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!
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snacks in the Adults lounge |
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Yes, turkeys, lots of them! |
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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.
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streets in Santo Domingo |
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street vendor selling larimar jewelry |
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cathedral |
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Covid rules |
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Larimar jewelry |
Back to the
resort for more beach time & more food!
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our collection of seaglass & shells |
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limestone outcrops on the beach, wave thru the hole |
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Robin "helping to cook" |
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watching the rethatching of the roof |
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the private lounge area |
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resort map |
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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.
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a local school |
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sugar cane |
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cigar making |
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cacao tree (chocolate) |
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local fruits |
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streets of Higuey |
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cart to squeeze sugar cane for syrup |
Then more
buffets, more bird watching, fancy dinners, some snorkelling & long walks
on the beach.
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Mamajuana, a local drink |
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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 3rd
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!
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Christmas with the family at Shane & Sarah's |
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in our apartment |
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visiting with my 2 brothers & family |
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Christmas presents! |
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Candy Cane Lane, Christmas lights display |
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our balcony the day we returned from the DR |
A bit more
winter to “enjoy”, then back to planning our next adventure!
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