Dominican Republic
As an introduction.
Yesterday we just arrived in our Russian Federation, which met us with a leaden sky and dirty snow. And today, while the impressions are still, maybe, “piping hot”, I decided to start writing a review about “a paradise country with snow-white beaches and a warm azure ocean” called the Dominican Republic. I dedicate this review to people who have not been there yet and are still deceived by the rave reviews of tourists with an epilogue a la “I have been to paradise! " or "I will definitely return to this fairy tale called the Dominican Republic! » And also this review will be read by those who have already been there and categorically disagree with me - everyone has their own point of view and individual attitude. So this story of mine is a subjective assessment of this trip.
How did it come to this?
At the end of 2013, my wife and I had a dream to visit the Dominican Republic. Our long-awaited March vacation in 2014 has come.
Simultaneously with the vacation, unplanned matters appeared that required an urgent decision and investment of funds, therefore, in principle, the relevance of a trip anywhere was a big question. At the very last moment, we managed to partially sort out the cases, as a result of which a strictly limited period of free time appeared, namely, tyk-back-to-back - 12 days. And he appeared so abruptly that this situation could only be called: “We fly out tomorrow! » There was no time to process visas, so our options were reduced to a limited number of countries, namely Dominican Republic, Cuba, Vietnam and Sri Lanka in order of preference. As a result, Cuba fell off because of the prices, Sri Lanka because there is only breakfast and nothing to do, Vietnam because there is only breakfast, and the price is the same as in the Dominican Republic. Consequently, only the Dominican remained on the list.
As a result, this is the picture: on Tuesday I sit in front of a representative of a travel agency, we wait with her until the database on the Dominican direction is updated, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we already have to fly out. And about a miracle! Barcelo Dominican Beach Resort 4 * appeared - Punta Cana, white sand - in a word, everything we wanted! Issue price 77 sput. for two for 8 days, 7 nights. Here in the agency I look in a hurry for reviews of the hotel. The reviews are good, the rating of the hotel is already 4.41! I take! From 13.03. 2014 to 21.03. 2014, SunMar tour operator, Transaero airline.
Travel preparation.
Already at home we decided to read more about the hotel. And wow, bed bugs! And fifty-fifty - in one room they are, in the other they are not. Reviews about the hotel were accompanied by photographs with numerous red pimples on the back and legs from bites and, as a rule, began with the following words: “We lived in room 9144, there were no bedbugs ... ”, “I immediately began to look for bedbugs. Found…”, “God forbid you will be settled in room 9306! Wake up bitten...!
» After such reviews, our mood (especially for my wife) deteriorated. Although the rest (except for the rooms) - food, territory, beach, service, almost always everyone rated excellent. I usually prepare carefully long before the trip: I read reviews about the hotel, about the country as a whole, make a plan for trips on excursions, a list of necessary things, etc. This time there was no time at all, so we took a kind of burning ticket. Although, judging by the price, it did not turn out hot at all. Departure from Sheremetyevo is not convenient for us, because to go to Moscow from the south. For a couple of hours we pushed into a traffic jam not on the Moscow Ring Road. They abandoned the car at one of the Sheremetyevsky parking lots. A free bus took us from the parking lot to Terminal F.
Flight there.
For some reason, there were no queues for registration this time. Everything is as usual: we staggered along the dutik, then climbed through the gut into the saloon - a double-decker Boeing 747.
The representative of the travel agency kindly booked us 2 places through online registration, providing us with 2 E-tickets. We got places in the tail, so we didn’t have to choose food - we ate what was left. An unpleasant surprise was that the touchscreen in the headrest of the seat in front did not work, so I had to watch a few films in a curved position on the display, which was in front of my wife, sharing headphones with her. In the second half of the flight, my touch woke up, and I managed to take a level position for viewing. The repertoire of films is impressive - about 100, including new ones. So during the 12-hour flight I didn't get bored. Although the last couple of hours were hard, because the rolls began to cry from sitting. Fed normally, 2 times. As I already mentioned, I didn’t have to choose, because the “tailed ones” eat up what is left of the “nosed ones”. The plane did not shake or shake, they landed smoothly.
