just returned from DR
i just got home ( UK ) yesterday, and whaty can i say. Its cold and raining !!
I stayed A.I in rio san juan, at the bahia principe, home of THE song.The place was spotless, the food was nice and the staff were excellent, even though they have to put up with all of us.
The entertainment crew never seemed to go to bed. They were doing stretching classes by the pool in the morning and then the show in the evening and if you went for a drink on the street later on they wre still out having a beer at 2am!!
I decided to head off into cabarette one day. I was spotted straight away and was offered two necklaces for 1500 pesos, which after some carefull haggling i got down to 500 for one that i liked for my girlfriend, but the guy was so impressed !! that he gave me a second one for free. I read some people posting about how they get hassled by vendors all the time, but these fellas dont have very much, so why not have a look. After i bought them i made sure i wore them so i could show them to the other guys and they were fine about it, and i wasnt bothered again.
By the way, if you are reading this before going on holiday, when you get onto the beach at cabarette turn right and head away from the beach bars and past the hotels and you get the big long beach all to your self with surf crashing in.It is beautiful.
Back at the Bahia principe i signed up for a free try dive in the pool.Be warned that if you try this you will loose £200 from your bank account, because it is so easy that you sign up for the real thing and by the end of the week you are hooked. The instructors are so nice i was sad to leave them.In the end i went down 4 times around two reefs and along a rock face and got a PADI qualification in with the deal. I highly recommend doing it, its cheaper than back home, and i think i would rather learn in crystal clear warm waters than in some murky quarry in england.
I also went to Playa Caleton for the day, which is a nice little beach.
All in all, a great time was had by all. I still have mt reservations about the influx of A.I resorts, they seem to be a bit divisive, us and them if you will. But i also see that the tourist pound/dollar is putting a lot of money into the country, where it goes to i dont know, i just hope that some of it goes to the peolpe, who are first rate.
Rod.
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