fresh to order while you watch and choose your own ingredients.  Delicious!

Returning to my room to get ready for my excursion for the day, I tried once more to revive my camera, but had no success.  I packed a small daypack with sunscreen and some long sleeves to ward off potential mosquitoes then headed back to the main lobby to meet my group.

Jackie and Karen, a mother-daughter duo from Toronto, were the only other two people from our resort on this excursion.  Miguel was our guide/bartender for the day and Roberto was our driver.  I was half expecting an air-conditioned bus for our transportation, but was pleasantly surprised to find a converted 4×4 pick-up truck instead.  The bed was covered with a canopy and there was a padded bench on either side.  Where the tailgate would normally be, there was a lowered step where Miguel parked himself for the day.

The first hour and a half of our day was spent going around to nearby resorts picking up more guests.  While we waited at each one I saw quite quickly the difference between 3-star and 5-star resorts.  The opulence and over-the-top splendour at the other resorts was jaw-dropping.  The 3-stars are comfortable and have everything you need, but the 5-stars at pure luxury.

In the end there were 8 of us in the truck.  I’d like to be able to give you all a detailed accounting of the day, but unfortunately, it’s all a bit hazy.  Miguel started serving us drinks almost as soon as we hit the road!

As we made our way through town, it was a great opportunity to see a small bit of daily life in the DR.  It’s obvious that it’s a poor country and run-down, but what was most striking to me was that the people did not seem particularly happy.   I’ve been to poor countries before, but the feeling here was different.  I can’t help but wonder if the resorts are part of the problem.  On the one hand, they do provide employment for a lot of people.  However, they also rub people’s noses in their poverty, giving them a glimpse of a life they will never be able to afford.  Whatever the cause, the city had a sombre feel to it.

Once out of town and into the mountains, I was surprised to feel the heat and humidity climbing.  I had expected it to be slightly cooler as we gained altitude, but this far from the beach, there was little breeze in the air.  Throughout the day we made several stops at local villages and farms, checking out sugar cane fields and cocoa plantations.  We had the opportunity to speak with the families and even go into some of their homes to see how they live.  I’ve never quite gotten used to this form of “tourism.”  I know the families are paid to allow us into their homes, but it always makes me slightly uncomfortable, almost like the people are attractions in a zoo.  It’s a great opportunity for the average tourist to get a feel for the hardships of the locals, but I just can’t get used to the idea of normal families being a tourist attraction.

Doing my part to contribute to the local economy, my “souvenirs” for the day were a jar of unrefined cocoa and a bottle of pure coconut oil.

We had a late lunch of chicken and fresh fruit on one of the sugar cane plantations.  It was a simple meal, but delicious nonetheless.  From there, it was a leisurely drive through the countryside back into Puerto Plata.

By this time Miguel was handing out cocktails like water and everyone was a little bit worse for wear.  The entertainment for drive back was a newlywed American couple from Nebraska.  The blushing bride was absolutely, completely, fall-down drunk and kept singing Nebraska University’s school cheer.  Her groom seemed thoroughly embarrassed by it all, but the rest of us got a chuckle out of it.

Back at Paraiso, I made plans to meet up with Jackie and Karen for dinner.   Another evening of decent food and wine, with pleasant company.  Can’t ask for more!