Saturday March 28th
This was travel day. After a couple of hours of sleep I woke at 3:00a.m. to get ready. At 4:00a.m. our airport taxi arrived and we were on our way. As the roads are pretty quiet at that time in the morning we arrived at the airport in 20 min. In the past we have travelled during slow periods and the airport has been pretty slow. Not today though. It was packed. There were so many people travelling. We didn't even get seats together as most people had checked in already (our flight wasn't leaving until 6:15a.m.). We got through security and waited by our gate for boarding. I saw a lady from work who was headed to Mexico but her flight was delayed. We boarded but sat on the tarmac for a bit because it was so busy we had to wait our turn. I was surprised that they even fed us for free. It wasn't that great (a breakfast sandwich), but I was impressed we were getting free food.
We landed in Punta Cana (aka Punta Canada) at 10:30a.m. after we had to wait a bit as there were a lot of other planes landing as well. We got off the plane and were greeted by some Dominican Girls who we had our picture taken with. Once we got through customs we waited for our luggage. Normally in the Caribbean they are pretty fast but because it was so busy we had to wait a while. Once that was done we got on the bus and off to the resort we went. It was just about a 1/2 hour ride. Unfortunately when we got there our room wasn't quite ready. So we went for lunch and a walk and then checked back at 2:30p.m. Our room was ready at that time, so we took our luggage settled in and was in the beach by 3:00p.m. where we stayed for the rest of the day.
That night we went to the buffet for dinner. They had this great seafood spread. I even had crabs legs where I had to crack it and pull out the meat myself.
After dinner we were tired and full, so we just returned to our room and were asleep by 9:00p.m.
Sunday March 29th
Woke up around 7:15a.m. after a nice long sleep. Lounged in bed and watched some T.V. before getting up. At about 8:00a.m. decided I was hungry enough to head to the buffet restaurant for breakfast. It was ok. I wasn't too impressed with the bread though and I LOVE bread. I had an omelet that was so big I could only eat half of it. I think he used 3 eggs. I also had a donut and pancakes and fruit. When there's so much to choose from you just have to eat everything.
At all inclusive restaurants they also have a la carte restaurants but you have to make reservations. So we headed to guest services to make our reservations. We are having Japaneses tomorrow, Steakhouse on Wednesday and French on Friday. Then we wandered over the Internet cafe so we could send a message home and let everyone know we got here safely. It's pretty expensive. We paid $12US for 1 hour. We won't be checking e-mails very much.
After taking care of all of that we headed back to our room picked up our towels and it was off to the pool. There weren't any chairs available in the shade so we just found two free ones and sat for a bit. At 10:00a.m. I headed to an orientation to learn more about the resort and any excursions we may want to take. There were a couple that sounded ok, but I didn't want to make any decisions without Raju. I headed back to the pool. Raju and I took a walk down the beach. It was pretty busy. Not something we are used to as we travel in off season most of the time. We ate lunch at the restaurant pool. It was ok, but definitely not as good as the big buffet. By this time the sun was pretty hot and half the pool got closed (I think someone went to the bathroom in it) so we headed back into the room.
Our maid had been by and she left some towel art. A cute little man. I didn't want to destroy it because it was so nice.I had a nice long nap and finally awoke at 3:30p.m. We headed to the tour desk to hear more about the tours but still nothing really peaked our interest so we said we would think about it. We walked around the resort to find mini-golf. We decided not to play because they only give one putter and one ball per 2 people. Raju thought that was really silly and I think he decided we shouldn't play on principle.
We went back to the pool for about an hour (the other half was still closed). There were many silly pool games happening that I found very amusing, but not amusing enough for me to participate in them. We headed back to the room to shower and change and get ready for dinner. It was American Night, so I was curious as to what there would be. There was fried chicken, beef stew, cream corn and of course Apple pie (although in Dominican spelling it's Apple pay).
We returned to our room in time to see the end of Die Hard (which had started as we left) and then I watched The Incredibles and was asleep by 10:00p.m.
