Dominican Republic

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Trip to the Dominican Republic

Day One- Saturday Feb. 20^th



We left Rob’s folks house early in the morning to catch the flight out of Knoxville. The flight went surprisingly smooth and so was the pass through immigration and customs in the D.R. We followed a bell hop to our transfer service, Blue travel. They got us right on and soon we were on our way to the Majestic Elegance.



When we got to the Majestic we were greeted with cool towels to wipe our faces with and a delicious refreshing drink. We had to wait a bit for our room so we took the time to eat lunch and book our dive trips. We also lined up dinner at the French restaurant for Sunday night. Then we followed a bell hop to our room.



Our room. Wow, what else can I say. It is huge and elegant with a jacuzzi tub and tons of space. The room was all dressed up with towel swans and hibiscus flowers everywhere. So lovely. The bed is big and comfy, our view is of the pool, but from the 4^th floor everything looks awesome. In the room we had a complimentary bottle of champagne and were brought a nice plate of fruit as well.



We unpacked and then decided to go to the beach and pool. It is just a short walk to the beach and the water is crystal clear and so pretty. We played in the surf, which was a little rough due to the wind, but still a lot of fun. We then headed back up to the gigantic wrap around pool where we enjoyed the water and a nice drink called Rum Ruin. I felt a little buzzed after the drink, it was fun.



We came back to the room and dressed for dinner and then went out and explored a little around the resort. We checked out some shops and then ate dinner. By the time dinner was over, we were both so tired, so we came back to the room to get some sleep.







Day Two, Sunday February 21^st



We slept in and slowly got around and went down to breakfast at the buffet. It was delicious. After that we found our man Hector with Blue Travel and booked an excursion to a cigar and chocolate factory in Punta Cana. While we waited for that, we walked over to the spa to look at their menu and decide what we wanted to do there. We decided on doing body wraps on Monday. When we were done with the spa, it was raining outside. We walked back to the resort anyway, who cares about a little rain. We took some pictures of the resort as it cleared up. We saw several green parrots in the trees. While taking pics we saw some beach vendors. I was sure I could bargain a good deal on cigars so we went down to try our luck. I bargained and thought I had a great deal, though Rob was skeptical.



It began to rain again, so we waited for lunchtime in the shelter of the lobby. We had an awesome lunch (can you say “GROUPER”!) and then met the bus to Punta Cana and the Coralina Tropical Shops where we got schooled on how they make cigars and local chocolate, along with some free samples of each. Rob got both, I just wanted chocolate. Then I learned that I am apparently terrible at bargaining as Rob got the same cigars there for almost half the price!! I should have listened to him.



When we got back it was raining again, but we decided to go to the beach anyway. It cleared up while we were there and we swam in the rough, but fun waves for awhile. After that we headed to the pool to rinse off. When we got to the pool it started to rain again, really hard. We found some palapas to put our stuff and got in the water in the rain. We swam to the swim up bar and thus began our intoxication. We tried Rum Ruins, Mai Tais, Toucans, Majestic Elegances and something called Mamajuana, all really good. After we were a few sheets to the wind we met a cool couple, also several sheets to the wind and also from Tennessee. We enjoyed their company and decided to exchange emails with them. We had a lot of fun with them.



Still a little drunk , we dressed and went to dinner at the fancy French restaurant on site. It was fun, but the food was just so so. But we were still intoxicated, so we had fun. After dinner we came back to the room to change and decided to catch a show. The show was just a very loud band butchering some music, so we went to the casino instead. We blew about 15 bucks, but had a lot of fun. We were mostly sober by the time we were done so we had a night time snack to soak up the remaining alcohol at the Flavors buffet, then retired for the evening.







Day Three- Monday, February 22nd



The lingering effects of the alcohol affected our sleep a little so we ended up not getting up until after 8am. We went down to breakfast, and then went on over to the spa to kick off our day of relaxation. We each were escorted into the water area that had a steam room, a sauna, a jacuzzi and some soaking pools for us to enjoy. We sat in the steam room for as long as we could stand it then went to the soaking pool to cool off and be invigorated. Soon it was time for our wrap sessions. Rob got the chocolate wrap and I opted for the weight loss wrap. It was interesting.



We came back to the resort, ate lunch then went to relax by the beach and then the pool. We just enjoyed the sunny day and beautiful views. Then we came back to the hotel and changed for dinner. We ate at the See and Sea restaurant with the full moon coming up in the background.



After dinner we soaked in the hot tub and just relaxed.







Day Four- Tuesday, February 23rd



We went on our first dive in the Dominican Republic. VIP Divers picked us up along with several other people from different resorts and we chugged our way through the rough roads and motorcycle filled streets toward the south of the Island. There we met up with some more divers on our boat at the marina. The entire world was well represented on that boat as we had some people from Russia, Germany, France, Canada, England, Brazil and of course the good ole US of A. The crew was great and a lot of fun. The dives were awesome. Neither of us had any trouble clearing ears or anything. The first dive was a deep dive and I took the gopro with me. It did not stay well on my head so I ended up using my hands to catch the video. I look forward to seeing it.



