Of all the various tourist activities available in Punta
Cana, we decided on something that seemed more complex, with enough “local
flavor” unique to the area. As such, we
eliminated a few off the top:
- Zip-line. One can do that state-side as well
(maybe not necessarily with a lush tropical forest beneath, but still…)
- Swim with the dolphins
(this was one of those “no discount” deals); $150 per person, 10 people 30
minutes in the water with one dolphin.
Plus $30 for the parent to “watch” and another $30+ for the
DVD. The math works to $200+ for 3
minutes with the dolphin per individual.
I think I’ve paid less for prostitutes (and didn’t even need the
whole 3 minutes!)… Actually, I’m
pretty sure I didn’t… Joke, people!
Joke. That was a joke. A
j o k e.
- Saona Island. Didn’t seem like paying $90+/pp to get
on a big catamaran and go visit a “deserted” island (along with a few
hundred other “castaways”) was money well spent, especially when we had
[smaller] catamarans, exotic beaches and free drinks right at our
fingertips…
- Dune buggies. Might as well call ‘em dumb
buggies, for it’s a dumb idea to be in an open cart that travels through
sand dunes… especially when you’re not the first cart ;-) Incredibly enough, I’ve seen people pay
money to do this. Not anyone I’d
like to socialize with, of course!
- Santo Domingo day trip. Visit the old town and tour the well
preserved edifices of the first Spanish settlement in the New World. This would have been interesting, but
not for the kids, and the 3.5 hour trip each way seemed long (and would
not leave much time for sightseeing)
So you get the idea.
Plenty of stuff to spend money on if you’re really looking to get out of
the resort. In the end, we settled for
one that seemed to include a little bit of everything, and it turned out to be
well worth it.
Jeep Safari Adventures
was called (or something like that) and seemed like the best deal for the money
(including some “priceless” lessons for the kids, like how poor people live in
certain parts of the world, and how good it feels to provide charity to those
less fortunate).
So here it goes: the story of 101 kilometers through the
Dominican Republic country side.
The drive from Iberostar to the departure point reminded me
of some of the gipsy villages back in Romania thirty years ago. Or even better, some of the darker corners of
2 Mai or Vama Veche (given the proximity to the sea). Again, pictures “explain” it better…
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| the "bank" (the little box with orange letters - Banca Real) |
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| the grocery store |
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| the mall |
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| the family vehicle of choice (we've seen as many as 4 on a motorcycle) |
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| the outdoor dried-meat market ! |
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| "fresh-or-so" caught crabs |
... and other commercial establishments...
The caravan was comprised of a dozen or so Suzuki Jimny
SUVs. Mom rode with a couple from
Connecticut. Laura and I plus 3 kids had
our own “wheels”…
First stop: a sugar cane plantation. Interesting experience for everyone; tasted
the raw stuff… very sweet, of course.
Learned that harvesting is only done manually and it pays $3 per
ton. Even then, it leads to a lot of
immigration problems, for the majority of the work is done by illegals from
Haiti (people from the DR mostly work in tourism-related jobs). DR is one of the major sugar cane exporters,
and this crop is the second revenue generator behind tourism.
From there, off to a tobacco museum to learn a bit about
cigar-making. Now, they claim Cubans are
best, but the same type of tobacco grows in the region, in the same type of
conditions. So in the end, it’s up to
the manufacturing process. Dominican
cigars can be just as good, if not better (for those in the know). Just don’t be fooled by really low prices
found on beach shacks and other shady “retail” areas. You’ll end up getting “burned” with “cigars”
made out of dry banana leaves. Right,
Bogdan?
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| ... to the finished product |
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| from leaves (DR are the biggest ;-) |
Another local staple – found in most tourist spots – is
Mamajuana: a mixture of dark rum, wine and honey that gets poured over tree
bark, herbs and twigs. The liquid tastes
quite pleasant (almost like a sweet port) but once mixed with the rest it turns
pretty nasty, although they claim it has Viagra-like properties…
But let’s keep going.
Thirty minutes or so later we arrived at this local farm up in the
mountains, where we spent a good part of the afternoon. On the way, we passed numerous little
villages where the kids could get an appreciation of what it means to be
poor. They instantly realized how good
they have it!
We had made some sandwiches (about a dozen) to have for the
road… we ended up giving them away to the village kids. The pure joy in their eyes as they grabbed
the food was priceless. And the lesson
for our kids equally important: it does feel good to help others in need. The reality that kids can grow up without
basics (let alone video games, TV, ToysRUs and Justice) was quite humbling…
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| one of the local schools |
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| the corner cafe |
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| one of the nicer looking homes |
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| a colorful village-center |
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| the local Disco, and next to it... |
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| ...the outhouse (his and hers) |
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| this guy substituted the machete for the weed-wacker |
At the farm, we got to fully experience cocoa (the membrane
surrounding the seeds in the raw fruit tastes a bit like mango, with a nutty hint
of vanilla to it; quite interesting).
The sun-dried seeds had a strong chocolate flavor (of course) and the hot
cocoa with fresh cow milk was phenomenal.
The kids asked for seconds, then thirds!
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| Pomelos |
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| Baby bananas |
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| cocoa and coffee |
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| Avocados |
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| Cocoa pod (fruit) |
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| the raw stuff |
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| under the cocoa tree |
The local coffee we sampled was good also; so was the
Mamajuana. And the fresh fruit was yummy. Learning a bit about how it’s all processed
was very educational. Apparently 40% of
the cocoa imported by the Swiss chocolate makers comes from the DR!
Next, we got a quick taste of something we’ll never see in
the US: a cock fight. Apparently it’s
the second “sport” on the island (after baseball) and people make or lose
fortunes betting on the little roosters.
This version, however, was “PG” (no betting allowed, it only lasted less
than 30 seconds, and their spurs were covered to prevent serious injury and
blood-spill). The kids, however, got a
picture-taking opportunity with the combatants afterwards.
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| for some... a pet |
After that, off to get geared up for zip-lining; a first for
most of us, from “Jackson” (who all of a sudden HAD to go to the bathroom as we were walking up the scaffold) to
mom (who at 65 got to check off this activity – as well as horseback riding –
from her “bucket list” ;-)
Let me tell you, as scared and reluctant the kids may have
been going up, they didn’t want to take off the harnesses afterwards… “Can we
go again? Please? Pleeaase?
Pleeeaaase?” It is a lot of fun,
indeed!
From there, lunch with a little local flavor and a short
session on horseback. Granted, by this
time, the poor animals – already skinny-bone for the most part – were pretty
tired. Again, the kids seemed to enjoy
themselves.
Next, back in the jeeps for another 30 min trek through
local farmland and villages, with Macao Beach as the final destination. This is one of the locals’ beaches in the
area – some surfers, although the conditions were calm – with no
“commercialization” nearby. So we got a
little taste of an unaltered tropical beach.
Enjoy the pics!
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| child's play |
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| Presidente - the local beer |
From there, back to the origination point, and on to a bus
that dropped people off to their resorts.
Ours was last, unfortunately, but we got to see what most of the other
resorts looked like – which is why I stand by my claim that Iberostar was one
of the nicest…
All in all, it was an excellent way to experience some of
the local flavor, although for the most part it was touristicized [just invented
a new word] to make it more appealing, perhaps… Regardless, we all took some
mental images and learned some valuable lessons that will remain engrained
forever. Would I recommend this to
anyone vacationing on the island?
Absolutely!
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| Macao Beach panorama |
Of all the various tourist activities available in Punta
Cana, we decided on something that seemed more complex, with enough “local
flavor” unique to the area. As such, we
eliminated a few off the top: 
