Stepping Out of the Boat

Apparently, Rebecca and Holly didn't have food poisoning - they had a violent stomach flu. I (Claire) am home sick from school right now because of the afore mentioned stomach flu - and believe me, it's violent! Here's hoping John doesn't get it.

Our four day weekend has come to a conclusion. We had a great time exploring the east side of the island. In fact it was one of the best resorts if not the best resort that we have stayed at here on the island.

Our journey started early Saturday morning by catching the Bavaro Express out of town. We have never taken this bus before so it was lucky that Holly was with us. Navigating the bus station was a painless experience and the bus, even though it was a step below the Metro and Carribe Tours. The bus was air conditioned, showed a movie, and the ride was shorter than any we have taken so far. We were at the resort by 10 o'clock that morning. Because it was a little early for check in, we explored the resort and took a look in some of the gift shops that they had. Once getting the room keys, around noon, we headed to our rooms to find the best rooms we have stayed in yet. It had a king size bed, a living room area, a shower, and to top it off a huge bath tube. We were both really impressed with where we were.

After changing into our swim suits we grabbed a bite to eat and headed to the beach. White sandy beach with bright blue and turquoise water. It was a magnificent sight. We spent the rest of the day on the beach catching some rays and doing a bit of snorkeling. The water was clear and the ocean floor had all sorts of shells and other interesting things to look at. After having our fair share of sun and topless sun bathers we headed back to the room for a nice hot shower. While Claire did some relaxing, Rebbecca and I went to make dinner reservations for the next couple nights and then made a stop off at the gym for some exercise.

After our showers we took naps because we had good intentions of heading to the disco later that night to try out some of our newly learned Meringue and Salsa moves. This sounds easy enough but Claire is yet to be lively enough at that time of night, 11 o'clock, to have seen the inside of any disco. For dinner that night we headed to the buffet. It was the largest selection of food we have seen yet. You name it and they had it for dinner. After filling our already full stomachs, because you are never really hungry at an all inclusive place, we watched the show. It was a normal singing and dancing routine, cheesy as ever. Then it was dancing time. We finally made it to the disco. After some convincing by Claire we finally made it out to the floor and indeed put our lessons to good use.

The next day we again headed out to the beach and spent the day going back and forth between the pool and the beach. Not much different than any other resort day. Relax and read on the beach, snorkel or swim in the ocean to cool off, take a walk on the beach, nap on the beach, grab a bite to eat, take a dip in the pool, grab a Pina Colada or something at the pool bar, and repeat. It was a grooling day but we made it through. One of the things that made this resort a little different than others and another reason why we never seem to be truly hungry come meal time was the ice cream machines that were always up and going, the crepes place you could stop at anytime you wanted, the snack stand by the pool that was open all day, and the popcorn machine that ran throughout the night.

That night for dinner we had reservations at a Japanese restaurant that does the cooking on a grill right there in front of you. It was a fantastic meal. We tried a little of everything and weren't disappointed with any of it. Sushi for an appetizer, glass noodles with shrimp and fish, fried rice with beef and chicken, and then ginger cake for dessert. Claire and I both agreed that it was the best meal we have had since moving here to the D.R. After being rolled from the restaurant we again headed to the disco, yes for the second night in a row. We again danced the night away, or at least an hour or so before deciding that the sun had taken its toll.

The next morning, Claire and I headed to breakfast where were were quickly realizing that no matter what meal you ate at the buffet the selection was enormous. Again, you name the breakfast food and they had it. We were hoping to meet up with Rebbecca and Holly but when they didn't show up for breakfast we decided to head to the beach and wait there. Much like the daily grind as the day before, Claire and I took our places at the beach. After a couple hours we headed to the pool where we found Rebbecca for the first time. She informed us that her and Holly had gotten really sick the previous night and still weren't feeling well. For whatever reason, because we all had the same things to eat off the same grill, Claire and I felt fine. Rebbecca felt better, she was out on the beach for a good part of the day, but Holly on the other hand spent the entire day inside. We enjoyed the routine of the day before retiring back to the room to prepare for dinner reservation number two, a French restaurant.

The menu for that night had warm shrimp salad as an appetizer then grilled lobster, duck, or lamb ribs for a main dish, and then mousse, eclairs with chocolate fondue, or assorted fruit for dessert. Claire and I each chose the grilled lobster since neither of us have really ever had lobster before. Unfortunately it wasn't very good. Both Holly and Rebbecca told us that it wasn't cooked correctly and was more mushy than anything. I am not sure either of us would have loved it anyway since neither of us really like sea food that tastes really fishy. The meal wasn't a total loss as the salad and dessert were good and after all the snacks that we had had throughout the day we didn't have that big of an appetite to start with. It was a long day and the sun had once again done us in. We got a little burnt and after our late dinner we were ready to call it a night.

