TRIP REVIEW: Dominican Republic, part 2

The Palace Resort at Punta Cana had a few included tours, which we decided to partake in. The first tour that we went on was through Bavarro Runners. They called it a safari, which is a bit of a stretch. Basically, we rode around the island in these zebra jeepy things. The tour took us to a cigar making factory, where we got to watch the cigar artisans roll tobacco (and they had samples). We drove through some traditional towns and got to see the "Dominican Gas Station" and other fancy-type locations (see the picture to the right). Later, we went to a plantation that grew a variety of local fruits and coffee/cocoa. They had some pretty tasty samples, and we got to see how they roast the coffee. There's an optional half day zip-line, but... well, let's just say that I don't get along well with zip lines. That's another story for another day...


The second tour we took was a snorkel trip. I'd like to say that we had an awesome time snorkeling, but as it turned out, we got out to the reef and the currents were too strong (storm was coming in). So, they took us to a cove with a kelp forest, and we waded in the water and drank Mama Juana. For those of you that don't know, Mama Juana is a type of Dominican Rum, where they basically throw all sorts of sticks and fruits inside until it tastes a bit like cough syrup. It's supposed to be an aphrodisiac and halucinogenic. Awesome, right? Luckily, we didn't drink enough of it to feel the effects :P

Another one of our days was spent at the hotel spa, which was awesome. The hydrotherapy pre-relaxation time is just as wonderful as the actual treatment (and you can always go to the hydrotherapy, even if you don't have an appointment for a treatment - so make sure to check it out...) They had a hot and cold shower, steam room, sauna, ice room (we got in an ice-throwing fight. It was epic.), mud room (another war ensued here... we got to rub mud all over each other and then *literally* hose down), and varioius pools. The rooms were separated into mens and womens, though there were some common rooms with pools and waterfalls. I ended up getting a seaweed wrap, which was quite relaxing.

And to finish our trip up, we had quite the adventure getting home. Our flight was delayed 16 hours due to a typhoon - so I didn't get home until 4 pm on Christmas Day. Gotta love the Carribbean...