Upon arrival, I saw the same legendary and often mentioned terminal building with a thatched roof. I, in general, imagined a shed, and there is a whole complex of huge hangars with a metal frame. Registration went without delay within half an hour, they paid 10 bucks for a stamp in the passport and went to look for their suitcase. They didn’t change bucks for pesos, it didn’t make sense.
Transfer to the hotel.
As soon as we left the arrivals area, some black man ran up and asked: “What kind of tour operator? » I say: «SanMar». He snatched the suitcase out of my hands and motioned for me to follow him. “Good service at SanMar, ” I thought. We went to the tour operator's desk, where we were told which bus to take. In a minute and a half we were already near the bus. I followed the Negro threw our suitcase into the luggage compartment and went to the entrance to the bus. Immediately, the negrito booed me and beckoned me towards him.
He mumbled something unintelligible and pointed to his pocket. In response, he heard from me: “Muchas gracias, senior! "Then he angrily blurted out (in English): " You cho, kid, don't understand! ? Grandma run! This was accompanied by an intimidating facial expression and a corresponding gesture of rubbing a pinch of fingers. I broke into a smile again and repeated the same thing, with the thought: “Here is a bug! 50 meters rolled a small suitcase and now requires! "And you asked me: do I need it or not? Took the luggage out of my hands and ran away! Well, who's right here? Tips are given voluntarily for service that is different from basic, and not just like that. Just like that, they give alms, and even then to a cripple, and not to a healthy black forehead. If I gave 1 euro, it turns out 1 ruble per 1 meter. Isn't it too high a price to roll a suitcase? They didn’t give you a silent stand, why such rudeness? You spoiled, gentlemen, Russian tourists, such boorish Afro-Dominican Haitians.
Do not want to appear ignorant in a foreign country? Don't throw cigarette packs out of car windows in your own. So… We got into a shabby, not the first freshness bus. The road from the airport to the hotel takes about half an hour, but we drove more than 45 minutes, because the driver drove into some ass, where he tried to turn around with the help of three monkeys like him for 15-20 minutes. Throughout the journey, an elderly lady-guide with incoherent speech tried to give us general information about the country, sometimes listening to questions from tourists of a similar content: “Can you take out weapons? ", " Do they sell drugs here? ”, “And if you rent a car and crash it, what will happen? »
We've arrived!
Registration went pretty quickly, we got apartments at number 10113. Next to us, a Russian girl expressively expressed her wishes: “I want sea look! I want two or three floors! No animals!
» Hearing this, I once again decided to improve my English. The dark-skinned receptionist said that we could go, and the expressive girl offered to wait a little longer and left. We went for the suitcase, which was already in the hands of another extortionist. Taking the suitcase from him, I asked: "Show me a way to the room number 10113, please. " Realizing that he would not wait for free money from me, the black man waved his hand somewhere in the direction of the pool. So it means: do not pay, look for yourself! Fortunately, we immediately went in the right direction and did not search for long.
That's the number!
The first thing we noticed when we opened the door was the smell of dampness. They came in and took a look. Old, shabby furniture, an old TV, an ugly bathroom with a crooked watering can in the shower, a dilapidated air conditioner. There were two large double beds in the room, each of which was the following: a rusty base frame, on it a thick mattress, on it another of the same mattress.
Two mattresses in total gave a high, fairly comfortable bed. There were 4 pillows per bed! Pillows are so-so, synthetic, but still better than I've seen in other hotels. Entering the room, they threw things away and the first thing they did was to shake up and search the beds for the presence of bed bugs. Not found. But we found cockroaches! There were a lot of them. The mustachioed lair was in a dressing table on which there was a TV. For example, in the evening you come to the room, you lift a sheet of paper, and from under it cockroaches scatter in different directions. I continue ...The large double door to the balcony (the floor was the first, by the way) was closed with a thin pin far from the first time. It was necessary to align the sashes in a special way, then dance a ritual dance and then try to stick a pin. Surely everyone has heard how a drill works. These are the sounds made by an old half-broken air conditioner.
