Feb.26: Dominican Republic Vacation - Day 7

Good day for shopping in Puerto Plata.

Sheila was wrong and we didn`t have breakfast on this excursion. I was ready to pass out and have had a terrible headache all day now. We finally had lunch at 1pm.

So we first drove to Sousa to get another two couples. Then onto Puerto Plata for two more. This time the tour was all English speaking people.

Our first stop was the Brugal Rum Factory. It was interesting to see how they bottled and packed the rum. I bought a bottle to take home for Dad, even though he said not to buy anything.

After that we went to a jewelry store where they sold Larimar and Amber. I bought mom a little amber heart.

From there we went to the Amber Museum. It was interesting and they had a lot of insects, leaves and flowers. Again you could purchase items if you wanted to.

We had about 1 hour free time to go to the main plaza and look around.

We then went to an old fort. It was interesting to see the 3 foot thick walls and how it was still in really good shape.

There was this guy riding a donkey as we were walking up to the fort. A lady coming out made the mistake and took his picture. He was a large man. I've never seen anyone dismount a donkey and chase a person to be paid for his picture before. It was a sight. I quickly took a picture of his donkey - without having to pay him.

After the fort we went for lunch. Thank goodness! I was starving. I did look while we were out, for a bakery or something where I could grab something to each but I never found anything. Lunch was a typical Dominican feast - beans, rice, chicken, salad, tomato & cucumber. I had two helpings.

Next was a stop to Sousa Beach. Here there was a great flea market and the beach. Because it was cloudy and rainy most of the day I didn`t go into the water.

I went into all the shops, yes they were all the same but it was fun interacting with the locals.

I stopped at a shop where a guy from Haiti took a liking to me. He asked if I would dance with him tonight and got sad when I told him I was going home. I left his shop and went on a bit more.

Unfortunately I had to pass his shop to get to the bus. He tried to convince me to stay as he ``he had his eye on me``. I told him I had to go and he got all sad. We said goodbye and he gave me a kiss on the cheek - too cute!

We drove two couples back to their resort. It was weird as at the jewelry shop if you didn`t have enough money to purchase an item, they would take the payment when you got back to your resort. One guy must not have had enough money as we drove to three different banks so they could get paid. Almost like they `kidnapped`you until you paid up.

While at the last bank we did see some Dominican hookers. Too bad I was slow with my camera. Very interesting!

So we are back at our resort and I`m glad we are going home tomorrow.