Lenses and Wheels: Dominican Republic 2007

Long story short: we had a nephew in the Dominican Republic who has been living there for a few years. When we called him he always said: why don’t you come to see me? You don’t have to worry about anything, I have a big house, room enough for a big family but it’s only me and my wife. Think about it in the Canadian winter, it’s always nice and sunny here!! We resisted for a few years then I heard from my daughter that she is going on a Caribbean cruise and after that a week in Punta Cana DR. Called nephew: your time has come, get ready, we are coming! Still have to try to find a good deal, it was the end of March, end of the season, there has to be some last minute deal. Years ago I signed up with Travelalerts.ca they always send you an e-mail about deals. The good last minute deals are ” real deals” but you have to be ready in 72 hrs. (Employers nightmare) I was close to give up hope when I’ve got an e-mail: Punta Cana 99 dollars plus tax, no typing error it is really 99 $. The trick is: lots of charter planes are flying to those resort destinations but not always full. The plane has to fly no matter what, selling a seat for a 100 bucks means an extra 100, better for the travel agent than an empty seat. Paid online, printed my own ticket, quick appointment to get the needed shots and we were ready to rock and roll. We had to go to Vancouver the day before because of the early departure. It was easy with the camper van, we slept and left the van in the long term parking at the airport and got on the free shuttle ride in the morning. Another good advice: if you are planning to use the long term parking lot you can save about 10 bucks a week with an online ticket, you just have to print it before you leave. Smooth sailing to Calgary where more passengers are boarding the plane; it’s still not full but we are delayed by 1,5 hrs because of a snow storm. Now I really want to see some Caribbean sunshine. Landed in Punta Cana early in the evening after an 8,5 hrs flight, the best part of the day: nephew, my daughter and her boyfriend are waiting together for us at the exit. They’ve met while waiting for us, so we are driving to the same resort where she is staying. Same story as with the plane, resort is not fully booked, we can get a room, all included and headed for dinner. It takes some time to adjust to the temperature; after the Calgary snowstorm just hours ago it is 25 Cº and the pools are still lit up, all the bars open, what do we use to say? Life is good here.

One of the many pools inside the resort. On the other side of the palm trees....

....is the beautiful, sandy beach.

How can you beat a good bar with Caribbean cocktails? Build it in a pool and call it a Swim Up! It is simply a matter of safety: if you are full you do not fall; you just float.