Mold, rust, peeling paint...In three-star hotels, the interior and furniture are much better!
Territory and infrastructure.
Small by Dominican standards. But well-groomed. From the reception to the ocean, about 4 minutes at a calm pace. There are neatly trimmed lawns, beautiful fountains, swings, playgrounds. The only negative is the labyrinthine paths. Only a few days later we began to navigate the terrain normally. There is also a coffee shop on site that serves coffee (many variations and types), tea, and a variety of cocktails. The choice is large, the quality is not bad, they don’t take extra money for it, everything is included. So coffee lovers will definitely like it. Something like 3 bars, a pizzeria, 5 restaurants and 2 canteens.
There is some kind of entertainment (it seems even not bad) in the evening, but my body for all 8 days treacherously turned off by 20:00 and we really didn’t manage to visit any animation. Well, what can I say, summing up on this topic? Typical Turkey or Egypt, absolutely no difference. Everything is standard and simple, for a long time you will not surprise anyone with 10 bars and 5 pools. Because in the bars in these everything is the same, and everywhere! There are tennis courts, billiards, ping-pong. As for tennis, the time for recording is quite inconvenient - from 8:00 to 16:00, that is, the very heat. At 8:00, of course, everything is scheduled for the week ahead. We tried to play from 10:00 - hell! Billiard tables are broken, cues are crooked.
At first I wrote "terrible food", but then I thought that it would be more correct to write "they fed badly. " They fed badly! No shrimp or mussels for you. Only a bony, tasteless fish of an incomprehensible brand. Unripe tomatoes and fruits that are not needed for nothing.
I don’t even want to specify vegetables / fruits. One word - disgusting! Yes, there was a range of dishes, but there was practically nothing to choose from. Something more or less edible immediately ended. Even pastries, which all hotels usually shine with (especially 4 and 5 *), were pissant. I read other reviews and am surprised. As if people wrote about a completely different hotel. Well, almost every day I took pasta with cheese and sauces. On food I put a hard trouban! Shame on the owner! Now let's talk about hotel restaurants. There are 5 restaurants on site. As I recall, Italian, Mexican, Brazilian, Japanese and Spanish. All of them are decorated in the appropriate style, they require you to follow the dress code. You need to sign up in advance, so I recommend not to waste time and competently plan your visit to everyone (well, at least for a change). We managed to visit three. The first was Japanese.
Around the cook, 8-10 people are planted, and the Dominican cook begins to show a master class. In front of him is a large heated baking sheet, on which vegetables, rice, meat, chicken, seafood, etc. are placed in turn. All this hisses, sizzles, smokes and exudes aroma. The cook turns the meat over, adds the sauce, divides it into portions, then mixes everything again - he tries, in general. We liked the food there, and the show was good. The next was a Mexican restaurant. Ate-ate...And suddenly an orchestra of 4 people comes close to our table and starts to sing, dance, rattle. This action caused bewilderment in me, but the emotions were positive. The last restaurant we visited was Italian. Ordered a traditional Italian soup. Interesting, I think I'll give it a try. They brought a plate of broth, and a raw egg floats in the broth. Here is such a traditional soup in Italy, according to the Dominicans. In general, it's also good.
The guys in the restaurants are great, it is clear that they are trying. The dishes are good, some even delicious.
Beach and ocean.
The entire coastline of Puntacana is light sand. Not white (and seen whiter! ), of course, as everyone says for some reason, but not yellow either. Sand grains are ordinary, not flour. Again, nothing special! Tall palm trees grow along the coastline, it all looks very cool. But in some places (just on our beach), next to the palm trees, some other coniferous or semi-coniferous trees grow, because of which the sand turns into a dirty prickly mass. The Atlantic was not very clean, but warm. The color of the water in the coastal zone is beautiful turquoise. Heaps of algae were constantly washing up, which were diligently cleaned daily by the servants. In March, there were few people, free sunbeds could always be found, although we always had to take good places before breakfast.
