Getting off the plane was surreal. We literally climbed down a ladder to the tarmac and found someone to shepherd us in. We paid the $10 entry fee to get in and next was customs. Surprisingly, customs was not that big of deal. Finally, I got my bag and had to find the “tour” bus to take me to the hotel. I got in with some fine folks from Louisiana. Great people and they got us together to where our bus had only people going to this resort on it. I am learning to tip around $1 for anything that people do for me.
I got checked in. I really didn’t like the room that they had for me, which had a view of I am not sure what. I called them and told them I didn’t like it. They upgraded my room for free to a pool side view. Nice. I made sure to tip the front desk people for that. One U.S. dollar is approximately 35 pesos. I found cervezos finally as well. The local beer, Presidente is on the house. Corona, $5. I had a corona and then switched to the free beer.
Here are a couple of room pictures.
I determined that the DR is 3 hours ahead of Houston time, so I am adjusting to that.
Naturally, I wandered around to get a lay of the land so to speak. I had a couple of beers. Finally I got hungry and found the buffet. It was fair at best. I had some pork that I swear tasted like Pine Sol. I ate it as I was hungry. I loaded up on mashed taters and fries and some rice, and of course beer.
I stopped at the business center to check out internet access. Get this!! It is $25 for 24 hours of internet. It is not calendar based, but usage based, meaning 24 hours of internet connectivity. How cool and cheap is that!! I realized that while I did bring the charger for my camera, I did not bring my USB cord for it, to download pictures.
I went back to the room, finally unpacked my stuff. I figured out the safe, which is free. It does hold my laptop, so I was very happy about that!!
After that, I took a shower, changed clothes and wandered to the beach around 9:00. I love the beach at night for some reason. Nobody was out there. I just sat there listening and watching the stars. It is amazing that the water doesn’t stop.
I next found the sports bar for more cervezos. Yes, they have a sports bar. I was so excited!! The Cavs/Magic game was on. I ended up hanging out with some girls and some dudes that were watching the game feverishly. It turns out there are several people from Boston here.
A lot of people are smoking cigars here. I guess this country is renowned for its cigars. I found myself wanting to have one. I may get one tonight.
I’ve learned that I really like talking to the people that work here. They remember me and treat me like gold. It is refreshing. Their smiles seem genuine to me.
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