Hello People
Back again for the third part of my tale!
Day 8 of our adventure, and my wife woke miraculously without a hang over.
Our Island Buddy dropped by for coffee, and we all decided to go to the Cabarete Caves for something to do. She had not been there before, so we stopped at Fun Tours to get some directions, and confirm our horseback riding tour.
It was a short jaunt to the caves which could easily be walked from the main street of Cabarete.When we arrived we where informed by the awaiting tour guide that the price for our tour would be 15 US dollars each.
He told us that the price had gone up since a German had bought out the Canadian's who owned it last winter. Oh well, I paid and we received flashlights, and began our tour.
Our guide spoke English quite well, and was very informative. He showed us some of the local plants and explained their usages. The caves themselves where rather small, but colorful, none the less. Unfortunately the electricity was not working, and we had to rely on our flashlights and their poor batteries. You had to be careful, not to hit your head or slip and fall in the steep narrow entrances. We where told stories of the Taino Indian's hiding from the Spaniards and preforming mystic rituals in the caves. I thought that he was just spinning some tall tales for tourists. But who am I to say
. Half way along the tour, my sunglasses slipped off and fell to the bottom of one of the caves, and we could not find them. Oh well, it was time to stop at a small bar that was conveniently located right beside the cave. We negotiated for some bottles of water, and I asked the guide to offer any of the local men who where hanging around, 3 dollars US, to find my glasses. Sure enough, a few minutes later, one of the men found my sunglasses, and was quite happy to receive his reward, which was quickly spent on a round of beer for his friends. They where ecstatic. We finished our touring two more caves, the last one had a a large pool of water, and we where told to go for a swim. I could not talk any of the girls to jump in. I Couldn't blame them, it looked pretty scary down there. The caves where something to see, but a little bit on the disappointing side, because of their small size.
The next day was the big one, that the girls had been waiting for! Ocean world. There goes my budget! We had booked a tour through Fun Tours, who had beat other tour operators by 40 dollars. At 8 in the morning the bus picked us up at our condo. We had to make two quick stops at Breezes and an other resort in Sosua.
The bus was clean, and the guide was friendly, he pointed out us a few of the sights in Puerto Plata such as Brugal Rum factory and the Coca Cola plant. Sitting in the front of the bus, we got a good taste of Dominican driving. Man they like to play chicken a lot. We arrived at ocean world, and paid the rest of our money, which did take some time, because our bank card would not work. Yet it did work in the ATM no problem. Ocean world was very clean and all of the staff where friendly and helpful. First off we toured the Bird sanctuary's and enjoyed the colorful parrots and toucans. We arranged for the girl's dolphin swim that afternoon, and watched them feed the tigers. There where rays and sharks, and piranhas to see, and various other colorful fish. The sea lion show was funny, and entertaining. By then we where getting a little bit hungry and thirsty, so we headed for the restaurant. Good timing! They had just opened the buffet, and we where the first in line. 14 dollars bought you all you could eat, and it was very good food. A huge selection of every thing from seafood, to cheese cake was provided. We filled our plates a couple of times, and enjoyed eating on the deck in the ocean breeze. Drinks where separate, but not to expensive. The staff where very quick to keep the table clean. We ate too much!
After lunch, we kicked back for a few minutes, and then headed for the dolphin swim. There was a quick education session, on the do's and dont's of swimming with the dolphins. Then the girls where introduced to those sublime creatures known as dolphins.. As much as I am against the concept of captive animals, I could not help but enjoy watching these magnificent marine mammals interact with the girls. The smiles on their faces where blinding to the eye. I played paparazzi and took numerous photos. My cohorts enjoyed themselves immensely, and their only complaint, was that the half our in the tank, was much to short. One other activity my daughter and I enjoyed was snorkeling in the fish tank. Other than the fact that you swam in a lot of fish feces, it was quit enjoyable to swim with a huge variety of fish, of all sorts and sizes. A quick shower and a swim got rid of the goo
. We spent the rest of the day swimming and sun bathing, and spent a few dollars in their fairly expensive, but well stocked gift shop. My wife wanted to buy some of the dolphin swim photos that where for sale, but I quickly convinced her that the photos that I had taken where just as good, if not better than the ones supplied by Ocean World staff. Our visit to Ocean world was a resounding success with my family.
After a good nights sleep, we where picked up by our Island Buddy, and headed to Playa Caleton. It was about a 40 minute drive, and we enjoyed the sites, and stopped at a small town to pick up pop and drinks. When we arrived at the beach, our buddy, arranged for plastic chairs and a table, right next to the ocean. We where presented with the catch of the day, and decided to order everything. My daughter, her friend, and I proceeded to go snorkeling. Although there where quite a few fish, and corals to see, it was not as good as Sosua. I think that over fishing is a problem here. After a long swim, we headed back to the beach, just in time for lunch. The table was covered with food, which including parrot fish, lobster, fried plantains, rice, and beans. Unfortunately I could not spot the other girl who had ventured snorkeling with us. Apparently she had turned back initially to fix her mask, and then headed back out in the water by her self to follow us. We where in a panic to find her, when one fo the local boys spotted her out near the rocks. Our Island Buddy, kindly offered the boy 6 dollars to swim out and make sure she was all right. Unfortunately our meal was was getting cold while all of this was going on. We finally sat down, and enjoyed some of the best fish, I have ever eaten. The food was cooked gloriously. Our snorkeling buddy finally got back to shore, but was not happy about the sea urchin spine in her foot. Everybody was fussing over her, including some of the local boys. I gave up, and just enjoyed the rest of my dinner, beer, and a local musician, who played guitar and sang while we dined. He was quite good, and we enjoyed each others company, despite the language barrier. I grabbed his guitar for a second, and showed him that I played also. He was surprised, and complimented me. Our Island Buddy finally removed the urchin spine with a combination of a needle, and her mouth. Yes she had actually sucked on the girls toe! Talk about devotion. She had also paid for lunch, so I have no ideal what it cost.
After lunch it was massage time. Two women for about ten bucks per half hour. They gave a fantastic massage, while we each took turns, and relaxed to the beautiful sights and sounds of Playa Caleton. We tried some of the very sweet Dominican cookies from a vender. MMMMM. It was time to leave when we noticed that the locals where starting to head out. We had a good laugh when our Island buddy chased a turkey down the beach trail with her 4 by 4. Taking the scenic way back to Cabarete, we stopped to view the Madonna that was painted on the side of a mountain, and to pick sea shells at another beach. Some great photos of the sunset, and another fun filled day had come to an end.
Part four of my report is pending, Later friends!
(21)
Hicks from the sticks visit Cabarete (part 3)
