Back Home!

Feels good to be home! We had an amazing week in the Dominican and I'm going to share some of my favorite moments here. WARNING: Long post!!!

The flight there was as good as it can be for a 6 1/2 hr flight. We were asked to sit in the "emergency exit" seats, and i wasn't sure what that meant. For anyone else who doesnt' know, they are THE BEST seats in the plane. TONS of leg room, and the tv right in front of ya! Bathrooms to the right and left, a few steps away, it was great. After all the running around with dropping kids off, and getting last minute things, and sleeping only a few hrs the night before, it wasn't too hard to sit for that length of time (coming home was different)

We made a quick stop in Punta Cana. The minute we got off the plane the humidity just hit us, and the sun was HOT, not a cloud in the sky, it was awesome! We changed into shorts, and boarded the plane for a short 40 min to Puerto Plata. We got in after dark (i think it was about 7pm) and the airport was small and empty. Went through Customs again. They are way less strict then customs in Canada! Once we got our luggage, we had been warned to carry it ourselves. That there would be people there offering and taking our luggage, then expecting a tip, for taking it a few steps to the bus. Knowing this, but not really getting it, some guy grabbed my luggage and took off. That sucked. He honestly pulled it from my hands. On the way to our resort we weren't sure what to think. It was really scary actually. The Domincan people drive a lot differently then us, *very* close to the vehicles around them, and they drive fast. It was culture shock. The houses were poorly made, no windows or doors. I knew it was a 3rd world country, and the best way to explain it is you have to really see it to believe it. There were people everywhere, and garbage, it was just way different. lol, rene and I looked at eachother with these huge eyes, and thought "What are we doing here?"

Got to the resort, and finally found our room. Because it was dark, it was really hard to see anything. Could hear the ocean, but couldn't take it all in. Our hotel room: not that great. Beds were clean, and the view was beautiful. But the bathroom was nasty, and i'd never sit in that bathtub. There was mold all over the curtains facing the patio. The tv was old and rarely worked. In order to have power and air conditioning, you had to put your room key into a slot. We weren't overly impressed, but had read the reviews and sort of expected it. We decided to call it a night, and not judge any of it until the next day. THANK GOODNESS, because when we woke up, and looked around, it was AMAZING. The view cancelled out any fears, and thoughts about the room. WHo cares about the room, as long as we had ac, clean bedding and a place to shower.

The resort we stayed at is the Casa Marina Beach and Reef Resort. Beautiful! First time going into the ocean, and it was truly amazing. The staff were pretty friendly, and the all inclusive was really cool. Everyone asks about the food. It was different. Not bad, but not really good, just different. Always something you can eat, and tons of different foods to try. The drinks were so yummy, and honestly I had only a few 'virgin' drinks the whole week! Hey, we were on vacation! We got to see lizards, and crabs and tons of birds. The weather all week was in the 30's, and as low as maybe 27. There was a lot to do, tons of free entertainment in the pools and on the beach. Every night they have entertainment, and that was fun. Aunty Leonie and Uncle Benny went up often to participate, making it even more fun. The pools on the resort were more then great. there was a big pool, that was always busy and full of people (way too many topless girls for me though!) a medium sized pool (which the rest of our group's rooms over looked) and a smaller one. There were also 3 cold jacuzzi's right in the reef on the ocean. These were unique to our resort, and they made for a great place to cool off in the heat. LOVED the hot sun!!!!! I was surprised that the sun set so early though, around 6:30pm. We slept really really well every night. The first morning we met with a person to book any excursions we wanted to go on in the week. Rene and I decided on Paradise Island and Monster Truck safari. http://www.affiliate.viator.com/brochure/product_show.jsp;jsessionid=bacH-vvhrLW_ShpYqrQgr?ID=1010&PRODUCTID=1016&CODE=3711PI&AUID=3827 (link to paradise Island)

*sigh* Paradise Island. THE BEST PLACE I'VE EVER BEEN IN MY LIFE!!!!! Seriously! It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Romantic, and beautiful. Words or pictures can not describe this place. It was perfect. The perfect day. There are mixed reviews online, but we loved it, LOVED IT! We got picked up at our resort at 6:50am! (gulp) we drove for 2hrs west towards and into Haiti. The drive was no big deal for us, in fact we agreed that the drive there was worth the money in itself. We got to see so much! Fields of sugar cane, tobacco, cannabis, rice....we saw housing (huts) the people...we stopped at a little store on the way for a bathroom break. I gave a lady and her daughter a pencil, and she didn't even know what it was! She was so thankful, and it felt so good to give. I wish I had more to give them. We then reached Punta Rusia, where we stopped for a few rum and cokes ;) and had another bathroom break. The view was spectacular, the ocean soooo calm. We got on these speedboats, and they took us to the middle of nowhere on the ocean, to Paradise Island. We drove through some mangroves, which look so cool. The Island. WOW. And it was VERY HOT that day, the sun was right over us, and going into the clear aqua water was perfect. We both went snorkelling for the first time. What a cool unforgettable experience!! Took me about 20 min to feel comfortable and figure out how to do this exactly! lol... plus, the rum. We saw all kinds of tropical fish, swimming all over and around us. We then got to a part where there were honest to god, millions of jelly fish! It was a bit freaky, and after a while i wish they would have gone away! They were EVERYWHERE, and swimming into us. We had to duck, and move them out of the way with our hands. Felt so cool, and gross! Once back on Paradise Island, we had only 2.5hrs left before jetting out again. It went by way too fast. I brought licorice and shared with the bar tenders, and they really enjoyed that. One younger guy kept saying YUMMMM, ohhh yummmm! lol. We took pictures, and just sat in the water taking it all in. I actually fell asleep for about 15 minutes in the water! It was just so relaxing, and I felt so special at that moment to share it with Rene. I love him so much, and couldn't have imagined sharing those 2.5hrs on Paradise Island with anyone else in the world. We chatted with a few other people there, and then it was already time to go. The tour guide said we lucked our on one of the best days he's seen out there. Surprisingly calm, and really hot. Took the boat back to land, and had a buffet lunch, and served more drinks. Took more pictures. Saw a local girl about age 2, and really started to miss my kids. Took more pictures, then got back to the resort around 6.