About people.
Local, seemingly open, kind, they all smile. But!
White for them is a walking bag of money from which you need to take out as much as possible. Well, it seems to me that such a picture is typical for almost all banana republics. When we were on a Jeep safari excursion, on a cane plantation, children, large and small, began to envelop the tourists in a thick dark mass. In short, one woman, not thinking about the consequences, had the imprudence to get her wallet, open it and pull out several bills from there. Try to guess what happened next? This lady, with a look of horror on her face, ran away, distributing banknotes left and right, just to get rid of the crowd of aborigines chasing her, who drove her towards the reed beds. People write in reviews about the kindness, carelessness and openness of the local population. Something I clearly did not see any of the above qualities, except for carelessness, perhaps. Maybe because he didn't drink?
XZ ...Completely trivial blacks, insolent from free tips.
About excursions.
Yes, tours are expensive. I don’t remember exactly (about $110, $80 and $60 per person) And they don’t cost that much (fortunately, there is something to compare with). I had to buy from a representative of the tour operator, because there were no other options. We took 3 - saona, jeep safari and buggy.
a) Saona Island with the city of artists. Attention Tip #1! Take sunscreen! Plenty of sunscreen to take with you! First of all, the bus brought us to Altos de Chavon (the city of artists). There is a lot of information in other reviews, so I will not paint a historical background, I will only share my impressions. My wife and I thought for a long time whether it was worth including this Altos in the tour or not? And when we were already there, we realized that it was worth it. Beautiful houses, flowers, fountains, arena, all made of semi-antique stone. Heat. Great view of the Chavon River. There are places to walk.
It's a pity, time, as always in cases with a group tour, is running out. You can take good photos if you catch the moment when there are not 15 people in the frame, but at least 2-3. In short, I quite liked this city of artists. I recommend taking a tour with a stopover there. After an hour of wandering, we were led in an organized crowd down the mountainside to the river, so that we would go out into the ocean on high-speed boats along the river and along the coast we would reach the place of deployment of starfish. Attention tip number 2! If you have spinal problems, do not take a seat on the bow of the boat. My wife and I were sitting in the center (closer to the stern) and when the bottom hit the water, it gave me back so that unpleasant memories pop up even now. So the stars. We stopped in the ocean about 700 meters from the shore. Fine, to the waist. Turquoise warm water, heat, an evil sun and a rocky coastline somewhere in the distance.
If my memory serves me right, we were not given masks and snorkels in our version of the budget excursion. As you wish, look for the stars along the bottom, even crawl on the roots. I took my snorkel mask with me. And from this small cramped boat, hoping to freshen up and make some bright star shots, my fellow excursionists began to crawl out. Council number 3. Do not drown your equipment in salt water! Technology doesn't like it! Quicker! Quicker! Only 30 minutes to catch the stars and take pictures! Casting aside the irony, I can say: “Everything is great. The stars are beautiful, bright, just like the resulting photos. The water is clear, warm and pleasantly refreshing” Go! Go! Go! Further Saona with its long paradise beaches and stunning water color ...Ha ha! Who imagines the central market at the rush hour of the hottest day of the year at noon? That was it. Nature, of course, chic!
But on the other hand, there are crowds of people randomly moving back and forth along the coast under the midday evil tropical sun. Do you remember the numerous photos when the trunk of a palm tree is strongly curved towards the ocean? There were several such palm trees on the coast of the island where we were landed. And near each palm tree there is a line of people with cameras. Just like that, some kind of live conveyor ...Lunch was included. Dinner was good, I liked it. Council number 4. No need to click your beak, otherwise there will be nothing left (meaning from food). They offered large lobsters for $100 each. Live it is boiled right on the spot and served to you at the table. We didn't take it, we choked on a toad. But in vain! Now I regret it, it was not so expensive. I've never had a chance to try it yet. Where else can you try freshly caught lobster? Most often, a frozen or already half-dead creature is thrown into boiling water. And then they just caught it, cooked it and put it on the table. Council number 5. Try lobster for me on about.
