I have always read about the Garden of Eden in the Bible and it sounded like such a lovely place. Lots of green grass and plants, palm trees, friendly animals scurrying around and my wife lying around naked...ah that would be the life! But normally after picturing this in my mind I wake up to snowy, blustery blizzards with the temperature dipping to around -50 degrees Celsius...that was until this year!A few weeks ago Shiela and I ventured off onto an adventure into the Garden of Eden along with another couple we are good friends with. As we sailed away on an extremely cramped and uncomfortable charter flight we waved goodbye (I think I saw some people actually giving the finger) to the cold Saskatoon weather and settled in for a nice 6 hour flight to where the air is hot all year round...the Dominican Republic (Puerto Plata specifically).
We were off to stay at an all inclusive resort for the very first time. The first great shock we received (besides the beautiful w
arm air on our face as we left the airport) was walking into our room and seeing three twin beds. Ironically we had specifically asked for at least one of the beds to be a queen, but I guess something had got lost in translation which I found a little hard to understand since we booked it in Saskatoon where our travel agent spoke English. But, as they say in the Domincan...No Problem! We simply pushed two twin beds together and ended up making it into a King. The funny part was the next morning after housekeeping had been to our room we came back and the housekeeper had seen what we had done, so they ended up making our bed with king size bedding and we essentially had a king size bed for the rest of the time there.
arm air on our face as we left the airport) was walking into our room and seeing three twin beds. Ironically we had specifically asked for at least one of the beds to be a queen, but I guess something had got lost in translation which I found a little hard to understand since we booked it in Saskatoon where our travel agent spoke English. But, as they say in the Domincan...No Problem! We simply pushed two twin beds together and ended up making it into a King. The funny part was the next morning after housekeeping had been to our room we came back and the housekeeper had seen what we had done, so they ended up making our bed with king size bedding and we essentially had a king size bed for the rest of the time there.The resort was g
reat and it was all you could eat food 23 hours per day...only between 5:00-6:00pm did I have trouble finding something to eat as the buffet was closed to get ready for supper and both the beach and the Pizzeria restaurants were closed at 5:00pm too. But that was no problem because honestly I wasn't hungry the entire time I was there. I just ate because it was time to eat...and even when it wasn't time to eat. We pretty much ate pizza constantly as the Pizzeria was right by the pool and was very good.
reat and it was all you could eat food 23 hours per day...only between 5:00-6:00pm did I have trouble finding something to eat as the buffet was closed to get ready for supper and both the beach and the Pizzeria restaurants were closed at 5:00pm too. But that was no problem because honestly I wasn't hungry the entire time I was there. I just ate because it was time to eat...and even when it wasn't time to eat. We pretty much ate pizza constantly as the Pizzeria was right by the pool and was very good.Our resort also was essentially the Garden of Eden. There was unlimited fruit you could eat, there was green grass and palm tress everywhere. there were animals wandering around like birds, cats, peacocks, and geckos and there were nearly naked people lying around every so often (though not our wives as they opted to keep their tops on). But it's true what they say...it wasn't the good looking people that took their tops off...yikes! It was pretty easy to avert your eyes a different direction.
Because the Dominican is close to the equator there is essentially 12 hours of sunshine and 12 hours of night time. Which m
eans that by around 4:30pm or so nobody was at the beach anymore and everyone was getting ready for the nightly entertainment. Our resort had an animation team that had nicknames like Shaggy, Macho Macho, Mr. Spaghetti and Mr. Belly. During the day they hung around by the pool and got people involved in things like water polo, beach volleyball, mini golf, water aerobics, etc. We participated during the day sometimes and we all entered the long shot basketball competition (which we all lost because no one could sink a shot), played some water polo, played beach volleyball (Team Canada beat Team England) and I even participated in the water aerobics one day. In the evening they would start their show around 9:15pm or so (Dominican time so that was pretty flexible) and they would put on a show where they did skits or some dances, etc. It wasn't Vegas, but it was not bad and on the shows they did where they danced to different Disney movies was good, as well as their Hollywood night which was actually Broadway as they did a number of songs from different musicals.
eans that by around 4:30pm or so nobody was at the beach anymore and everyone was getting ready for the nightly entertainment. Our resort had an animation team that had nicknames like Shaggy, Macho Macho, Mr. Spaghetti and Mr. Belly. During the day they hung around by the pool and got people involved in things like water polo, beach volleyball, mini golf, water aerobics, etc. We participated during the day sometimes and we all entered the long shot basketball competition (which we all lost because no one could sink a shot), played some water polo, played beach volleyball (Team Canada beat Team England) and I even participated in the water aerobics one day. In the evening they would start their show around 9:15pm or so (Dominican time so that was pretty flexible) and they would put on a show where they did skits or some dances, etc. It wasn't Vegas, but it was not bad and on the shows they did where they danced to different Disney movies was good, as well as their Hollywood night which was actually Broadway as they did a number of songs from different musicals. Pictures: The pink guy in the picture was leading the aerobics the day I took part...he eventually jumped in the water with us**)
The other fun thing they do every night was an ice breaker. This was essentially just a way to get the crowd involved and laughing. The very first night we were there our friend got pulled onto sta
ge. All I can say is that the number 4 has a whole new meaning to him now (think Michael Jackson). Another night we watched as the people on stage had to go out to the crowd and get items from the crowd (or themselves if they had it). It started off easy with a pen, then two 
drinks, etc. But it got more risky when they started to ask for 3 pairs of pants and shirts! And then riskier when the final item they needed were three bras...and they actually got them from people!! At the end the animation team took all the clothes they had received from people and in one big pile people had one minute to run up and get their clothes back! It was hilarious to watch the crowd of peopel swarm the stage...and then the turned the lights out! That was funny (and I was so glad I wasn't on stage that night).
