Much needed "Rest-cation"...

Punta Cana - Part 1

So one morning I was checking my email alerts and there was a flight deal for Punta Cana. I realized 2015 was coming to an end and I didn’t have a passport stamp for this year, so I jumped on it. Now me being the person that absolutely LOVES cold weather, why would I choose the Dominican Republic… lol.  Well, it was some place that I’ve never been before and I needed to get away to relax. My plan was to go down there and see what they typically don’t advertise on the brochures. 

When I travel to places, I love living like the locals. It allows you to get the true feel and understanding of the places that you visit…AND I find it to be a bit cheaper too. Before I arrived, I did a bit of research on a few local ideas and came across Punta Cana Mike.  He offers tours that allow you to interact with locals and get a bit of history about the area. I immediately signed up.
 
So when I arrived to the Dominican to start my “rest-cation”, I headed straight to the supermarket for groceries and back to my room. For the next few days, I walked around, chatted with locals (as much as I could with the language barrier), hit up the mall and local restaurants and juice stands. During my journey, I managed to find the local beach, but was immediately turned off. Bavaro beach is a local beach, however the resort security can be very intimidating. They are serious about keeping outsiders away from their properties. Between the top flight security and the bright beaming sun…this beach life was not for me.
 
It was now time for the highlight of my trip: Munchies in Macao, one of three tours offered by Punta Cana Mike. Pat, our awesome guide and my personal photographer, picked me up from my location and we were off. The first stop was Centro Educativo Shalom: a local grade school where we were able to interact with the children and locals surrounding the school. Everyone was so friendly and excited to learn about me as I was learning about their culture.  I literally did not want to leave.
 
The next stop on my tour was more on the touristy side. We stopped off to learn about cacao, cigars, rum and my favorite, COFFEE! Although I’m not a smoker, I was very intrigued by the cigar process. If I ever run into a cigar smoker, I’ll be sure to buy him/her a Don Lucas cigar. This section of the tour also offered a great gift shop for those that wanted to pick up a few souvenirs. FYI: The prices are listed in USD, so if you’re paying in DOP be prepared to receive USD as change.
 
By this time, I’m starting to get really hungry and looking forward to our final stop: Macao Beach. This is another public beach and it’s absolutely beautiful. There are a few restaurants and excursions offered here as well. The food here is very fresh and true Dominican style. While waiting on “Ma” to prepare our meals, I took a stroll along the beach and watched the fishing boats come in with some amazing seafood. It was now time to eat and it was so worth the wait. The mahi mahi was grilled and seasoned perfectly along with the rice & beans and fried plantains. What better way to end my tour and bring my Punta Cana trip to a close.
 
The next morning I had breakfast with some locals and was off to the airport.
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Punta Cana is very beautiful and so are the people. Its an amazing place to see and learn. I was able to get the rest that I needed and my 2015 passport stamp. If you’re ever in the area, please look up Punta Cana Mike. I would definitely recommend his tours. They are very informative and shows you the REAL Punta Cana area.
 
Stay tuned for Part 2: My Bed & Breakfast
 
xoxo Melanie