Saona. We sailed back to the bus already on a large sailing catamaran with half-drunk compatriots who were dancing to Cuban-Dominican motives. For the first time in my life I saw water of such a rich color. It was deep-deep blue. Flying fish flew parallel to the trajectory of the catamaran, the sun was roasting, music was playing, people were drinking and dancing… Yes, I almost forgot! Of course, on the way back there was a long fucking stop at the gift shop, where they fought at exorbitant prices.
b) Jeep safari. The bus brought to the parking lot. I have a driver's license, I don't have a license...On-drum! Those who will be behind the wheel wrote down their names on slips of paper, gave the slips to the blacks, the blacks gave everyone the keys to the Suzuki Jimmi. Everything! Go! A column of about 15 cars. Each car has 4 people. An elderly couple from the Far East was put in with us. She is a retired nurse, he is retired, no longer working. They save up money and fly to rest 1-2 times a year.
Wherever they just were: Mexico, Tunisia, Thailand, Turkey, Egypt, Maldives, UAE ...Well, not well done, eh! ? In the Maldives they said they liked it the most. =) Grandpa gave out: “Quad bike, snowmobile ...no problem in the taiga. But, alas, I don’t drive a car. ” Therefore, it turned out that I was driving all the time, and it didn’t bother me at all. First of all, we went to a cane plantation (already mentioned it at the beginning of my story). As soon as the column begins to approach the fields, it is surrounded by a crowd of Haitian-Dominicans running after it, 90% of which are children of different ages and 10% are adults. Each has a machete in one hand and a cane stalk in the other. As soon as the column stops, children surround each car and begin to poke a cane stalk at those who got out of the car. So they poked me with gestures and facial expressions, showing that this stem should be chewed. I took it and ate it. Sweet (which is not surprising! ) And guess what followed ...?
Mister, give me money! Instead of money, I gave the black boy my warm smile and a bunch of senkyu berimaches. =) I only gave the money to a guy who let me use his machete and showed me how the cane is chopped and cleaned (well, there is something to thank a person for! ) How interesting they take money! We saw when a banknote at a magician just disappears in his hand (an old trick). So this is how they get their money. Only the bill touches the hand, as it was not there at all! At the same time, a focused and frightened look is directed somewhere to the side. Then we moved to the plantation of cocoa beans. We drove along a driving road through the village, enjoyed the local flavor. Again, these children (5-10 years old) running after the cars, who are trying to sell some leaves, beads, pebbles ...They, along the way, learn this craft from childhood - an easy source of income. We arrived at the parking lot.
They poured us a thimble of mamajuana, a thimble of cocoa, gave us a spoonful of honey and said: “Buy! You won't find this anywhere else! Top class product! » Well, as always, someone rushed to buy these jars of honey and cocoa powder. Next was a cockfight demonstration. Protective caps were put on the spurs of the roosters and released into the circle. The action was epic… Further zip-line. Fortunately, we have already passed the real zip-line in Thailand. Only there this attraction was called "Flight of the Gibbon". There was a pitiful semblance here. After the flights there was a meager lunch and powdered juices. From the cocoa plantation we went to the tobacco factory. There was also a horse ride. They put them on horses and, putting the reins on the saddle, they said: “Automatic gearbox, don’t worry. ” Indeed, the horses, like zombies, followed each other at the same speed along a strictly established trajectory. O_o What the……! ?
