Day 3 (November 12, 2017): Hitting the DR Road

It's amazing how quickly routine kicks in:  our second full day in paradise started like the first, up by 8, omelettes and cappucino by 9, on the beach by 9:30.  After pouring all night, the sun quickly broke through, making it a perfect 28C repeat of yesterday, complete with refreshing breeze.  We went for another 45-minute walk up the beach, lay on our lounge chairs for a couple hours, watched the throngs walk by (ahem, note that I said THRONG, not THONG!), went for a dip in the ocean, and then packed it up by 12:30 in order to start the second phase of the day:  hitting the road in our rental car.

Conch shells for sale on Bavaro Beach.

The seaweed here is very fine stuff.

Beach grooming tractors scoop up the seawood every morning.

Isn't she adorable? And goofy, all at the same time?

Pea-hens and peacocks boldly begging for food in the hotel lobby.

With dire internet warnings that "driving in the DR means certain death" ringing in our ears, we set out just after 1 to drive to the south coast of the country, near the third largest tourist area, called La Romana.  (Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, and La Romana are the three tourist magnet regions, with Santo Domingo being the largest city.)  The (toll) freeway was actually an incredibly modern, divided four-lane highway, with a reasonable amount of traffic. Driving on it was a breeze!

The impressive peaks of the DR in the background, with sugar cane in the foreground.

Just before La Romana, we turned off to take a secondary road south towards Parque Nacional del Este.  We had read in the Lonely Planet that there were indigenous Taino paintings in a cave in the Park, so we set out in pursuit.  We found the entrance to the National Park, and we took our rental car down the road to the "office", although the potholes were so deep and water-filled, that we weren't sure we'd ever make it through.  Upon arrival, we learned that the cave was a 40-minute hike through the forest.  We didn't have the time or the footwear to do the hike, especially with impending rain, so we headed back up the highway to two tourist areas:  Dominicus Americanus and Bayahibe.

 

The welcome sign for the National Park.

 

The welcome road to the cave with the Taino indigenous paintings.

 

In Bayahibe

Bayahibe's public beach is where the typical Dominican heads on the weekend.  We were the only two Caucasians in sight.

Making a new friend at Bayahibe public beach.

Angry Sunday afternoon rain clouds at Dominicus Americanus beach -- a very laid-back, hippy sort of place.

Baseball is to the DR what hockey is to Canada.  We were pleased to stumble on a game being played in Bayahibe.

Wooden peacocks for sale in Bayahibe.

 

As we were leaving Bayahibe to return to the freeway, a swarm of close to 40 motorcycles started zooming past us, driving very recklessly.  Those "driving in the DR means certain death" warnings from the internet came flooding back to mind!

 

A typical fruit stand outside Bayahibe.  Pineapple and watermelon are grown in abundance here.

Stopping at a gas station on the freeway, we were shocked (in a good way) to see this large nativity scene on prominent display.  Can you imagine this on display in a public business in Canada?!

We made it back to the hotel in Bavaro on the north-east coast by 5:30.  These 'trains' are the main means of transportation around the resort, as walking distances are far too great to get around.  Just as we were getting the train at 6:30, the heavens opened up.  We arrived for our 6:45 Italian reservation soaked to the skin, but the meal made up for it.

Our last evening in the DR.  Sigh.  Homeward bound tomorrow.