El Dominicano

Jimmy in the Sun
Originally uploaded by Pookah.

Jimmy and I left for Punta Cana the day of the first snowfall in Philadelphia. Granted, it was only a light dusting, but it was the coldest weather of the season, according to us, so we left for warmer climes. AT 4 FRIGGIN' A.M.!

Several hours later we were finally flying over the Dominican island and it was such a welcome sight - a sea of green, and green, and more green! I don't think I've ever seen anything more lush or, or...GREEN! This was my first Caribbean vacation, my first vacation in the winter to someplace where it is warmer.

The first step off the plane - and I mean I hadn't even gotten to the first stair yet - and this wave of warmth enveloped me, surrounding me in it's embrace, chasing away the cold that had settled into my chapped fingers. For the first time in months, I was warm.

The airport itself was beautiful. Although larger than the image I am giving you will lead you to believe, each of the buildings was designed to look like a hut, with straw roofs and no distinct walls. Everything was open to the tropical air, and rightfully so.

It took us some time to fill out our tourist cards, hit the bathroom, find our luggage and get on the right bus to the hotel, but eventually we were there: The Bavaro Princess Resort.

When you first arrive at someplace like that, you are overwhelmed with the newness of the place, with the beautiful architecture, the tropical feel. I would like to give you some of that awe before, like me, you settle into a groove of familiarity and forget to be awed.

The lobby is completely wall-less. There are marble columns, with ledges of tropical plants cascading down into the main area; rainbow parrots in tropical pools catcalling at all the patrons; foreign tourists in skimpy summer clothing walking around with an air of having come here for years; smiling Dominican employees sweeping up the sand, answering the phones, making reservations, talking to each other and the guests; a ring of stores to one side, selling paintings, sunblock, bathing suits, and souvenirs; and row after row of comfortable chairs and sofas, radiating out from the two lobby bars.

You just drop your luggage off with the porters and you can't take your eyes off this little island world, knowing that it was all made for you - for your comfort and enjoyment.

Jimmy and I checked in, but couldn't get into our rooms until 3PM so we found a few necessities, grabbed our second drink of our vacation (there was a free drink on our flight - would you believe it!? Treated like first class in the air!!!), and stripped down to our underwear to enjoy the sun by the pool.

I got my first view of European bathing habits when I realized that the grandmotherly ladies in the lawn chairs next to us were sunbathing topless, letting it all hang out and with their bikini bottoms snugly tugged up into the crack of their asses. I can honestly say that it didn't bother me in the least, but it was great fun to talk about!

We spent our time drinking and picking out the cutest boys in our immediate area. Once we ran out of people - and pina coladas - we decided we probably need some sunblock to avoid nasty burns in the Caribbean sun and decided to have a looksie at the beach and get me some food.

The ocean was AMAZING. As you can see by the picture of Jimmy at the top of this entry, which was actually taken on Day 2 of our trip, the water is simply fantastically blue. As for the sky, all the way to the hotel I actually kept singing the Simpson's theme song because the sky in the Simpson's title is the same sky I saw in the Dominican Republic. That perfect shade of blue. Those perfect cotton-ball clouds. The cleanest white sand. Topless sunbathers. Guys in speedos. Free drinks. Free food. Spanish conversation floating by. French words tugging at me. Not a single thing I would ever see or hear or taste or touch at any of the American beaches I've visited in my short life.

About 75% of the guests are European, mostly from Spain, some from France, and I'm sure still a few others from other European countries - although I didn't see any. Most of the English-speaking guests are Canadian. The one person I saw who I KNOW was American (other than Jimmy and I) was acting like a total ignorant prick to the staff and I realized why we have developed such a poor reputation as tourists. ASSHOLE.

Well, we ate lunch and then decided to go see our room. Our apartments were closer to the beach than the lobby and were unreal. When you walk into the front door, all you see in front of you is a bed on a raised dais, surrounded by columns. You walk immediately into your kitchen/den area and up onto the dais. To the right of that was the bathroom area, and a doored-in toilet, bidet, and shower. It was just enough, even if the columns were a bit much.

Now, Jimmy swore up and down that we had no hot water, but the truth of the matter was that he kept turning the shower knob in the wrong direction. That was the closest to a problem that we had with our room. Thankfully, Jimmy doesn't have a problem with bugs because we had something akin to a grasshopper on the floor sometime in the middle of the week, but he just sat there and didn't bother us, so we didn't bother him. Secretly, I named him George.

So we finally settled in. Our luggage arrived, we showered and changed, and finally it was time for dinner.

Although I seem to have failed to talk about the Resort, outside of our master bedroom and the lobby. The Resort sits on something like 96 acres of land, with winding stone walkways, a small zoo, little bungalows tucked in behind different varieties of palm trees, and a bit of a rainforest in the middle. At one end of the Resort lies the lobby/reception area, and at the other lies the beach. There are five or six restaurants on sight, and diesel powered trams carrying guests from location to location. There are beautiful flowers and, most importantly to me, a plethora of GREEN. Peacocks, roosters, flamingos, what appeared to be herons, and other birds roam the property freely, wandering in and out of restaurants, walkways, the spa - wherever they wish to go. There are lakes and rivers, fountains and waterfalls, and everyone greets you with a distinctly friendly, "Hola!" You can't go more than three feet without being welcomed by another member of the staff.

Anyway, we had reserved a spot at Chopin for our first night out. Chopin is set up in the middle of the Resort, right on a lake, surrounding by palms and other fauna. Most notably, in the middle of your meal, a pianist comes floating by on the river, his little raft lit by hundreds of little lights, playing something that I'm sure was beautiful at the time (I was a bit more interested in the red wine I was drinking than the music). It really was a sight, so romantic, so fantastical... And although I love Jimmy with all my heart, it's moments like that when you wish that your lover were there with you, doing all the things you read about in sappy books: staring deeply into your eyes, holding out your chair for you, touching your hand in that oh-so-romantic-on-the-television-screen kind of way...

We had a very lovely dinner, with lovely conversation, and plenty of chitchat with our waiters. I got a lot of miles out of my limited knowledge of Spanish, and the boys invited us out to a local dance club - one that is not on the Resort. Unfortunately, after no sleep (Jimmy took a nap on the plane, and again in the afternoon), many more drinks, and our first show (they had shows daily at 10PM in the lobby area), the new friends I had made just didn't show up. We were stood up.

Jimmy then dragged me to the Casino, where I promptly lost all semblance of a human being around 1:30AM. I had finally hit my wall.