Dominican Republic- 2003

Our trip to the Dominican Republic was in December, 2003 and this narrative was written in December, 2018.

While our grandkids were young, we made it a practice to take them to new and interesting destinations for their Christmas vacation.  Our marketing research business usually slowed down over the holidays, and the kids had time off from school, so we could usually grab two weeks for a getaway.

My sister Lenore had been to the Dominican Republic on business several times and she raved about how wonderful it was. We had taken several family vacations on cruise ships and Dominican Republic, or DR as they call it, looked like a good vacation destination.  Online, Misti found a villa in Cabarete called Sea Horse Ranch, located in an upscale resort development near the beach. 

Dominican Republic is a Caribbean country on the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles, and it shares the island with Haiti to the west.  It’s the second largest Caribbean nation, Cuba is the largest, and has a population of ten million.  DR is the largest economy in the Caribbean and with its temperate climate, excellent beaches, golf courses, rainforest and a hospitable population, it gets the most tourists of any Caribbean country.

It’s also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in the Americas, located in Santo Domingo's colonial zone, which is a World Heritage site.  The Dominican Republic was first visited by Christopher Columbus, in 1492, and its capital, Santa Domingo, is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Americas.

Since our schedules at home were different, our family flew separately to Miami where we met up, and then we flew together to Puerto Plata in DR, on the Amber Coast of the Atlantic Ocean.  Mike got a flight that took him through Port-au-Prince in Haiti, and he made his way to meet us in Puerto Plata.

The villa wasn’t ready for occupancy, so we had to spend the first night in Puerto Plata at the Allegro Playa Dorado (or Happy Golden Beach in Spanish), which is an all-inclusive resort catering primarily to families.  At all-inclusive resorts, all drinks, including alcoholic beverages, are included so there were lots of drunken parties.  We were just staying for one night so didn’t have the all-inclusive package, weren’t interested in partying and were still a bit jet lagged.  This was the first time we had ever stayed at an all-inclusive resort, even though it was just for one night, and we thought it a bit weird. 

Next day we picked up our two rental cars, there were eight of us, and drove the twenty miles to our villa in Cabarete.  We were overwhelmed with the place, a fabulous villa on a knoll overlooking the beach, with a large infinity swimming pool set on the property’s edge looking out to sea.  The villa came with a housekeeper/cook, which was a treat.  A huge circular driveway gave the villa a mansion feel.  The villa was in a fenced and gated community, with armed guards sporting automatic weapons at the entrance. 

We spent the next week enjoying the villa and its pool, as well as great Dominican meals prepared and served by Maria, our affable cook and housekeeper.  Fortunately, David’s command of Spanish is excellent, since Maria had only a few words in English. The villa was located in a ranch style resort with various activities including horseback riding, a favorite of the kids.  There was an excellent beach just two miles from Cabarete where they had windsurfing, other beach activities and some good restaurants.

One afternoon we went to a baseball game, about an hour away from Cabarete. Baseball is DR’s national sport and many famous players on U.S. teams are from Dominican Republic.  The game was fun - a stadium that looked like it was left over from the 1940’s and some of the best pizza we’ve ever had.  We drove back in a ferocious tropical storm through what can best be described as “jungle” and could barely keep our van on the road.

To handle the voluminous rains, the countryside and cities have deep ditches along the roads.  At one point I accidentally drove off the road and buried the right side of our eight-passenger van in a deep ditch, and thought I had seriously damaged the car.  But we called a tow truck, and with great skill the driver was able to get us out and on our way.

One thing that impressed us was the security everywhere.  Armed guards with sawed off shotguns in supermarkets, gas stations and pretty much everywhere else.  Although we never saw any criminal activity, and never felt unsafe or threatened, it did make us wonder just how much crime there is in DR.

After a week, we split up to fly home.  David, Hiromi and the kids flew out of Puerto Plata to Miami and then home, while Misti, Mike and I drove on to Santa Domingo to catch a flight home.  Driving  from Cabarete to Santa Domingo, at mid day, we were hungry and couldn’t find any restaurants along the roads or in any towns, which we couldn’t understand.  Then, all of a sudden, we were surprised to see a Burger King, which was a welcome sight.  The restaurant had a photo of the first Burger King restaurant, opened in 1954 in Miami, located on 36th Street.  I know that because I lived in Miami at that time and remember eating at the world’s first Burger King.

Our DR trip was a memorable family vacation, perhaps not as exotic as some others, but a worthwhile Caribbean destination.

Art Faibisch, December, 2018