) I really wanted these buggies! He took his wife with him. Tiny broken-down cars, similar to cards (from the word "karting"), were all twisted with wire. And again an organized column, and again these running children, only now dust in the face and the roar of a motorcycle engine have been added. In order to at least somehow brighten up this dull picture, I let go of the junk in front of me for the N-th distance and pressed the slipper on the floor so that, flying up on bumps, it seemed that the trough would crumble into pieces. It was scary. There was adrenaline. The vertebrae, thank God, remained in place. First stop guess what! ? Buy cigars, buy mamajuana, buy cocoa, buy coffee. They have the best, you can't find them anywhere else! Again, a thimble of this and that, honey, cocoa ...No variety. From this shameful shop moved to the underground lake. Hole in the ground. Stones. artificial steps. People are floundering in clear water. The surface area of the water is about 8x8. The water is surprisingly warm!
Wash off the dust, let's move on. Without beggars, near the cave, of course, it could not have done. Hey darling, go look! No, you go look, I tell you! From the cave we went to Macau beach. This time, jet-black locals hung out there. They arrived there in their broken-down pickup trucks, in the backs of which stood subwoofers the size of a single-chamber refrigerator and made their own sounds each. The beach was full of garbage, blacks and tanned surfers. From the looks of the Dominicans vacationing there, it was clear that we were superfluous at their celebration of life. This is how the excited guide sounded: “Exactly 40 minutes. Do not go far into the sea. Be careful and keep an eye on things. " Riding the waves, I thought that the waves were at least 2 meters high and at the same time I found that I was being pulled further and further from the shore. It even got a little scary.
Remembering the prohibition “not far away in the sea ... ”, I began to row intensively towards the shore. On the shore, I was scolded by the organizer of our buggy column for non-compliance with the rules of conduct established by him. Council number 2. If you are a poor swimmer, do not sail far from the shore when the sea is rough.
About what is not included in other sections.
We walked along the beach in the evening. We saw a wedding. An arch of flowers, tables with white tablecloths, everything is as it should be. But I didn’t quite imagine a wedding on the island like that. In reality, these are crowds of onlookers surrounding the ceremony site, a dirty beach with algae in the background and the wind. Dear to the heart and in financial terms, the ritual still turns into banality. To make it really cool, you need to rent a separate villa with its own beach, but that's another money. Went outside the hotel. There is nowhere to go, there is no tourist infrastructure.
Along the beach we went to the Treasure Island shop for souvenirs. Russian speaking owner. We bought cigars, magnets and mamahuana as a gift there. The latter, as it turned out already in the Russian Federation, turned out to be rare rubbish (not at all what is poured in the Dominican Republic). We did not use Withia at the hotel, but there is still in the same “Treasure Island” (the password will be indicated on the cash receipt). When walking along the beach, a person can sometimes run up with the question “Cocaine? "Well, it's optional, it's the norm for them. We didn't try it, so I can't say anything about it. No corals were found in the ocean along the coast, so fins and masks can not be dragged.
The bus for us arrived half an hour later than the specified time. As it turned out, these are still flowers! The bus stupidly did not pick up some tourists from the hotels. Someone lost, someone has already left on their own. The driver didn't know where to go.
At the stage of filling out the Departure card (or whatever they were called), my pen went through 10 hands and, having found me in the crowd, the woman returned this pen to me just before the flight with the words: “I said that I would give it back. ”
Conclusion.
I will not write that the Dominican did not impress me, because I was satisfied. I will not write that people there are shit, because it is not so. Everyone discovers their own Dominican, and people are different everywhere and you can’t equate everyone with the same brush. I discovered this country for myself just like that. Disagree with me, throw stones at me, this is my personal opinion and you had to accept it if you read my story. Of the minuses of the trip, I will note only one - no luck with the hotel, the rest is a plus. You say that the whole story permeates the topics of begging and quite often the words “Negro”, “Black”, etc. , penetrate the whole story.
I just call a spade a spade and emotionally emphasize exactly those aspects that made a deep impression on me. Do my wife and I want to visit this "paradise" country again? Unlikely. If we are talking about the countries of the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, then these will be countries where we have not yet visited, namely Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, but not the Atlantic coast of the Dominican Republic.
