(Click on photo for full slideshow) I visited Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic from Dec 1-8. Cyndi, Alan, Jay, and I stayed at the six star Secrets Excellence Resort. The resort was beautiful, and the staff was very friendly and accomodating. The food was a bit less than I had hoped for - not enough variety, kind of bland. However, the goat was to die for! Baaaahhhh! That is, if you dig on goat. The drinks were decent. There was the Dominican Republic signature drink Mamajuana which is touted by natives as an aphrodisiac. Another popular drink is the Coco Loco which is coconut water, milk, cream of coconut, sugar, ice, and gasolina!(aka Rum) all blended together and poured into a coconut shell with a little umbrella stuck in the side.

So what did we do in the DR? We took an excursion from our resort which was on the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea to snorkel. This involved an hour drive each way and a boat ride on a catamaran. First we snorkeled with the sharks and the rays, then we had a little party on the boat with the open bar. We also did some more snorkeling at a reef in the Atlantic a short walk down the beach from the resort. In addition, we lounged at the pool A LOT, did some boogieboarding in the ocean, played a little tennis, took a Merengue lesson, played volleyball. We also got massages by two very large, strong Dominican women who if they were German would be named Frau Brunhild - let's just say, I no longer have any knots in my shoulders or back. Cyndi, Alan, and I did our best to relax by the pool (I was battling a cold for a few days) while Jay ran on the beach probably from the Atlantic to the Caribbean, played volleyball, and snorkelled simultaneously. Oh we also played Connect Four and Jenga at the Sports Bar which may I note, I beat Jay in all four games :) The only thing we didn't do was sexy time with horseback romantico! Oh well. You can't do it all.