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Maps:
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Summary:
When: March 2011
Where: Resort Dreams La Romana, Dominican Republic By air: Flight Newark-Santo Domingo (4 hrs, $420/pp round trip) + 1.5 hrs by car from airport to resort ($80 one way). History and Geography: The island of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Caribbean, contains two separate countries; the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Columbus claimed Hispaniola in 1492, and it later became the major launching base for the Spanish conquest of the Caribbean, as well as the American mainland. Subsequently, disease and slavery were introduced by the Spanish conquistadors, and the indigenous Arawak peoples were destroyed. In the 17th Century, with the Spanish in control, the French established a colony on the island. The Spanish later ceded the western third of Hispaniola in 1697, which in 1804 became known as Haiti. The remainder of the island, then known as Santo Domingo, declared its independence in 1821, however, it was immediately occupied by Haiti. It finally gained total independence in 1844, and became the Dominican Republic, or DR. Ruled by a series of dictators for the next 134 years, democracy was finally introduced in 1978. Today this beautiful island of gregarious people and stunning scenery is a popular Caribbean tourism destination, as unlike its neighbor to the west, the country's economy is still one of the fasting growing in the western hemisphere. For travelers, favorites include colorful Santo Domingo, a mixture of Caribbean cultures and a visually pleasing outdoor museum, and the eclectic collection of resort destinations strung out along the Amber Coast, east and west of Puerto Plata. |
Arrival | ||
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After a relatively short flight we had long trouble in getting from airport to resort.
Expedia did not suggest us buying transfer, and we believed that there is a bus to resort, but there was not.
After long trade, we took taxi for $80 (instead of asking $95) and in two hours reached our resort which appears much far from Santo Domingo than we expected.
Finally we get it and were greeted by 2 glasses of champagne to reward us for suffering. The 'all inclusive' vacation have started... Other days were all alike as happy families by Leo Tolstoy, so we arranged them only by the time of the day. |
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Daily Activities 03/23/2011 - 03/29/2011 |
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Morning | ||
Too Much Monkey Business (Chuck Berry)
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We took breakfast at World Cafe (scrambled eggs was our favorite, taking into account wish to reduce the weight) and run to the beach.
At 9AM morning sport activities started. Valentina took active part in local aerobics team and even earned some reward coupons which may
be accumulated and later be exchanged for souvenirs at the evening auction. But the exchange rate was too high and she realized soon
that this mission is impossible even for Tom Cruise. So she concentrated on aerobics, not coupons, and improved her aerobic skills tremendously.
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Noon | ||
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Closer to noon we usually switched from aerobics to margaritas and fruits. Sun started to be annoying and we hided under the palms or tents.
Cayaking and pedal boats were available, beach volleyball and even beach massage, but we mostly were reading. Once we visited marketing breakfast,
they sold future discounts for the Dreams, but we earned just 25 minutes of spa. One day we got acquainted with Peter and Svetlana, couple from NY,
and since then we played ping-pong with Peter every day to the end of our vacation.
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3 PM | ||
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6 PM | ||
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Night | ||
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Design and pictures made by George&Valentina. |
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