We dove the Wall first then the Aquarium second. Both were great! We then came ashore at the little Island we dove off of, Catalina Island, and had lunch. We had a chance to just relax by the ocean before making the long journey back to our resort.



We showered and got dressed and then went to dinner. It was Asian night, so all the servers wore Asian hats. There was a Mariachi type roving singing group there too. After dinner we stayed outside and listened to the saxophone player before retiring early to the room.







Day 5- Wednesday, February 24^th



We got up and had breakfast then got picked up by the dive operators and headed to the shop. After getting gear together and getting on the boat we had a rough (but fun-like a roller coaster) ride out to the dive spot. The water was rough there too, so our entry was interesting. The water was really churned up and the currents were crazy. We got banged up a little on the reef as we tried some swim throughs. Not the best dive, but it was an adventure.



After our dive, we came back to the resort, changed, ate lunch then hit the pool. We swam a little to rinse off the ocean, then came back to the room.



A little about the resort. There is a very big staff and they are very attentive to your every need. They are always there offering drinks, whatever you want, wherever you are. They show a lot of attention to detail on everything. All is clean and neat all the time. They really like you to drink as they are always offering alcohol, they even bring it to your room complimentary. The food is good too and every day we have had some small snack in our room, waiting for us in the afternoon. I really love it here.



We dressed for dinner and went to the Gala at the buffet. It wasn’t much of a Gala, but it was still nice. One lady from the staff gave me a rose which we took back to the room later. We stayed around the outside bar a little to listen to some jazz then when he went on break we tried the piano bar. No one was playing piano at the time and we had gotten some not so good drinks, so we left them and decided to just come back to the room. We retired a little early as we were both still pretty tired.







Day 6- Thursday, February 25^th



Today was relax by the pool and beach day. We started out by the beach after breakfast and swam a little and just enjoyed the surf. We walked down the beach to check out a few things along the shoreline. Then we just sat and relaxed and watched all the kayakers making their way out through the surf.



After the beach we hit the pool to rinse off. Although we both applied sunscreen, I got a bit of a sunburn, but not too bad. Rob got a little color, but not really burned. We stayed there for a little while, then got dressed in our room for lunch. We had a good lunch then decided to take a walk outside of the resort to a flea market. The shop owners were a little aggressive, but it was fun and we got some good deals on a few items we wanted. It was really hot though and the walk was in the sun, so we were ready to get back in the pool in the afternoon. It was late enough that the sun was low in the sky and there was plenty of shade. It was nice and definitely cooled us off.



For dinner we decided to go to the Steakhouse. I had one of the best steaks that I have ever had there, and a really good baked potato to boot. We both had a good dinner. We will likely go back there again. After dinner, we went back out to the outside bar where there was dancing. We danced a little but were very outclassed by the Arthur Murry School of Dance folks that were there showing off their moves. The entertainment staff did a little interaction with everyone too. We had too much to drink, and danced a little, then headed back toward the room. We decided to stand on the bridge and enjoy the view of the lit up pool at night and got the bonus of some good music from a nearby wedding party. We had a bit of a romantic moment, then headed back to the room. We finally broke open the bottle of champagne, but only had one glass before deciding to head to bed.







Day 7- Friday, February 26^th



This was another day to relax by the pool, careful not to get too much sun, as we both had slight burns from the day before. We spent hours at the pool and in between we went to the room to pack and ate lunch.



Before dinner we decided to walk along the beach one more time. The sun was getting ready to set and it was so beautiful. We walked along the shoreline and kissed in the dying light of the sun. So romantic. We then went and ate dinner at the buffet, which was quite good.



We decided to take the long way back to the room along the pathway from the lobby. On the way we ran into Deborah and Doug again. We chatted with them a little and then started to walk back to the room. As we passed by the Gazebo, we could hear the saxophonist playing “Close to You” and I led Rob into the empty Gazebo to dance a little. It was so romantic, all lit up in a soft purple glow with shear fabric framing it and the soft music coming in. We danced and kissed until the song was over, then went back to the room to soak in the jacuzzi tub one more time. It was a lovely night.



Day 8- Saturday, February 27^th



We got a really early start to our day, leaving at 4:45 from the resort. The flight from Punta Cana was easier than expected and even the lines in Atlanta for customs were short and fast. Altogether a really nice trip

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Comments

[JohnDark]

Photos in Punto Cana
Really cool report. We spent a honeymoon on Punta Cana and had a very nice time. You really should have a good pictures from Dominicana. We used http://www.wedgo.net/photographer-in-dominican-republic.html to find the best photographer. But be sure to check everything and to agree prices and terms. The photos we made were gorgeous.