Monday March 30th
Today is Camilla's birthday!!! I'll have to remember to have a drink for her :)
The other thing about resorts is a certain behaviour to get good seats on the beach or by the pool. Although the rule is to NOT save seats with towels, everyone does it anyway. Then they don't show up for hours. Raju and I don't really want to be that way so we just go after breakfast and then get whatever is available.
The morning sun was really hot though and got to both of us so after lunch we stayed in the room sleeping and reading and watching TV.
Our dinner reservation was for 6:30p.m. at the Japanese restaurant. We could have chosen to be with a group of people and see the chef actually cook or have our table. We chose our own table. The meal was ok but definitely not authentic (not even any chopsticks). Not a place I would recommend.
After dinner it was back to our room where we realized we got the channel that had Chuck and Heroes, so we caught the last half of Chuck and all of Heroes (less shows for me to catch up on when I return home).
Tuesday March 31st
Today we decided we really needed shade so we slipped into resort behaviour. Raju went down to the pool area and found us two nice chairs under a hut. It was much better. After lunch instead of going to our room for our nap we returned to the pool because being in the shade made it bearable.We stayed out until 3:00p.m. and then headed back to the room for our afternoon nap.
After dinner we checked our e-mails and then of course back to the room. I was feeling very stuffy though and kept sneezing. I think my allergies are acting up. Unfortunately I didn't bring any allergy medicine. I ended up taking a Tylenol so I could fall asleep.
Wednesday April 1st
April Fool's to many but Happy Anniversary to me and Raju (and Sally and Ron). Forgetting all the on again, off again times, it makes 16 years for us from when we first going out. It's nice to be celebrating in Punta Cana. Unfortunately it is a rain day today. There doesn't look like there is a break in the clouds On a better note, I woke up feeling less allergyish. After breakfast we returned to our room where I fell asleep again until 10:30a.m. At that point we decided to get out of the room so the maid could clean in, so we headed to the lobby. I read while Raju played some games. The lobby was quite busy as many people were hanging out. The entertainment staff had board games and there was music playing as well. They were very prepared for a rainy day.
We stayed until lunch time and then after lunch headed back to the room where I slept (again!) until dinner time. Tonight we had booked in at the steakhouse. It was much better than the Japanese restaurant and made for a very nice anniversary dinner.
Thursday April 2nd
We woke up to beautiful sunshine again today. Raju and I got up, got dressed and went to the pool to save some chairs under a hut. We then headed back to the buffet for breakfast. The buffet is at the opposite end of the resort from the pool. It is about a 10 minute walk but they have these trams you can take as well. We decided since we were going the whole route to hop on the tram. After breakfast we headed right back to the pool. I managed to finish reading another book (my third one...you'll read about it another post). We had lunch at the pool restaurant again and managed to say out until 2:30p.m. before heading back to the room.
No nap this afternoon though. We got caught up in trashy VH1 shows, like Rock of Love Bus Tour, Tough Love and I love Money. I don't watch these shows at all at home, but here both Raju and I got sucked in. They are like train wrecks, awful but you just can't stop watching. We managed to drag ourselves away for dinner where I started to develop a headache. By the time we returned to our room it was getting worse. I took a couple of Tylenol and forced us to head out at 9:00p.m. to see the Circus show. We hadn't gotten to a show at all so I was determined. Managed to stay for 1/2 hour before heading back.
I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst pain in my head ever. I tried to be quiet but made a bit of noise as I got into the bar fridge for some water and took some more Tylenol. Unfortunately it took about 1/2 hour before it kicked in and I couldn't sleep because it was so painful. Raju massaged my head and shoulders and finally I managed to drift off to sleep until the morning.
Friday April 3rd
Our last full day. I woke up still feeling a bit headachy but I wasn't going to let it get me down. Raju went and saved some chairs and then it was off to breakfast. At the pool I continued reading my final book. We took another walk on the beach and really just lazed around.
