I was really excited to book this vacation.
I tried to go to
Dom republic in September 2017, but two back to back hurricanes stopped me from
going there. As a matter of fact, the second one arrived to Dom republic on the
day of my scheduled arrival.
Needless to say, I did not go there then, but
ended up in Cancun and ‘suffered’ through it.
It was a good experience overall
and an excellent opportunity to have an end of vacation season trip to Caribbean,
but stormy sea and not getting it my way took away from the experience.
Not to
mention, lack of knowledge of Spanish made me feel ignorant and awkward the
whole week.
This time I was determined, so without waiting till hurricane
season, I decided to go at the beginning of vacation season – starts with
Memorial Day here in the US.
I talked about it to my hairdresser and she said
multiple times, that if I were to go to Dom republic, it had to be on the Caribbean
side, not Atlantic side.
I actually listened!
It took some digging around
vacation rentals sites but I did find a great deal for a studio right on the
beach on this vacation booking site. You can scroll down to see the pictures now, or just keep
reading.
Can you tell that I was excited to have that vacation when I
booked it in mid-March 2018?
Well, a lot happened between mid-March and the day
of the trip.
I spent the whole month before the trip struggling with conflicting
emotions about a sad event in my family.
From disappointment to anger (at myself), from lots of unknowns to resolve to trust God, from being upset with somebody
else’s choices to understanding that my behavior needs to change too so I can
become a part of solution instead of being part of the problem.
Then the night before the trip came around and my worst
suspicions were not just confirmed, situation was actually much more severe and
better at the same time – given that between the worst part and suspicions and my
knowledge about it a whole month of hard internal work took place.
For that I
am grateful. Big time.
My God never disappoints, that much I can openly and
boldly say.
My flight to Punta Cana was uneventful. Coming from Atlanta any
airport seems small, Punta Cana one was not an exception.
I read on Southwest
Airlines website before the flight that all tourists from the US are supposed
to purchase a tourist card upon arrival for a 30 day stay - $10. I was determined
to do just that.
I am sure there is a competition between taxi drivers who gets
passengers – people have to make a living one way or another, so I found myself
being walked toward a vehicle, negotiating the price of the ride – it takes an
hour to get to Bayahibe where my studio was, and on my way even before I had a
chance to find where tourist cards were sold.
About 15 minutes into the drive I remembered about the tourist card. It took some persuasion but I got my driver to go back to the airport to
get the card.
No one – not my driver, not his manager, not people who worked tour
kiosk – I mean no one had any idea what I was talking about. Finally my driver
after a short conversation with his manager took me to Southwest Airlines local
office.
In the office I got my confirmation that I did not need a tourist card
to be in Dom republic legally – the rules had been changed about a month before
my arrival.
Considering what was going on in my life the whole month before the
trip and the night before the trip, my emotions were pushed to the limit, and
yes, I did cry when I had to make my driver turn around and go back to the airport,
and on and off until I arrived to my vacation place early enough to enjoy two
good hours of swimming.
... To be continued.
Oh, pictures of the pier with chairs
and first morning view from my balcony are below. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment