Blogs from Dominican Republic, Central America Caribbean

My travel plans for 2024 were to achieve my final two bucket list goals of: 1) Visiting 100 countries 2) Visiting the Central European nations of both Linda and my ancestors I figured that the most efficient and economical way to reach 100 was to cruise to the island nations in the Caribbean. We had been to Puerto Rico (see ) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see ), but none of the other Caribbean countries. I had been researching cruise website, and the most countries I could visit in 10 or more days was six. Then last September I ran across a Norwegian Cruise Line 14 day cruise to 14 island countries which would achieve my goal. I booked it immediately! First a word about countries; There are various lists of countries; from 195 in the ... read more

It was a short trip of 5 days during the holidays of April 2019. Eventhough it was short,I am more than satisfied to explore this beautiful hispanic carribean country. I arrived in Puerto Plata by plane and stayed in Sosua for a couple of nights.Then,with a help from a local friend,we drove the countryside from sosua going to the capital,Sto. domingo for half day.It is a roadtrip that you will enjoy because of its scenic routes.We passed town after town,stop for photo-ops on each town name lettering landmark (like most passer-by do),dug in a cheap snacks on each stop overs and feast our ears on spanish musics while on the road. I reached Sto domingo the same day we left Sosua.I booked my hotel inside the colonial zone where i can explore and walk around the ... read more

Almost a repeat of yesterday. Usually I like to have things to see and explore while vacationing so not having anything to do any of the days seemed strange at first but I got over it! I walked to the beach before breakfast today just to enjoy it without all the people. And I ate later since I had to go for my Covid test after. Breakfast was at the buffet again. Today I went with eggs, hashbrowns, fruit and some pastries. The Covid test really puts a pause on your trip. You have to get one to return to the US and you have to wait in line to schedule and get tested, which takes some time out of each day. An online scheduling system would improve the overall process. Anyway, I got in line ... read more

Time to depart cold, grey Illinois for warm, sunny Dominican Republic. I booked this trip on a whim after seeing a deal for a 3 night stay in a junior suite with free upgrade to a rooftop terrace. Kind of hard to turn that down when the price includes everything! And it was perfect timing to get a break from the rough start to 2022. My departure time was 10 am from O'Hare and I arrived early, as usual, to avoid rushing through security and to the gate, which always ends up being the furthest away from security. I parked in the relatively new Multi-modal Facility. This new parking garage houses the rental cars as well as two levels of economy parking. It is also connected to the airport by the people mover, which just reopened ... read more

Sade jatkui. Päivällä kävin silti pienellä kävelyllä, kun kovin sade oli ohi. Vaihdoin vielä varmuuden vuoksi 10 € = 580 pesoa. Kävin katsomassa kahta hotellia siltä varalta, jos tulisin joskus uudestaan Puerto Plataan. Toinen hotelleista oli vielä keskeneräinen. Pakkailin jo ajoissa. Klo 15 sade hiljeni niin, että rohkenin liikkeelle ilman sadetakkia. Kävin leipomosta ostamassa leipää ja pullan. Otin ehkä tunnin päiväunet. Venezuelalaisessa pikaruokapaikassa kävin syömässä juusto-empanadan. Olin puoli tuntia pitkälläni, jotta saatoin vaihtaa jalkaan lentosukat. Lähtö kentälle oli klo 19.45. Hotellin isäntä oli tarjonnut minulle kyytiä überin hinnalla. Pääsin lentokentälle poliisiautolla. Matkan varrelle jätettiin kaksi työntekijää. Kun risteyksissä oli ruuhkaa, kuski laittoi pillit soimaan. Satoi vettä ja tiellä oli isoja lätäköitä. Sikäli tuntui hyvältä päästä lentokentälle isol... read more