The next and final day was a half day. The girls were feeling better, not great, but well enough to hang out on the beach. We spent the little time we had left reading in the shade and enjoying the day. We left the hotel around 12:30 and after the normal waiting at the bus station, enduring the many stops along the way, a rough bus ride for Holly, and a taxi ride back from the bus station, we made it back to our apartment around 6. Claire and I had a fantastic time. Like I mentioned we would classify this as one of the best stops we have made in our time here on the island.

As always after a trip like this there are some more pictures on the picture page so go check them out.

Just to let all of our blog readers know, Claire and I will be out of town for the next 4 days. Because it is the Dominican Independence we have a four day weekend that we are taking advantage of by heading east. We have never been out this direction yet because it is a little pricier. We are excited about going somewhere new and everyone here says that it is the prettiest place on the island. Check back with us the middle of next week for the pictures and the story.

Tonight we went to the bowling alley here in town for a small concert. We had never been to the bowling alley before mostly because we all just figured it was a run down place where you wouldn't want to spend alot of time. We were shocked when we went in to find not one but two floors of bowling with about 25 lanes each. Not to mention a food stand on each floor, video games, pool tables, and a sports bar. Here are a couple pictures I took real quick. We will be heading back there for a few games so I am sure you will see more later. The reason for our visit tonight was to support a coworker whose son was playing in a small rock band. Claire, Rebbecca, and I decided to go check it out. We had a good time doing something a little different.

I am off to bed. We are catching the bus early out of town. I will get back with you all in a little under a week.

This past weekend Claire and I had to opportunity of experiencing a Dominican carnival first hand. February 27th is the Dominican Independence Day so every day for the week leading up to this day is a party here on the island. Because the carnival in Santo Domingo isn't until a little later we rode with some friends from school to a town about a hour and a half away called La Vega for the carnival.

We knew that it was a crazy party the moment we stepped out of the car. The town had multiple streets blocked off with vendors and very loud music lining the way. We started by walking up and down the road to check out all the places along the way before we settled on a place to watch the "parade." The vendor booths along the street go something like this: beer, food, toys/sunglasses, loud music, beer, liquor, loud music, repeat. Each music booth was put on by a different popular company on the island and was a glorified dancing area that had music playing so loud you could feel your clothes move. The top left picture is a loud music area. After a while of walking down the street one loud boom would fade into the next.
These carnivals aren't for the unaware, however. As you are walking down the street you have to be constantly watching out for people looking to hit you from behind. A tradition at the festival is to whip each other on the butt with inflated pig livers. Times have changed and the festival has evolved so it isn't inflated pig liver but a tightly stuffed pillow on a rope instead. Either way grown men are taking full swings at unsuspecting bystanders leaving marks as they go. Here is a picture of a vendor with a variety of "inflated pig livers."
After we were done exploring the streets we found a relatively quite place to settle and waited for the parade to start. The parade consisted of people dressed in extravagant devil outfits walking down the street posing for pictures and hitting people from behind. The longer the parade lasted the more crowded the streets became. Claire and our friend Pauline decided to stay close to a nearby fence for protection while the rest of us pushed our way to the front for the show. At one point it was a complete mosh pit with wall to wall people struggling to make their way through or avoid getting whacked.

Surprisingly we never saw any fights break out and everyone seemed to enjoy the music and the parade. Claire and I managed to make it through the day without getting hit. I wish I could say the same for a couple of our friends, Sonya and Kari, who will each have their own souvenir for about another week. We ended up staying for a few hours but we know that the party lasted well into the night with people dancing and celebrating in the streets.

Claire's opinion of the whole thing: What kind of person thinks it is fun to stand in the hot sun with four different kinds of music blasting so loud that it changes your hairstyle while thousands of drunk and sweaty people push you and step on your feet? Then, add to that the fact that crazy drunk men dressed as demons are running around trying to hit you as hard as they can on the backside with inflated pigs' livers. If hell were engineered just for me, it would very closely resemble La Carnival at La Vega. Needless to say, it wasn't my favorite thing.

My Opinion
I thought it was fun in a weird different sort of way. We knew going in about the potential dangers, but decided that the once in a lifetime opportunity was worth the risk. I mean where else can you get whipped by a devil wielding an inflated pig liver?

I have added a few more pictures of our day on the picture page so go check it out.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and we will be spending all afternoon and evening at school because we teach at a school that scheduled PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES, the most stressful and unenjoyable time in the quarter, from 4pm to 8pm on Valentine's Day.

People here celebrate Valentine's Day, but the school scheduled report card pick-up and parent-teacher conferences for that afternoon and evening anyway. We're planning to go out for a pseudo-romantic lunch, which is better than nothing. We'll let you know how it goes.

Sunday February 11 is Rebecca's birthday so to celebrate, Kari, Sonya, and Claire organized a photo scavenger hunt through the down town Colonial Zone on Saturday. They made a list of things that we needed to do and take a picture of. Each task was assigned different amounts of points and bonus points were also assigned for doing a predetermined little extra something on some of the tasks.