Part Deux

and....... i left off leaving the Brugal rum factory. Next stop was a old fort that was used to defend Puerta plata against..... everyone who tried i guess. I couldn't not tell you the exact time of construction or whom it was used to defend against either but it was cool to visit and to check out. There was a display case with old machete's and hammers. Also had a great view of the port which it was built to defend. On the way out we had gotten some funny pics with some dude and his donkey! My girl has those on her blog you'd have to look at them there. Leaving the fort our last stop was the city square and cathedral.








After a brief detour we ended up at the city square. It was really clean and really nice. There was surprisingly no one around. We walked around the square, hung out and took a few pics. That was probably the only place into to skate.... that i seen.







Well as good as any church can be this church was about as good as it can be (to me). It was nothing crazy out of the ordinary. Some of locals where in there doing there thing/praying, lighting candles and what not. it had some really nice stain glass window that where done somewhere in NY and shipped to DR. All and all really nice and a relaxing place to visit.






This tour took us all over Puerta Plata and showed us the side of the city that so few on vacation are willing or wanting to see. All and all this tour lasted about 9 hours or more and was def worth the $50 fee. I was more than happy with the tour and would recommend it to anyone. The guide Pedro was cool and knew his shit. Thanks Pedro!



The rest of the trip was spent chilln with homegirlon the beach just relaxing. Thursday night we did go to a resort/casino organized broadway type show. The show was jokes. The main dude in the show look like Count-Chocula (sorry no pics)! And a lot of them girls would give Beyonce a run for her money! After that we did a little gambling at the casino. The girl did ok on the slots and i procedded to drop money on the poker table i had no business at.

The trip was worth the wait and the money I'd do it all over again but not for a couple years.

First Time (pt 1)

After months and months of talking, planning and looking we had finally booked our first out of country trip to the Dominican Republic. It was recommended by a friend or mostly i wanted to go after seeing pics of his vacation to DR last year (and Corona commercials). But enuff bs ... my trip my words, here it is

So i had been waiting for a real deal vacation to a place i have never been as usually most of my vacations are to places i have already been, Toronto, NYC, Phila etc........ This one had a different feel all around from the get go I must say. So two Sunday's ago i had hopped on a plane to the Caribbean.



When i get there it looks as i expected, bright blue waters, palm tree's and booze! First stop in the airport to buy a tourist card...? Tourist card you may ask? Its a card that they require all visitors to DR to purchase before you get to customs (but there is more). After you buy the card, you can take a shot then proceed to the next booth where you hand the card to the guy and ............he tosses it in the trash! Yes the trash! Fucking Bull Shit but gots to do it.
Then after the customs guy is done trying to swindle me for tips i head out side to find our ride to the resort.

Once in the bus we get out to the main roads. After a while i start to notice that nobody gives a shit about the yellow line or any other normal ( to us) road laws period. Passing into on-coming traffic, people riding three deep on mopeds/dirt bikes (even 3 year old) helmet less and the pick up slammed full of people (at least 15) cruising down the roads. Shit was jokes to see. But i will say one thing they can drive way better than half of the Americans on the roads today (u know who u are!!!). A little risky but effective.

Get to the Resort and we have to wait for our room so we wonder the resort checking shit out, seeing what the deal is. We get the room and the drinking begins! (I did get drunk a few nights but no fights, blowing chunks or other wise normal drinking activities) The room was definitely nice not too big not too small. The first and second day was me and Sheena jus kicking it around the resort, laying on the beach but the next day we went on a city tour set up by the resort.






The city tour seemed like the best way to see what the Dominican was really about. Not all that postcard shit that everybody always sees. But what it is really like around the city of Puerta Plata.
The tour was a all day janke that first took us to a cable car ride to a botanical garden named after the couple that Christopher Columbus meet when he came to the island. The garden was on top of the mountain over looking the entire town, it also included a little rub off of Rio De Janeiro with a giant Jesus statue a top the hill looking down. The cable car tour also include of the guide trying to skeeze up on my girl!.... fucking bastard!







After the cable car he took us to a couple of little local shop that relate to the islands economy... i.e. cigar factory and jewelry shop. They were kinda cool, but the Dominicans try to sell you shit like nobodies biz, and after a while it gets old. Cigar spot was nice grab's a lil box to to fuck off with nothing high dollar and nothing out of control. They asked me if i wanted to try to roll one and i told him i had plenty of experience doing that let one of the others get at it! Right after that he took us to one of his little local lunch spots for a taste of real island food (at the resort they try to make food from other cultures.... n you know how that goes). This food was much better than the resorts and was probably the best meal of the trip. And they had a monkey in a cage! Muthafucker was crazy as shit!!!!! He wasn't diggin that cage at all!!! He's hard to see but its a monkey.... at a restaurant !!!! Awesome!!!!





The spot that was of biggest interest to me was...... The Rum factory! Yes i was soo looking forward to this part! Little did i know it was a short video and a bunch of warehouse workers staring a my girl. But i did get a bunch of free shots and cheap rum so it worked out.



Once i got my drink on we were off to see the city center and church and the fort on the water....... to be continued