This post will have the most pictures because we did SO much our first full day in the DR. We had to be out front of the hotel by 8:10 so we ordered our breakfast in the room. We had a great patio that overlooked the pool and the ocean in the distance. It was so relaxing to eat out there early in the morning as the sun was just rising and no one was out yet. Breakfast was so-so. Hey it was breakfast with this gorgeous view though.
We quickly scarfed down our food and headed out to catch our ride. The ride for the day were these open air old WW2 vehicles. I thought they were pretty cool but our butts were definitely sore by the end of the day. Of course we had left our voucher in the room so just had to run back to get it. An hour later and many pickups later, we were starting out on our journey.
Our guide was apparently the multilingual guide. He spoke 5 languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese). He had to speak all but Italian with our group. The last couple to get on was French and got quite upset with the tour operators. Apparently they had told her they had to wait for the "french bus" and they were very disappointed when they got on and discovered none of us spoke French. They asked the guide what language the tour would be in and he just shooed her away. Someone else asked in Spanish and again he shooed them away. It was weird. He ended up speaking in all 4 languages which was good and bad. It was nice everyone could understand but you only got to understand things for 1/4 of the trip. He could have at least answered her question.
Our first stop was a sugarcane farm. The sugarcane portion was pretty cool. They showed us how the cane is cut apart. With a machete. They taught us how to eat it. Make sure you use your molars. You suck the juice and then spit the meat out. Then they showed us how these bulls walk around in circles to do something. I'm still not sure what. Josh may have to help there. Then they put into into what I call a giant juicer. We got to drink some. It was really sweet.
Then they showed us what I believe was a makeshift distillery for the rum and and cigar rollers. What seemed odd was how they plopped these last two down on the sugarcane farm which appeared to be a working farm. They had some boards up about the history of DR and we learned all about the island with Haiti. It was just too touristy for our liking.
We then went to the next "station" where a man showed us how they rolled cigars. Whenever I asked him questions he would either (1) smile and pose for a picture or (2) point and say jefe (boss). I was trying to find out if he actually rolls for commercial purposes or just for tourists. He rolled a cigar for Josh and then these boys emerged to herd us into the cigar store. Again, weird. I went back outside and it was starting to rain. I covered up my camera and ran for the large covered facility that apparently housed the alcohol.
I now refer to this station as the "Mama Juana" station. Although they had rum, it was all about the Mama Juana which we warned about when we arrived. It is the oddest looking thing. Something between a hot sauce and potpourri. We learned that they take a bunch of roots and herbs and stuff them into a bottle. Then they cover it with water and it soaks it up for some time. Then you pour the water out and replace it with sweet red wine. After that has sit for some time they pour the wine out. Then you fill with 2 fingers high of honey, 3 fingers high of rum and 4 fingers high of red wine. I thought it was good. Almost like a sangria but much stronger. You just take tiny sips. Apparently, once you finish it you can refill again. We were so intrigued we bought a bottle. Plus my spanish name in school was always Juana. Mama Juana, we had to get.
We finished up here without buying any carved petrified wood or plastic looking parrots and headed on to the next stop - Casa Maria. This is supposedly "Maria's" house. I'm pretty sure it is because it was a mess with baby stuff everywhere. Maria was out back with a baby about Rory's age. I guess the point was to show us how locals live. Very messy with a lot of dangerous electrical sources was what I learned. I'm pretty sure we were in Higuey based on some signs, but the guide never mentioned this.
They then took us onto the grounds and showed us how they make coffee and chocolate and talked about spices. I didn't see a lot but then they let us taste a bunch of fruits and hot chocolate. They tried to convince us to buy stuff and I caved for a $5 bottle of coffee. I checked the label and it was definitely a local made label. We usually bring coffee back from our Central America trips so I was satisfied now. This portion of the day puzzled me a bit but we soon loaded the vehicle back up and headed further up the mountain. The mountain views were gorgeous. It was pretty overcast so it was hard to good vibrant shots of some of the colorful houses.
We arrived at a big open air restaurant with no name. I deduced that it was owned by the tour operator as the only people there were all coming off of the same WW2 vehicles. The guide told me they use it for weddings and business meetings too. The food was a local style buffet. One of the best meals of the week. The beans and sweet potatoes were great. This was much more of the type of food I enjoy on these trips.
After lunch we were told we were going back down the mountain to go horseback riding on the way to the beach. Josh claims I hid this from him. Not true. He just wasn't paying attention. Josh is petrified of horses and yet I seem to find a horseback riding portion of all our trips. Again, this was the strangest horseback riding I've ever been on. It was a trail ride around a set path that normally would take about an hour. With these horses, 15 minutes. There was no single file. They all herded together 6 across. It was like they were in a race to get back and eat. No one was strolling along. They were all walking or trotting quite briskly. The "guide" usually had a concerned look on his face but never said or did anything other than taking one ladies horse and holding her reins the whole time. Josh's horse was changed quickly once he got on and his horse starting bucking. Again, strange.
We were back on the vehicle about as quick as we had got off. Our next and last stop was Macao Beach. I knew this was probably where we would be going the last day for our surfing. We got there and were greeted by dozens of sand buggies, ATV's and other WW2 vehicles. People were everywhere. We were hassled by locals selling stuff as soon as our toes touched the beach. To say I wasn't thrilled that this was our location for our relaxing surf adventure was an understatement. I was too nervous to leave our stuff unattended so we just sat on the sand and people watched. The most entertaining were the Russian brides there for photoshoots. We later found out there was a whole business around Russian brides and Russian photographers at that beach. Seriously. No joke. I confirmed it many times with different locals.
By the time we loaded up and were getting dropped off at the hotel it was around 5. Our dinner reservation wasn't until 9 so we decided to change and take a walk to do photos after taking a dip in the pool. We arranged to have a bubble bath made with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries for when we returned. Hey, it's included why not. We were excited to come back and find pretty flowers and candles everywhere. However, no champagne or food. We were now quite hungry as it was 7:30.
I politely called the room service and told them our food and champagne hadn't come. They said something I didn't really understand but said it would be up soon. 8:15 still nothing. I called again and again they were confused. At 8:45 (15 minutes before we were to be at dinner) it arrived. Needless to say that was a waste.
We headed out to our late dinner at the Hibachi place. Josh loves Hibachi so he was stoked. We arrive and they sit us at a table with a family of four, not with our group. Again, strange. The family didn't say a word the whole night. Our Hibachi cook didn't say a word. No tricks. Around us everyone was laughing and having fun with their tables and cooks. Ours, not so much. Silence. We ate as quickly as we could and headed to bed. We were trying to avoid seeing others so we could sneak to our room. We wanted a drink but were too scared to stop at the bar. We passed a concierge on the way and asked if we could place a drink order. He said "sure what do you want". We said "2 rum punches". Oh you will have to call room service for that he told us. What?
So we call room service and are told 10 minutes. An hour later I gave up and turned out the lights. No drinks came....
The ride home seemed shorter. However, I did notice us crossing a lot of yellow lines and I swore we were driving the wrong way at one point. The folks in the back of the bus kept us entertained with sing alongs the entire way. Luckily, the bus stopped at our resort on the way to take folks to the Hard Rock Casino. It was past ten and we were surfing in the morning so Josh and I literally ran off the bus before anyone could try to guilt us into going out. We were out like lights.