At lunch we decided to go to the big buffet. As we were at that end of the resort, we did a final check of our e-mail and then went to see what time the bus would be leaving for the airport in the morning. As our flight wasn't leaving until 11:50a.m. and we were only 1/2 hour away I assumed 8:30/9:00. I was wrong, our bus was leaving at 7:35a.m. I guess since there are so many people it is going to be busy.
After lunch we returned to the pool and I finished reading my book. We lazed around for a bit longer and then returned to our room just in time for me to catch General Hospital (yesterday I realized we had the channel). Unfortunately the power kept going off (every 5-10 min.) so I only caught bits and pieces but enough for to get the gist of what's been going on. The funny thing about the converter is that it only has 5 buttons. Power, Volume up, volume down, channel up and channel down. So you have to flip through all the channels to get to the one you want. And when the TV goes off, it resets itself. I'll really appreciate our remote control when we get home.
We lounged around for awhile and then started to pack and get ready for dinner. Tonight we ate at Le Gourmet - the French restaurant. By far, my favourite one of them all. The food was great. We started with an amouse bouche of shrimp, melon and cheese. Raju then had the Lobster Bisque, while I had Avocado wrapped in Salmon. Not something I would normally eat but found quite tasty anyway. For dinner I ordered fish and seafood wrapped in puff pastry and Raju ordered the Lobster. When the waiter came to deliver our meals he had three plates but we didn't think much of it. He put my dinner down and then Raju's and then he placed a second Lobster plate just beside Raju and said "especiale". We weren't quite sure that meant so Raju asked another gentlemen who said the same thing. Basically it was a special. We aren't sure if everyone got an extra plate or if it was just because he ordered the lobster, or if he had ordered something else would he have still gotten the lobster? So many questions but no answers. We were pretty stuffed with our first meals, but Raju made an effort and had some of the second meal as well.
We both finished with cheesecake for dessert.
After such a filling meal we dragged ourselves back to our room, watched a bit of TV and went to sleep.
Saturday April 4th
Time to leave. We both woke up really early at 4:30a.m. to go to the bathroom. I was wide awake but managed to drift off asleep just in time for our wake up call (6:00a.m.). It was weird to hear the phone ring because we hadn't heard one all week. It was also very loud.
We got dressed, had a last check around the room and headed to reception to check out. We headed into the buffet for breakfast but I wasn't very hungry (which is surprising because I was hungry all the time all week). I guess it was too early. All the food wasn't even out yet.
The bus arrived and we all got on. Raju however decided he had to go to the bathroom, so off he got and sauntered away in no hurry. Of course everyone else got on and I had to ask them to wait as my husband was in the bathroom. Eventually he got back on and we got moving. At the airport we checked in (got seats together this time) and were through security by 8:30a.m. As we made our way to the gate, the ladies who took our picture when we arrived tried to sell it to us for $10 CDN. A little too pricey for me.
We found chairs and began our long wait until our flight was ready to go. Other flights left early , but not ours. We actually took off a little later as we had to wait our turn. On board we did get free food again, but it was kind of gross. Thankfully we had Wendy's earlier while we were at the airport.
Once we were close to Toronto we had to hold a bit again and then landed at 4:30/4:40. We got off the plane, made the long walk to customs and I was expecting a really long line. There was no line though so we made it through quickly. All for nothing though as we had to wait an hour for our luggage. It took a while to start coming out and then when they started coming out, it was pretty slow and then of course ours were one of the last to be unloaded. I was starting to get a little worried that they may have lost them actually. After all of that we arrived home to our house at about 6:15p.m. where we found a nice care package of food that Camilla brought for us from my Mom.
Overall it was a great vacation. Exactly what I needed - a break from reality.
2 comments:
Welcome Back Saads! Glad you had a nice, relaxing vacay. Next time you need a lift to the airport, let us know =)
Thanks for remembering my birthday! I'll pretend I was at the Japanese restaurant with you!
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