It's been almost 3 weeks since my last post about a travel destination. Life has a way of controlling us and keeping us occupied in our daily routines and obligations. But for this post I want to pickup where I left off.
I am fortunate to live and have lived in countries that have allowed me to earn money and use this to travel to places. Although I've only seen a very small part of the world, one of the places that has impacted me most is the Dominican Republic. For many reasons it is much like many other countries, but it also has things to offer that I've never experienced again since and I want to talk about those.
This is one of the few Sun & Beach holidays that I have done in my life. I like travelling around, seeing things. I get bored on a beach with a book just lying in the sun, the same was the case on this holiday. So it's not my preferred goal or reason to look for, when I plan a holiday. The Dominican Republic is one of those destinations that I did book as an S&B holiday, but whilst we were there we did several excursions and activities to keep ourselves occupied and made the time fly by. If we'd gone to the capital, it probably would have been more the kind of trip I enjoy as there would've been more historical sites and buildings to visit, however we went to Punta Cana.
- Category: Sun & Beach
- Recommended Length of Stay: 1 week minimum
- Currency: Dominican Peso
- Timezone: GMT -4
- Perfect for: Relaxing, Sun & Beach and surfing
- Target Group: Couples, Families, people who are less mobile, honeymooners and surfers
Punta Cana is on the eastern side of the island Hispaniola, that the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti, the 3rd poorest country in the world. To get to Punta Cana with a charter airline you're likely to fly to la Romana (if not Punta Cana) and then get transfered to your hotel. This is actually really nice as you pass one of the sites where they filmed a scene from the first Jurassic Park movie.
This waterfall they used when they filmed the first Jurassic Park movie
One of the things we did was to book a Monster Truck Safari, where you go on this huge truck and drive through the forrest and streams and see the landscape and sights ... and you get to see/meet the locals and see how they live, what they do for a living, see their customs and what occupies them.
We visited a school, saw their 'religion', attended a cockfight (I'm 100% against this) and we also learnt how they earn their living. A large part of the land is used for coffee and sugarcane plantations and the overwhelming part of the people working on them are Haitians coming to the Dominican Republic to earn more than they would in Haiti.
These people live in extreme poverty and when we saw them the kids came to us asking for money and anything we could give them. Unfortunately we only had some pencils on us, but they appeared so happy with these ... that was a real eye opener.
On another occasion we went on a Quad-bike tour and this time we brought provisions we'd taken from the breakfast buffet. In the hotel they'd just throw it away we figured, so why not give it to those who don't have anything to eat.
This 'holiday' was one of the biggest eye-openers I'd ever experienced. I know we have a priviledged life in Europe, but I never realised that the gap was so huge!
Why should you visit the Dominican Republic:
- For it's history and culture, there's so much to see and experience that is still 'undiscovered' and less main-stream
- The destination is less overrun with tourists, apart from Americans
- To see and realise how good our lives are in 'rich' countries (and maybe to help those who really need it)
- For a Sun & Beach holiday or surfing
Thanks and I hope I didn't put you off from visiting this place, it's really worth it. It has a fascinating nature, stunning waterfalls, historic places and honest people.
!steemitworldmap 18.595138 lat -68.379656 long Punta Cana, Dominican Republic D3SCR
Doron
EDIT: 'My apologies if I gave the impression that those are my own pictures, I took those from google. It's been a long time since I'd been to Dom Rep myself and I can't find my own pictures anymore.'