Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, first impressions

We arrived in Punta Cana yesterday from a cold, rainy Montreal.  Had to wait on the tarmac for about 40 minutes in order for them to deice the plane.  We arrived in Punta around 2:30.  It was quite a shock getting out of the airplane into 28 degree Celsius weather.  It takes a little adjusting plus we were wearing way too many clothes.  Had to peel off some layers pronto.

A little bus drove us to the main airport area.  It's a relatively small airport, very clean with palapa style buildings. On the plane they gave us tourist cards worth 10.00 U.S. each, included in the price of our tickets.  Kind of silly, we gave them back as soon as we landed.  Guess it's a little taxation bonus for the island.  A couple of the regular forms to fill out, nothing major.  There was nobody to greet us from Arena Blanca.  You have to exit the airport and look for the bus which will take you to the right spot.  Not too difficult, I got to practice my rusty Spanish right off the bat.  Could be confusing if you're older and not sure what's going on.

The bus dropped off a few tourists at another resort called Blue and Sand which looked all right but it's not as nice as Arena Blanca, we do share the same beach with them.

We arrived  in a spacious lobby, palapa style again.  The resort is quite spread out but easy to get around.  It's very airy, lots of beautiful green spaces, extremely clean and well maintained.  There are at least 4 or 5 restaurants a la carte to choose from in addition to the main buffet style restaurant which offers a wide variety of choices.  We were not disappointed with the food.  Lots of fresh fruits, the papaya was scrumptious, it must be the season for it.  A lot of mixed greens, plenty of variety with meats, even freshly cooked turkey, ribs, Chinese and Italian dishes cooked on the spot.  The deserts are varied and not too big which is perfect.  Of course there are plenty of drinks to be had including everyone's favorite: Pina Colada, it's always ready to go, you get it from a dispenser.  It doesn't have a lot of rum but that's fine, you can't get drunk on it.

Today we went to the beach.  The beach does have white sand which is very powdery and doesn't get hot, easy to walk on.  There is a fair bit of algae kind of brown looking which mars the look of the beach a bit, not quite like the pics. represent but it's a small complaint.  It's been windy, windier than usual for this time of the year, the sea is throwing up a lot of this algae.  The water is a beautiful turquoise color, very clear, the waves are tiny. There are wave breakers along where we are.  The water is warmer than it was in Cuba in Varadero.

This is the third all inclusive we will have been in. Varadero was a 3 star, too cheap for Cuba and some problems with the food and the room, way too long a stay at 2 weeks.  The Canary Islands were too cold, you couldn't swim either in the pool or in the ocean and it was basically boring.

So far I've noticed quite an international crowd here, people from all over.  There are quite a few Europeans, many French, German,Russian, Polish.  Of course lots of Quebecois, Canadians, Americans and some South Americans as well.  I like that, makes it more interesting.  The Dominican is apparently a favored destination of many who crave the sea, the sand and the sun.  The personnel here is extremely helpful.  They don't always have their hand out either but it's good to leave propina and little things in the room for the cleaners.  I brought quite a few things from home.  They're always happy to get stuff for their children too. 

We're not planning on doing any side trips since we're only here one week.  The only area of complaint concerns those very same trips.  They are the most expensive of anywhere we've traveled.  For instance a trip on a catamaran to a secluded beach with lobster meal (langouste actually) will run around $220.00 U.S. a person.  Most trips are in the $150.00 U.S. vicinity, way too much money for us. Whenever we've done trips of that nature in the tropics, we've often been disappointed.  Too much time spent with drunken idiots on buses, boats etc... with .lousy overpriced meals.  In terms of culture there's not much "artesania" here, not like Mexico which is so rich culturally therefore they don't have a lot of items for sale other than the usual trinkets.  It's fine our home is filled with stuff we've brought back from other trips, don't need more.  Apparently the Dominican is the biggest producer of cigars in the world, thought it was Cuba.

Last night we were treated to a Michael Jackson extravaganza. The impersonator was truly fabulous and the dancing was spot on.  It was fun and it was free.  I will provide another entry at the end of our stay if I feel there's a lot more to add. So far we like it a lot.