Being on a vacation means different things to different people. If you talk about a tropical island, most people imagine themselves on the beach in a lounge chair with a drink in one hand, or waiting for a coconut to drop and drink the coconut water straight from the tree…
There were many people like this in the resort we booked. I am not one of those.
I can lay on a beach for about as long as my swim shorts are drying and then I have to do something else. I am just not the guy to sleep on a beach on my vacation. Yet, the very first morning after my arrival here, I tried to calm down (remember the electronics mishaps?) and fell asleep.
Tropical skies
I woke up after some 30 minutes, cooked to perfection. Right now, back in Nova Scotia, I am still shedding skin like a snake 
. I did not repeat that specific experiment. Walking on a beach is much more interesting and you are cooked more evenly as well.
Aeroporto de Puerto Plata
The first view of the Dominican Republic from the sky was one of “dismay”. I expected this to be like Martinique (a few thousand km to the south-east) but here we were greeted with clouds and heavy rain for the landing. After getting off the plane (all sheltered) the first thing you see is the enormous hallway of the airport. Since we arrived around 11 PM, there was hardly anybody there.
First glimpse of the pool
After a quick trip through customs and a short bus trip to the resort, we expected to be going to bed hungry. Sunwing provides “cheap” flights, but that comes at the price of getting nothing to eat during the flight. The resort was prepared for this and provided all-inclusive snacks like burgers, ribs etc. at midnight. The pool seemed to be closed that night.
Part of the resort
The next morning was a slow-cooked grill on the beach, followed by some walks and environmental photography. Despite my electronics having gone to electronics heaven, my cameras were still working. I was taking pictures by the hundreds, from cloud bursts over the sea to “upskirt” pics of nuts, as seen in the lead pic of this post.
Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas
The more disturbing sights were the numerous cruise ships coming to the island. We were stationed in Puerto Plata, which has its own airport connection to Halifax, but the city also has a small port that can accommodate cruise ships. The one above can house some 4000 people and 1600 crew at once. While I’m not against the idea of a cruise, the quantity of pollution these ships spew over the course of one cruise offsets all my taxes toward a cleaner climate in a year. That doesn’t sit well with me.
Rain spout
The next morning started with some more rain, as was forecast. The rain was warm and easy to put up with. Nothing like the rain in Nova Scotia. The pool was open by then, but not many people were taking advantage of it. An impression of the soundscape from that morning can be found here.
Poolside
All around the territory of the resort were self-serve stands with hot drinks (coffee, tea, milk) as well as a complete bar for more interesting drinks. All were complimentary, some people came for margaritas and Pina coladas with their thermos. They were filled up (the thermos, and perhaps also the people) without question.
Pink Street
After that, we decided to go on a tour outside of the resort. Sitting on the beach, near the pool, or on the balcony of the room only goes so far. A trip to downtown Puerto Plata was full of surprises. One of them was the famous “Pink Street”. I thought it would be a long street all painted in pink, but it was a small stretch of an alley, made to look like a living street. If I hadn’t included a patch of sky in my picture, the camera’s White Balance would have gone whacky, for sure.
After Pink Street, it was time for some lunch and some more adventures.
More about that later 
Until next time…