Today is the second to the last day we will have in the Dominican Republic. As such we wanted to spend some more time with our friends, Wendy and Pedro. They have offered to be our tour guides to Playa Grande, a famous white sanded beach located about 1 1/2 hrs east of Cabarete.
They pick us up around 9am. We talk them into joining us for breakfast at "Friends" a french breakfast joint in Cabarete, known to have the best breakfast in town. Becky and I of course pick up the check as Cabarete prices are considered very high to the locals since it mostly caters to tourists. Sean, Becky, and I needed food and more alcohol to wear off the slight hangovers we all have from the night before. We see our friend George at friends doing the same thing.
Next we are off and on our way to Playa Grande. We stop at a spot that has a great view of the ocean. Wendy and Pedro start to dance on the roadside to the Latin music that is playing in the car. They are a very cute couple.
Something funny happens as we stand there getting pictures...I look down and what do you know, someone had predicted I would be standing in this very spot. I am not sure how they knew...but I took advantage of the coincidence and got myself a picture.
click to enlarge...notice my name scribed in spray paint on the black-topped cliff edge
Then without too much time wasting we pile back in the car and are on our way. We stop at a beach and take some more picture. This beach is fully remote, not a person in site, and literally it is one of the most picturesque stereotypical Caribbean scenes that I have been privileged to visit. It is truly a hidden gem, and as my previous sentence implies, this beach is what the average person imagines when they think of a Caribbean island beach.
click to for larger view
Becky and I do not miss the chance to get a great picture together....
Here is one more panoramic picture we took before we continued on to Playa Grande...
After a short 5 minute drive we arrive at Playa Grande. Pedro drives around a bit looking for his favorite vendor, while other vendors wave frantically trying to get our attention and our business. Pedro finally finds the vendor he likes to frequent when coming to the beach with friends. Then with help from the vendor we locate some shade and park the car. The vendor then unloads a picnic table and 5 chairs, and in front of this, closer to the beach, he lays out 5 reclining lawn chairs. He is to be our personal attendee, taking drink orders (if we hadn't brought a 5th of rum and diet coke with us), as well as food from the local roadside kitchens that caters to the beach.
Other than the local roadside kitchens, we are in the boonies, so the food and refreshment options are limited. Not to say that limited is bad, because after several Cuba Libre's each, we order up food. I get the cajun stewed octopus and Sean gets butter and garlic conch. Both are absolutely amazing!!!
our little island paradise setup
Pedro and Wendy
Yes, I love Cuba Libre in paradise.
There is a small debacle while we sit here eating and drinking. A teenager walks by and puts on my flip-flops ever so sneakily and walks off. Sean notices after a minute. I take chase and catch the kid one spot over, sitting under a tree with his friends, where a rich looking European couple were siting moments ago.
I ask him for my flip-flops back, which he protests, so I just reach over and pick the kid up and out of them. Slide my feet in, say thank you and walk off.
Needless to say, about 15 minutes later the European couple get back to their spot to find all of their belongings gone through and missing.....money, camera, etc,etc. Oh yeah, and we notice Becky's flip-flops are gone too.
The kid made one mistake, and that was taking my flips...because I remember things very well....and yes, I remembered him.
Interestingly, the vendors do not want any bad press on this place, so theft is a thing they take seriously. They do not want a bad reputation, which could cause tourists to avoid Playa Grande...so they call the police. When the police come out, somehow they are talking on the beach to the group of teenagers that were sitting under the tree. All of them deny any wrong doing or even knowledge of what happened...in fact they say it wasn't them sitting there earlier at all.
I jump in, and positively identify the kid that I removed from my shoes. The police grab him and a huge spectacle ensues.
I was actually on my way to snorkel with Sean, and after a few moments with the cops, Pedro gives me the hand motion that says "go swim, time for the gringo to get out of here and let the locals handle this"...so I follow his instruction and head out to the water with Becky's camera. I am hoping to find myself a conch.
Needless to say, a place like this has been picked clean of cool conch shells, but non-the-less the water and clarity is amazing. I get some great pictures, and even get up close and personal with a poisonous lion fish.
cool reef and corral structures
colorful reef fish
me: "hello lion fish"
lion fish: "back up Jack...you're kind ain't wanted 'round these parts"
Sean gives two thumbs up to snorkeling in the Caribbean!!!
Sean and I end up snorkeling for about 3 hours straight. Needless to say I am beat when we get back in....and slightly sun burned once again.
When I get back to the table we have, I get the low down that the cops had started to arrest the guy I pointed out....then magically after about 1 hour after that, the couple next to us get all their stuff back...and hey, Becky's flip-flops are there too, along with other stolen items. Somehow all the missing items of the beach had ended up covered under a sand pile. Imagine that. But it was great to see the locals and the cops really trying to help out the tourists which gave me new confidence in this country, which can many times be very corrupt from bottom to top.
We make the drive back and have plans to go and stay in Puerto Plata at Pedro and Wendy's place after we freshen up and head out for dinner. Sean is wiped, alcohol, swimming, and sun can do that to a person.....so he asks to just be dropped off at F10 on the way back. We oblige him, but both Becky and I think he will regret it tomorrow.
After freshening up, we head out to Pedro's favorite place in Puerto Plata called "Primos" which means cousins in Spanish. They make everyone that comes in feel like family...because we are all cousins when it comes right down to it.
Both Pedro and I order a whole fish deep fried in the traditional Dominican way rolled in traditional Dominican herbs and spices.
They then come grab Pedro and I and lead us into the back..right into the kitchen. They open the top of a big freezer and hand us both thongs......we are brought in with the intention of us each picking out the fresh fish that appeals to us most. I get Pedro to help me out since he is obviously a veteran. Needless to say the fish was amazing!!!!
dinner at Primos with Pedro and Wendy
my buddy Pedro and I
whole fried fish...absolutely amazing....
I am so glad Becky and I pushed through the fatigue from the day and had this experience. Tomorrow we plan to go jewelry shopping in Puerto Plata, and then off to Sosua for buying gifts and other touristy items from a vendor Wendy knows from over the years.
The other thing I want to leave you with, is something I have not touched upon, although if you have talked to me in person about my travels you have probably heard this. The Dominican Republic is a amazing place....no where have I ever experienced any form of racism while we are there. Black, white, Asian, indian.....everone hangs and gets along.... the only color people see is green aka money. It is such a warm culture, just keep your street smarts with you at all times.
You may not know this, but Pedro speaks about as much English and I speak Spanish. And that is not much for either of us...And yet, he is my friend. We are able to communicate through so many other means that language becomes a small thing. Both Wendy and Pedro are amazing people, and when we think about potentially traveling to other places in the near future, rather than going back to the D.R. it is sad, because we will miss this two friends of ours dearly.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment