Dominican Republic
We arrived in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic around 11:00am and met our prearranged driver who took us to La Romana.
Caribbean influences....Open air and thatched palm roof. I really liked it a lot.
The airport had an interesting display of wooden cooking utensil...very unique.
Even the parking lot had a shady covering to walk under.
Our Airbnb was a basement one bedroom apartment.
It had a swimming pool right out of our door.
Our Airbnb Hostess, Guillermina and her two children, Guillermino and Sofia dressed in their school uniforms. A neighbor's child was walking with them to school.
Our Airbnb is in Buena Vista Norte area.
The first couple of days we walked the neighborhood and the downtown area.
Beautiful flowers were throughout the neighborhood.
The Buglaville was brilliant.
Exquisite homes were spotted throughout the neighborhood.
Each home had its own electric gate.
It was very hot after 11:00am....
A much needed break in the shade from walking around La Romana.
We enjoyed browsing in the local mini market one morning.
Spices in small packets
Adult refreshment sold by the shot.
Cooking outside the restaurant.
A hen and her chicks were spotted in a yard.
We spotted several motor bikes pulling trailers.
The drivers are crazy in DR. They turn left during red lights when being in the far right lane.
They drive down the wrong side of the street. The motor bikes drive on the sidewalks and split lanes. They pass on the right and left side of the car at the same time.
We came within inches of several cars that passed us while weaving through traffic at high speed. They love to honk their horns at you.
DR has the reputation of the highest accident rates in the Caribbean according to Triple A. We understand why this occurs completely.
What a huge tree!
What a beautiful piece of architecture that has been abandoned.
Going into La Romana, several iron statues are displayed.
Unusual for the bridge to be traffic free.
Rio Dulce in La Romana
The cruise ship terminal had a new ship that arrived daily.
The railway in the foreground is used specifically to haul sugar cane.
Looking up stream of the Rio Chavon.
Taxi rates from La Romana Cruise Terminal
This is a local taxi...the gentlemen waiting outside are owners of scooters. They are ready to take folks getting off the bus on a scooter taxi ride.
There are many unusual modes of transportation.
We rode these.... tuck tucks in Shri Lanka and Thailand...here they are again in DR.
This little train leaves from the La Romana Cruise Terminal....$25.00 each
Ice Cream, water, and fresh vegetables are sold from trike bikes.
La Romana Food Truck
La Romana Eclipse is placed on the edge of a park.
Entrance into an all inclusive resort....every town has one or more.
We took a trip into Santo Domingo... a little less than two hours down a super highway. We spotted the Santo Domingo Lighthouse.
Wall of the Santo Domingo Fortress
Salute to past Dominican Republic leaders
Tomb of Dominican Republic Leaders
Christopher Columbus Lighthouse Memorial
Each room had information and relics of Columbus' travels to a specific country. He explored around 20 countries. Columbus' brother. Bartolomeo Columbus, founded Santo Domingo.
While in Santo Domingo we happened upon a Carnival Celebration. Costumes, parade, food, and music made the atmosphere very rollicking. The men cracked whips on the pavement...this was traditional.
These folks were getting their faces painted for the Santo Domingo Carnival.
The map showed a great path to walk through La Colonial Zona.
We walked down the main plaza of Zona Colonial.
We came across many groups of musicians who practice together every Sunday in a park in the Colonial Zone.
Bass Guitars
Percussion instruments called Guiro... a hollow cylinder with ridges that a stick runs up and down.
Saxophone group
We enjoyed watching a gentleman feed the pigeons in this square.
One of the oldest churches in the Caribbean, Cathedral Primada de America, 1542
Unique ride in La Zona Colonial
An artist was capturing the architecture of the Colonial Zone.
La Zona Colonial had brightly colored homes and businesses.
We visited the Spain Cultural Center that had local art on display.
On the way back to La Romana we stopped to see The Three Eyes Cave.
We hiked down into the cave.
We rode a boat across to the third eye (body of water).
Fish and turtles were in the cave waters.
Another day we drove to Bayahibe Beach and walked through an all inclusive resort.
Manicured area but not the authentic Dominican Republic.
Casa de Campo, An All Inclusive Resort in La Romana....$30.00 per person for a days use....we went to a local beach instead
Caleta Beach in La Romana
We enjoyed a day of swimming in the waves and the sunshine.
The temperature at the beach is about ten degrees cooler than the inland.
It was really nice here....to sit in the shade and take in the cooler breezes.
A young man was snorkeling. He brought in a crab and octopus for his lunch.
Larry and I enjoyed this beach tremendously. Although the swimming area was very rocky. we enjoyed talking with the locals and finding more local families here enjoying the day with their children.
Sundays are set aside as family day and this beach will be loaded with local families.
La Romana Lighthouse
Larry enjoyed talking with a native New Yorker who has been living here for two years.
One day we took a road trip out of La Romana in the early morning heading toward the mountains in the north...about four hours away.
We passed many interesting sights.
An hour into the trip we turned off of DR route 3. The road became a pot hole mess...not a good thing for a rental car that had already had two flat tires.
We passed many sugar cane fields.
Banana groves appear on these back roads of DR.
There were only a few gated homes in the countryside.
Colorful homes dot the landscape on the back roads of the DR.
We came across several baseball players out and about.
We found baseball team training/recruiting facilities.
We also passed a training area for the Cardinals and the Twins.
After driving through so many pot holed roads, we decided against going two more hours to the northern mountain area.
We drove into Boca Chica where the white sand and shallow warm blue waters stretched across the horizon. It was quite a relaxing afternoon.
We knew we had made the right choice to come to Boca Chica when we saw the shade and felt the cool breezes coming off the azul waters.
The water is not safe to drink, unless bottled
We took another road trip to Punta Cana....a little over an hour away.
The entrances to All Inclusive Resorts are guarded heavily and inaccessible unless you pay a daily entrance fee.
Bibijagua Beach...luring colors of the sea!
This area was very touristy. Lots of activities were available...catamarans, glass bottom boats, fishing excursions as well as
Windsurfing.
Sunbathing
parasailing
Jellyfish Beach
Look what Larry found!
Pina Coladas were invented in Puerto Rico, but they were available on the beach in Punta Cana.
If I were a kid, I would head for this water playground.
Guillermina prepared us a wonderful traditional DR lunch with Diego, Sophia and Guillermino (when he came home from school). What a special treat!
We enjoyed playing music with Diego the morning that we were planning to leave. What fun!
Adios Dominican Republic.
We are boarding Costa Pacifica on Sunday for a 3 week cruise. Lots of great memories of our 12 day stay in Dominican Republic.
