Tuesday, January 30, 2007
There's No Such Thing As A Boring Three Day Weekend
Like the title says, there is no such thing as a boring three day weekend here in the Dominican Republic. We took this weekend to explore a part of the island that we had yet to discover, Cabarete. This little town is located on the north side of the island about 40 minutes east of Puerto Plata.
The five of us, Sonya, Kari, Rebbecca, Claire, and I, woke up early Saturday morning to catch the Caribe Tour bus. This is the same bus that we took when we went to Samana that lasted 6 hours because they stop in every little town along the way. This time around our destination was a bit closer and the ride only last around 4 hours. We finally made it to Cabarete around noon and checked into our hotel. This adventure was a little bit different than any we had taken in the 
past. This time we just checked into a hotel that was along the beach instead of staying in an all inclusive resort. The town of Cabarete runs along the coast for about a mile and lining the street are all types of hotels, restaurants, bars, and other tourist type places. This was probably the most touristy place we have been so far.
After checking into our hotel we decided to grab some lunch before heading out to the beach. We had lunch at our hotel restaurant that overlooked the ocean. After lunch it was out to the beach for some more fun in the sun. 
Cabarete is a little bit different than other beaches along this coast because it is famous for its wind. Along with this wind comes the best place on the island to wind or kite surf. Claire and I had both seen wind surfing before but kite surfing was something that we had only heard about. 
The site of all the kites in the air, once we got to the beach, was amazing. We both stood there trying to figure out how we could explain this incredible site to anyone. We tried to caputre the site with our camera and are more than willing to share with you what we have but trust me when I say that these pictures don't do it justice. If you click on the pictures here they do get bigger and you are able to see a little more in each one and I am going to put a short video of the kites on the video page if you are interested. At one point on Saturday afternoon we estimated there to be about 150 kites along the coast along with about another 50 or so wind surfers.
It was fun to hang out on the beach that afternoon taking in the sites. Claire and I walked down the bea
ch closer to where more of the kite surfers were located to get a better look. There were people learning how to kite surf all along the beach while others were gliding along the surface of the water at remarkable speeds. I thought it looked like a lot of fun to learn but was told that it requires many lessons to really get the hang of it and since we were only going to be there a couple days I decided it would have to wait for another time.
Another great thing that goes along with high winds are big waves. I, more so than Claire, really like to get knocked around by bigger waves, so this was perfect for me. I was able to do some real body surfing over the three days that we were on the beach. Here is a shot Claire took of one of the waves getting the better of me.
On Sunday we took an Iguana Mama Eco tour to one of the National Parks in that area. The bus came and picked us up and took us back into this village that has an agreement with the government which allows them to live there as long as they help preserve the vegitation that grows there. It was here that the five of us along with a tour guide began our 2 and a hal
f hour hike around the park. Along the way the guide showed us all types of fruits, flowers, and other types of plants that Dominicans use. Along the way we stopped by this families 
hut and chatted with them before moving on. In the picture the man standing in the white shirt was our guide and the lady of the house is there with her two sons. The highlight of the hike for Claire and I was when we got to this all natural lagoon that was located inside a cave. It wasn't very large but it was big and deep enough to take a quick little swim in. It was very clear and pretty cold but refreshing non the less.
During the evenings we would wonder down the beach looking for a place to have dinner. Each resturant that was along the strip opened out onto the beach and had tables out on the sand with torch l
ighting and music playing. We didn't find it too hard to find a fun place to eat.
Here is a shot of us having dinner one night at an Irish pub, of all places, call Jose O'Shays. We all had a great time tanning on the beach, trying out new places to eat, and swimming in the ocean and pool. There really isn't a boring three day weekend around here.
The five of us, Sonya, Kari, Rebbecca, Claire, and I, woke up early Saturday morning to catch the Caribe Tour bus. This is the same bus that we took when we went to Samana that lasted 6 hours because they stop in every little town along the way. This time around our destination was a bit closer and the ride only last around 4 hours. We finally made it to Cabarete around noon and checked into our hotel. This adventure was a little bit different than any we had taken in the 
past. This time we just checked into a hotel that was along the beach instead of staying in an all inclusive resort. The town of Cabarete runs along the coast for about a mile and lining the street are all types of hotels, restaurants, bars, and other tourist type places. This was probably the most touristy place we have been so far.
After checking into our hotel we decided to grab some lunch before heading out to the beach. We had lunch at our hotel restaurant that overlooked the ocean. After lunch it was out to the beach for some more fun in the sun. 
Cabarete is a little bit different than other beaches along this coast because it is famous for its wind. Along with this wind comes the best place on the island to wind or kite surf. Claire and I had both seen wind surfing before but kite surfing was something that we had only heard about. 
The site of all the kites in the air, once we got to the beach, was amazing. We both stood there trying to figure out how we could explain this incredible site to anyone. We tried to caputre the site with our camera and are more than willing to share with you what we have but trust me when I say that these pictures don't do it justice. If you click on the pictures here they do get bigger and you are able to see a little more in each one and I am going to put a short video of the kites on the video page if you are interested. At one point on Saturday afternoon we estimated there to be about 150 kites along the coast along with about another 50 or so wind surfers.It was fun to hang out on the beach that afternoon taking in the sites. Claire and I walked down the bea
ch closer to where more of the kite surfers were located to get a better look. There were people learning how to kite surf all along the beach while others were gliding along the surface of the water at remarkable speeds. I thought it looked like a lot of fun to learn but was told that it requires many lessons to really get the hang of it and since we were only going to be there a couple days I decided it would have to wait for another time.Another great thing that goes along with high winds are big waves. I, more so than Claire, really like to get knocked around by bigger waves, so this was perfect for me. I was able to do some real body surfing over the three days that we were on the beach. Here is a shot Claire took of one of the waves getting the better of me.
On Sunday we took an Iguana Mama Eco tour to one of the National Parks in that area. The bus came and picked us up and took us back into this village that has an agreement with the government which allows them to live there as long as they help preserve the vegitation that grows there. It was here that the five of us along with a tour guide began our 2 and a hal
f hour hike around the park. Along the way the guide showed us all types of fruits, flowers, and other types of plants that Dominicans use. Along the way we stopped by this families 
hut and chatted with them before moving on. In the picture the man standing in the white shirt was our guide and the lady of the house is there with her two sons. The highlight of the hike for Claire and I was when we got to this all natural lagoon that was located inside a cave. It wasn't very large but it was big and deep enough to take a quick little swim in. It was very clear and pretty cold but refreshing non the less.
During the evenings we would wonder down the beach looking for a place to have dinner. Each resturant that was along the strip opened out onto the beach and had tables out on the sand with torch l
ighting and music playing. We didn't find it too hard to find a fun place to eat.
Here is a shot of us having dinner one night at an Irish pub, of all places, call Jose O'Shays. We all had a great time tanning on the beach, trying out new places to eat, and swimming in the ocean and pool. There really isn't a boring three day weekend around here.// posted by The Roths @ 6:05 PM 
