Ponce de Leon and the Basilica

We got up early and went out for breakfast. We watched them load boats with people and gear. Then we checked out of our hotel and headed for the house of Ponce de Leon.

The drive was through the countryside, a mix of pasture land and sugar cane fields. The tractor is towing wagons loaded with sugar cane. 

The museum was small, but somewhat interesting. The building has obviously been reconstructed. The gate was closed when we drove up, but two guys in a motorcycle arrived to open the gate and the museum. 

The museum houses some artifacts from that era.  Ponce was in charge in this area of the DR, fighting indians, and later in Puerto Rico, and then in Florida. The museum receives very few visitors, fewer than ten a day even in high season. We were the first visitors that day. 

Since we had time, we decided to drive to Higuey and see the Basilica de Altagracia. This was built in 1956 for a small miraculous image. 

We drove to the airport and returned the rental car with an hour to spare. We checked into the Four Points hotel, had lunch, and relaxed in the pool. Dinner was good, at Zen restaurant near the hotel. 

Tuesday started with an alarm at 4:45 AM, for an 8 AM flight to Atlanta.  The flights home were uneventful.  The weather in Boulder was cooler than average for this time of year, adding a bit of cold shock to our return to reality.

Bayahibe

We drove to Bayahibe on the toll road. The town's main business is boat tours and diving. Our hotel, apart-hotel Villa Baya, is a small oasis. The town is about 2000 people. We shopped at a mini mart, and went down the street to a loud and crowded bar to buy beer. 

Our first night we ate at Mama Mias, with a genuine Italian cook/owner. 

On Saturday, we drove out to look at the park, but decided that it was too hot to hike into the jungle. We spent a little time on the beach there.  Siestas make sense in this climate. 

We stopped at Dominicus Anericanus, an Italian enclave, where we had good Italian gelato. The Italian lady who ran the gelato shop told us in broken Spanish that 90 percent of the residents were Italians, and that the community was just jungle 30 years ago. 

Saturday night we went to mass at the little church. It was the church's feast day. The young people were enthusiastically playing and singing. Sandi thought the priest was running for bishop. He was movie star handsome, and quite an orator, praying for healing for a long list of diseases. 

This is election season here, with flags, a blaring sound system, and decorated cars. On Saturday night there was a parade of cars generating noise and waving flags. 

We ate at the Cafe Saona, Sandi had the Lionfish, an invasive predator, while Richard had chicken skewers.

We planned for an easy Sunday;  Richard was not feeling well. Sandi read the NYT on line. We had a late lunch at Mare Nuestro, and watched the tour boats disgorge sunburnt tourists. 

We went back to Dominicus Americanis for pasta at Da Elio and more gelato.

Bayahibe was loud til midnight, due to the annual patron Festival.   We begin the trip home tomorrow. 

Santo Domingo

We checked out of the hotel, and took a cab to the bus station. We took the Expresso Bavero bus to the capital, Santo  Domingo, $9 US, 3.5 hours. The ride went fine, although Sandi was not happy about the vendors who boarded the bus along the way. The bus went from an express to a local when it hit Santo Domingo. Traffic was just as anarchistic as we had heard. We got a taxi to our hotel, El Beaterio, a quiet oasis in the city, an old convent.   The photo is of the courtyard. 

We had a nice dinner at Buche Perico, a restaurant with its own greenhouse. Nothing on the menu was familiar; most of the Spanish descriptions were incomprehensible to me. There was no English menu, and the waiter had no English. We spent 10 minutes with the waiter trying to understand the menu. The food was good, but different. 

We went to 5 pm mass at the first Cathedral of the Americas, with some elderly ladies and a guitar playing nun. 

We walked around the colonial area, and fell into a walking tour with Pablo. He was an enthusiastic guide, a wealth of information.  We visited the fort, and walked by many historic buildings, including the house of Diego Colon, son of Christopher Columbus. Santo Domingo was first in the Americas in many categories. 

On Thursday we went to the first cathedral of the Americas, or at least the oldest still standing. We listened ti the audio tour

Then we went to the Museum of the Royal Houses, all about the history of Santo Domingo. We were reminded how important Ferdinand and Isabella were. 

As it was hot, we went back for a nap. For dinner, we went to Jalao for Dominican food, easier with an English menu. 

The painted telephone ploes were interesting. 

On Friday, as we were getting ready to leave, a group arrived with historical signs, lead by a museumoligist. This will be the first hotel/museum in the DR. 

We took a 3.5 hour bus ride to the Punta Cana  airport, where we picked up a rental car, and headed for the beach, Bayahibe. 

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

We left in a snowstorm. 852 flights were cancelled, but we made it. 

It is an all-inclusive resort, first time for both of us. We took a bus to the shopping center, and bought a SIM card for the phone. We bought a turtle from a woodcarver and his son, photo below. 

The Punta Cana beaches go on for more than 7 km.

  Richard was able to get out in a kayak. 

Sandi was able to work on her beach time 

We had a nice dinner with Neda, Peter, Matt, and Kaitlin. 

On the day of the wedding, Richard got out sailing. He had not been sailing in many years, but it came right back. 

The wedding was very nice. They asked that we not post photos on social media. 

On Tuesday we took a tour to an organic farm, wherw we learned about coffee, chocolate, pineapples, and bannanas. 

Our guide showing where cocoa beans come from.   Below is a typical Dominican outdoor kitchen.