Monster Truck Safari. So glad that Uncle Benny, his dad, Elora, and Skylar came at the same time as us :) Another amazing day! Riding in a huge Monster truck, through the town again, seeing the people, and the land. It is beautiful country. A lot of garbage everywhere though, they haven't figured that out yet, and it's too bad. We stopped at a house (hut) way into the middle of nowhere, and got to go inside and have a look at an 'average' house. Wow. Think Old Days. Again, have to really SEE it to believe it. So many kids, begging for stuff, wanting candy or money. They are used to seeing and getting from the tourists. They need all they can get though, they live and have very little. I will post pictures of the hut this week. Met a little girl, and asked her mom if I could hold her (pictures to follow...) she was so cute!!!!! She kept playing with my necklace, and I couldn't help but see her dirty finger nails, and her clothing, and teeth. It's sad, but she was so happy!! I gave her and her mom a chocolate bar, the little girl (about 1.5yrs old) devoured it! Her brothers watched, and the mom didn't share it, letting her girl eat most of it herself! She had chocolate all over her face! They don't have chocolate in the dominican! You could tell it was a real treat. She pulled at my sun glasses, and so I let her wear them, omg, so cute! Rene took a bunch of pictures, then her little brother wanted to try them on too. I was able to show them on the back of my camera the pictures, and they couldn't believe it! Seeing themselves, they have never seen that before, and couldn't believe their eyes. So cool to be apart of that! Too bad I couldn't give them the pictures. So the day was full of backcountry driving, we stopped at a breathtaking river, and went swimming in it! Very educational and well worth it.

At our resort, we spent a lot of time in and out of the pools, taking in the beauty of the beach, and trying new drinks, and foods. We found that a lot of people staying at the resort were from Canada, many from Quebec. I walked with Uncle Benny for a few hours off the resort down to the market, which stretched about 2km. It was interesting to barder with the people on buying rum, vanilla and even cigars! Got a few dresses for Avery, and some musical instruments for both the kids.

On Monday we went to the Breezes resort, where I got to photograph my first wedding. It couldn't have gone any better. The family was so nice and welcoming to us, and the bride and groom so photogenic! The ocean made for a beautiful background for the group and family pictures. I had so much fun, and might find myself doing a lot more wedding photography. It's such a small world. We found so many little connections with the group of 32 there! Rene ran into one of his sister's ex's from years ago, and it was fun playing catch up. The bride used to work for Rene's mom at Hamar's, and one of her friends was at our wedding! Henriette had invited them! A couple there was from Whitecourt as well. It was a beautiful day, and neat to see another resort. Of course seeing two people who love eachother so much get married was also sweet.

As good as the experience was, it was still nice to pack up to leave. Hard to leave the beautiful weather, and the ocean, but we were REALLY missing Jaden and Avery!!! Only able to call home 3x's due to problems phoning out of the country, and we were really anxious to get home to be with them. The last night we took part in the entertainment. Well I did anyways...lol. Rene had just got up to go get the camera, and they pulled me and Skylar (who is the same age as my little brother Sam!) to the stage. Aunty Leonie and Uncle Benny went up, and so did 2 other couples. We had to dance. Oh my. Not sure if you are all with the way Latino's dance, but it was interesting to say the least...lol. Poor Skylar! :) Got some great pictures though!!!

Well I do believe I've gone on and on, and I'll be surprised if anyone read *all* of this! LOL... no pictures in this post, I'm going to post in themes this week. Beach pictures, Paradise Island day, Safari day, Entertainment, etc.....etc.....

We recommend this trip to you all.....maybe not this resort so much, because it was only a 3 star, but then again, very affordable, and it was only our room and that we didn't care much for. (had there been a little fridge, and drinks/food available after 11, i would say that would push it to a 4star) If you have any questions, please ask away!!!!

Also, a trip into a poor country like the Dominican, makes you appreciate so much more what we have in Canada. We live in a beautiful and rich country, and I'm so proud to have been born here. We plan to buy a trailer soon, and spend the next few years camping, with our kids. It'll be a while before we leave the country again, and we'd like to have baby #3 soon! Thank you mom and dad, Celine & Jason and Henriette for keeping our kids!!! They had so much fun, and keep telling us stories about their week.... they had a really good time.

Have a good weekend! Time to start going through some pictures :) :) :)