The name of the resort we stayed at was: Gran Bahia Principe - Ambar. We had full access to the sister resorts - Gran Bahia Principe (1) Punta Cana & (2) Bavaro as well.
The Ambar resort itself is very new. It opened on December 01, 2007.
Each night we could dine at one of the many restaurants. But reservations were a must. I would tell you what we ate each night but (1) it is hard to remember and (2) it was sometimes a gamble when the menu is in Spanish and has fancy names.
Day 1: December 28, 2007
Day 1 was a day of travel. We left Calgary in the morning for a 6 hour flight direct to Punta Cana and arrived at dinner time.
Sitting in the Calgary (Alberta) airport waiting to board our flight.
We've arrived - and found the buffet! (very important)
Day 2: December 29, 2007
Day 2 was relaxing. We explored our resort, Gran Bahia Principe - Ambar and the sister resorts Punta Cana and Bavaro. We went to the market and had fun bartering with the local merchants. Most items they over priced by 100-200%. Dinner this night was: Mediterranean. I had 'scampi' - which turned out to be lobster. It was cooked in the shell and was looking up at me from my plate.
This is the entrance to our resort.
The lobby at Bavaro
Day 3: December 30, 2007
Maple-Dawn was up most of the night with the 'travelor's bug' and slept most of the day. Peter returned from the gym at 10:47am and Maple-Dawn was still in bed.
Dinner this night was: Italian. I was feeling better by dinner time.
We were feeling a little 'nutty' (love does that to you)
so we made a fort with our bed and bed sheets.
Day 4: December 31, 2007. New Year's Eve!
New Year's eve, like many of our days on the resort was pretty relaxed - reading books and drinking slushies by the pool and on the beach.
Video Clip from Day #4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWXY_gODI-E
Dinner this night was: Gourmet/ New Year's Menu. All of the restaurants had the same New Year's Eve menu.
All of the ladies recieved roses at dinner.
Everyone recieved festive hats and beads when they left the restaurant.
The New Year's festivities were in the square on the resort.
Here they had a live band on the roof-top followed by live-skits.
Just before midnight it started to poor and people either ran for cover
or danced with their chairs lifted above their heads.
There was a lengthy and impressive fire-works show at midnight.
The bugs here are HUGE! Peter's a good bug killer.
Day 5: January 01, 2008. New Year's Day. Happy New Year!
Day 5 - another relaxing day of sun. Dinner this night was: Mexican.
A ship-wreck that was towed in to create a fake reef,
attracting fish and subsequently scuba-divers too.
Day 6: January 02, 2008.
Day 6 - we were had signed up to go on the Outback Safari Tour. But when we arrived in the morning they were full and could not take us. We had to postpone a day. Good thing we had one more day to spare. Instead we spent the day at the beach (suprise, suprise) on the katamarans and sea kayaks getting sunburnt - much fun! Sorry we totally missed out on photos of these adventures. Dinner this night was: Japanese. The Japanese restaurant was really neat. 12 people sat around a grill and watched as the chef prepared the meal. We were served sushi and tempera for appetizers.
Day 7: January 03, 2008. Outback Adventure Tour
Sitting on the truck ready to go.
Our truck and driver - Pappy.
Dominican coffee roasting and drying in the sun.
Dominican coffee we were told has a special distinct flavour - chicken poop.
A local school. Children are required to go to school until age 18.
They go 5 days a week, 9 months a year.
There were many children about in the streets on this Thursday afternoon
because they were on Christmas vacation.
A gas station !?!
The nearest 'pump' is over an hour away.
Since most people drive motorcycles - this is sufficient.
One of our stops that day - a traditional Dominican home.
This is their kitchen.
The house was two rooms. The kitchen and the bedroom.
With the outhouse in the backyard.
This is the owner of the home.
He and his wife make money by harvesting coconuts for the flesh and oils.
They also harvest and sell coffee.
This is coffee on the vine.
This is our tour guide Luis. He was very funny and very knowledgeable.
Here at the sugar cane and cocoa plantation he is talking about the products
and how they are harvested.
Cocoa plants.
We were told that none of the snakes in the Dominican are poisoness.
A local church. Most Dominicans are Roman Catholic.
Others practice 'Black Magic' or 'VooDoo'.
A cock-fight arena.
Cock-fighting is very popular and completely legal in the Dominican.
Tobacco leaves drying.
For a video of the cigar making: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yYbdtGp8_8
Coke in a glass bottle. Ahh... how refreshing.
At our stop for lunch.
This is our friend Bubba. (He works out).
24 hour Medical Services. Medical care in the Dominican is free.
They also have some private services in the large cities.
Police Station.
At the beach. Our last stop of the day - Boogey-boarding! The waves were fantastic.
The last supper. This night we had Gourmet.
Day 8: January 04, 2008.
Day 8 - we were hoping to go katamaraning and kayaking again but it was stormy and they would not let us out. Darn. So instead we walked down the beach in the rain to the market. We got a few deals because there were no other tourists out in the rain. Others wanted to rip us off to make their money for the day. We left the resort by 3 pm and were at the airport by 4pm. Our flight was delayed an hour and we didn't take off until 9pm. We landed in Calgary at 3am.
To see all of our photos click on the following links:
(1) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84231&l=1cfc3&id=726350440
(2) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84371&l=ac773&id=726350440
(3) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84386&l=bb833&id=726350440
To see all of our photos click on the following links:
(1) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84231&l=1cfc3&id=726350440
(2) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84371&l=ac773&id=726350440
(3) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84386&l=bb833&id=726350440
