Robin & Karen Living the Dream: Escape to the Sun, Dominican Republic

Winter was becoming no fun, so off to the sun & beach we go! Our first winter vacation was to the Dominican Republic. We booked an All Inclusive trip via Sunwing for 14 days of sun & relaxation, leaving December 6, 2021 to Be Live Collection Canoa, La Romana area.

A lovely resort, on a beautiful beach, great weather (except for day 1 where we got soaked to the skin looking for the buffet for a late supper) & lots of birds to watch. We splurged a bit & upgraded to the Adults Club - a private lounge, pool, bars & beach - well worth it!

Our first days were spent walking the beach, collecting seaglass & shells, working our way thru the bar menu, exploring the resort grounds & eating!

snacks in the Adults lounge

Yes, turkeys, lots of them!

even a turtle pond

We did a bus tour to the capital city of Santo Domingo, stopping first at Cueva Los Tres Ojos – The Three Eyes – open air limestone caves with 3 lakes of a spectacular blue color.

In Santo Domingo we toured a colonial palace, had lunch on the edge of a large open square, visited a colonial Mercado (shopping), admired jewelry made with Larimar – only found in the DR (despite my best efforts I could not find any affordable raw larimar to take home) & toured a very old cathedral.

streets in Santo Domingo

street vendor selling larimar jewelry

cathedral

Covid rules

Larimar jewelry

Back to the resort for more beach time & more food!

our collection of seaglass & shells

limestone outcrops on the beach, wave thru the hole

Robin "helping to cook"

watching the rethatching of the roof

the private lounge area

resort map

starfruit from a tree on the grounds

Another excursion in an open jeep to sugar cane fields, thru the city of Higuey into the mountainous area to see how cigars are made, where cocoa, coffee & exotic fruits come from with delicious tastings & a traditional lunch.

a local school

sugar cane

cigar making

cacao tree (chocolate)

local fruits

streets of Higuey

cart to squeeze sugar cane for syrup

Then more buffets, more bird watching, fancy dinners, some snorkelling & long walks on the beach.

Mamajuana, a local drink

Dominica (stuffy - a travel companion) with the flag

Covid remains in most people’s minds – masks required in all indoor areas, hand sanitizer everywhere & the dreaded Covid test needed before travelling home (in our room, $80 US each).

We got our 3^rd Covid vaccine the day after we returned (the booster) so we felt somewhat bulletproof!

Being home meant Christmas with the family, a real treat! We all were able to gather at our son Shane’s for visiting, food & of course gifts! This is the first year that my shopping wasn’t finished by the end of September!