ge. All I can say is that the number 4 has a whole new meaning to him now (think Michael Jackson). Another night we watched as the people on stage had to go out to the crowd and get items from the crowd (or themselves if they had it). It started off easy with a pen, then two 
drinks, etc. But it got more risky when they started to ask for 3 pairs of pants and shirts! And then riskier when the final item they needed were three bras...and they actually got them from people!! At the end the animation team took all the clothes they had received from people and in one big pile people had one minute to run up and get their clothes back! It was hilarious to watch the crowd of peopel swarm the stage...and then the turned the lights out! That was funny (and I was so glad I wasn't on stage that night).Pictures: The one is the group shot of the animation team (notice they grabbed Shiela for the photo...can't blame them!!) The other photo is us four with Shaggy and Macho Macho.
The final night we were there I did end up on stage but lucky for me it was an easy one. We had to sing La Bamba in Spanish (they had a clipboard with the words on it). I did the best I could and it ended up coming down to me and this other guy from England. The winner was determined by the crowd and it was essentially everyone cheering for their country...which England had a lot more of. But in the end our Canadians came through and we ended up with a tie which won both of us a bottle of rum. It was a great way to end things off.
The cool thin
g about being in a different country is that you get to meet a lot of people from other countries as well. We ended up hanging out with some people we met from Scotland quite a bit and we also talked a lot of with some people from England. That was neat and you learn a bit about other countries through it all (while laughing on the inside at all their accents!)
g about being in a different country is that you get to meet a lot of people from other countries as well. We ended up hanging out with some people we met from Scotland quite a bit and we also talked a lot of with some people from England. That was neat and you learn a bit about other countries through it all (while laughing on the inside at all their accents!)We also went on a few excursions. The best one by far was the Outback Jungle Safari. Our tour guide Rudy was amazing and gave us l
ots of details about the Dominican and just had fun with all the tourists. And the things he did on that truck could never be done in Canada. For instance, he hung off the back of the truck while handing out drinks (including alcohol) to people on the truck. He climbed off onto the side of the truck to pull things off trees as we went by. And if you asked for a Pepsi and Rum (the Pepsi was the only bad part of the tour) he would take a Pepsi, open the bottle cap with another Pepsi, turn around and pour some of the Pepsi into the street and then pour some of the rum into the Pepsi bottle. Then he would put the cap back on, shake it up a bit and pass it down to whoever ordered it! Oh, and don't forget that he is doing this while hanging off the back of the truck the whole time while cruising down the highway!
ots of details about the Dominican and just had fun with all the tourists. And the things he did on that truck could never be done in Canada. For instance, he hung off the back of the truck while handing out drinks (including alcohol) to people on the truck. He climbed off onto the side of the truck to pull things off trees as we went by. And if you asked for a Pepsi and Rum (the Pepsi was the only bad part of the tour) he would take a Pepsi, open the bottle cap with another Pepsi, turn around and pour some of the Pepsi into the street and then pour some of the rum into the Pepsi bottle. Then he would put the cap back on, shake it up a bit and pass it down to whoever ordered it! Oh, and don't forget that he is doing this while hanging off the back of the truck the whole time while cruising down the highway!
The Safari was great as we saw the Dominican countryside, went to a real Dominican house in the country and had some coffee, visited a fruit plantation where we at grapefruit freshly picked, swam in a river, and went boogie boarding in the ocean. Definately worth every penny!
Pictures: Rudy (our guide) handing out drinks on the tour. Shiela and I holding a crocidile. A young boy holding two snakes for us to see as we travelled down a river on the tour boat.
We also went on a q
uad tour which was fun too. We each had a quad and cruised around behind our tour guide through some back roads, through puddles, through the city streets and to the ocean as well. The tour guide for this was not very good at all, but the quadding was a lot of fun.
uad tour which was fun too. We each had a quad and cruised around behind our tour guide through some back roads, through puddles, through the city streets and to the ocean as well. The tour guide for this was not very good at all, but the quadding was a lot of fun.Picture: This was the four of us after the tour...we were pretty muddy and then we walked right by everyone at the pool! I think they sold about 5 more tours because people saw how much fun we had.
Our final exc
ursion was a snorkeling one to Sosua Beach. Unfortunately though, the waves were too big that morning and so the snorkeling wouldn't be good and we didn't get to go into the water but rather had to stay on the beach. That was fine as we did a bunch of shopping in all the shops along there and bought some souvenirs. Next time we go we'll actually go scuba diving which would be a lot of fun. My friends wife and I did an introductory scuba diving less0n in the pool and it was pretty neat. Very weird to be actually breathing under water.Picture: This was at the entrance to Sosua beach and all the shops. To the right is the "Treehouse" which has a tree growing right up through the shop!
After the week was up it was time to once again cram onto the uncomfortable charter flight back to the extremely cold weather. The best part was we missed all the -50 degree weather which was great and it was a balmy -25 or so when we got home. Will I ever venture to the Garden of Eden again...most definately. These hot vacations are definately the way to go and I can't wait to visit more Garden's in some other countries too.
Any recommendations on where we should go next?
1 comment:
It's so fun traveling with friends! I love all the pictures...looks like a place we would like to discover! I didn't get the "traveling to a warmer place during the winter" trend until last week! Now, I can see it could be addicting!
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