Monkey Jungle

Quite some time ago, there was a reality t.v. show in which a girl made her way around the world for free. I don't know exactly how it worked, but she begged and borrowed her way through various destinations and one stop was the Dominican Republic. She stopped at the Monkey Jungle and Zip Line Adventure. In the show, she visited with the squirrel monkeys and zipped through the rain forest. I heard about it because Bob made a cameo appearance and Pat let all their friends know about his 15 seconds of fame. The Monkey Jungle isn't just for tourists, you see.

 

There is a large ex-pat population on the island and a friend and neighbor of Bob and Pat is spending his "retirement" running a free medical and dental clinic on the top of a mountain above the forest for the local population. The clinic is open on Saturdays and Bob, being a doctor in his former life, volunteers as the medical clinic director. After he pays the staff, the owner/operator/philanthropist donates 100% of the profits to the clinic. 

 On the deck of the pharmacy, looking out over hills and valleys of the forest.

 One of the buildings in the clinic.

 Supplies in the pharmacy.

The dentist chair. The equipment in this clinic is top of the line. Such a blessing for all the people who otherwise might never see a dentist in their life.

 The view...aaahhhh...

Nicco found a friend.

While we waited to go see the monkeys, we talked to Nicco about the zip line. I was hoping he would do it, but I was not going to fight him over it. If he was afraid, then he was afraid. I did not want to scar him for life over what should be a fun adventure. We showed him the lines and he decided he was too scared. Besides, he was perfectly content to hang out with Pat and his new fuzzy buddy.

We were escorted into the monkey habitat with plates of food. within moments, a couple dozen little squirrel monkeys came chattering and scampering through the trees and climbed all over us to get the snacks.

 A mama carrying her baby, all snuggled up.

 Cute!

 Their hands felt so funny...tickly and cold and very soft.

We took a little walk along this boardwalk to look for the largest iguana on the island, but he was hiding. Oh well.

These guinea hens looked huge when the were walking down the hill. They weren't quite so imposing when I saw them up close. Still, fun to see.

When we got out of the monkey enclosure, we went back to the restaurant/gift shop to fill out the paperwork for our zip line adventure. You know, the paper that says you might die if you do this.

Patrice very gently yet firmly told Nicco he would like him to try it. There are seven lines, the fourth one stopping at the restaurant. We told him if he didn't like it, he could get off and wait for us to finish. He somewhat hesitantly agreed. We got our gear on, had a brief lesson and orientation, then hiked up to the first platform. Nicco was out of breath, I think as much from nerves as from the hike itself.

The Daddy went first, then my boy, then me. When I landed on the platform I asked Nicco what he thought. He said breathlessly, "That. Was. AWESOME!" Success! He would be finishing the course after all.

The guides gave themselves silly nicknames, probably to help the tourists remember them. One was Wesley Snipes, one was Michael Jackson Crazy, one was Obama, and I can't remember the other one. When we took this picture, Patrice said, "That is the first and last picture I'll ever take with Obama!"

Nicco was Mister Serious on the first line, but after that he let loose, giggling and woo-hooing. When he came in at the fourth platform, Bob and Pat said he had a grin from ear to ear.

Just before the final line, there is a free-fall drop into a bat cave. Pat said she was way too chicken to try it. Bob didn't even try the zip lining, let alone the drop zone. Nicco hopped and dropped as if he'd been doing extreme adventures like this his whole life. I was proud.

The cave is home to about two million bats and around dusk, they all come out to feed. They guides said that it is the craziest thing, but with two million bats flying around, they will never touch you.

When we got back up to our people, Nicco said we definitely need to come back and do that again. I said that if we ever have another opportunity for zip lining again, we'll do it. He said, "No, before we leave." This from the boy who didn't even want to try! Maybe next time we'll do it when we can see the bats.

Ocean World

We had another adventure day planned on Friday. When I researched fun and exciting things to do in the Dominican Republic, I saw some dolphin adventures somewhere. When I asked Bob about it, he said that some friends of theirs took their boy to Ocean World and of all the things they did on their trip, the dolphin experience was all the young one talked about. Bob said he wouldn't especially recommend it for adults, but the kids just love it. So we booked an all day tour for a pretty penny, met our bus, and went to the park.

 

When we got there, it was a little chaotic. Some people were complaining, others were trying to pay, workers were trying to organize the guests, and we were shown to the amphitheater for the upcoming sea lion show by an employee. Nicco didn't want to wait. I think he was wishing he was on the beach.

 We looked out on the marina while we waited.

 Finally, the stars of the show arrived on stage:

Nicco loved the sea lion show. The critters were very silly and well trained and they put on a great show. When it was over, they brought out their newest addition, a four week old baby named Marina.

 So cute!

My pictures got out of order, apparently. Drat. Oh well...a sea lion doing tricks. Fun stuff!

After the show was over, the same gentleman who showed us to our seats greeted us and asked us how we liked it. We said we wanted to find lunch, asked for directions to the cafeteria, and he said "I'll give you a courtesy tour so you can look around and then you can have lunch." Patrice and I aren't naive travelers. We're not stupid. We assumed that because the guy was wearing an Ocean World shirt, he was going to give us a courtesy tour of the park so we could get oriented and have a feel for how our day would go. But, he proceeded to take us off site in a golf cart in and around the time share villas. After about 5 minutes of this, Patrice and I had it. I told him to take us back, he said we wouldn't miss anything, the next show didn't start for another 40 minutes. Patrice said, firmly, "Look. We are paying for a day at Ocean World with our boy. Take us back so we can enjoy it." We were both pretty furious, mostly at how sneaky it was. They shouldn't let the time-share reps inside the park. Grr. We only lost a little time, ate our really awful free lunch, then found the spot to watch the shark show.

The trainers really played up the drama, even though these were nurse sharks, not great whites.

 They gave us an anatomy lesson...this is a girl...

 and this is a boy.

 Up close and personal. Nicco was sure those whiskers were poisonous fangs. Shark, after all.

 This is my new favorite picture. Look at those bright blue eyes!

 After the sharks, we saw a bird show. That was fun.

 Then we went snorkeling in the little reef aquarium.

We took turns because we had a big beach bag with all our cameras and money. I asked for a key to one of the lockers I saw around the corner and the guy said they don't have keys, but we can just leave our bag behind the counter. "I'll watch it, I'm the supervisor. It will be safe, trust me." Uh, sure. Ten minutes later, there was no one at the counter and then the first guy was replaced by another guy.

When we finished snorkeling, we thought we had half an hour before the dolphin show so we were going to look for the tiger habitat. We were stopped by a trainer who asked us where we were going. I told him we wanted to see the tiger. He said they aren't feeding the tiger for a while, but the dolphin show is starting in just a few minutes. Then he said there is an opportunity for kids to interact with the dolphins in the show. Would we like our boy to have that chance?

We decided earlier not to pay for any of us to swim with the dolphins because on top of the price of entry, the fee for the experience was pretty outrageous. The trainer, Alex, told us that the show interaction is free. They cannot ask for money, but if we want to tip them, it is much appreciated. You understand? He asked. Yes, Alex, we understand. We jumped on that "free" opportunity.

Nicco got geared up and we waited for the show to start.

 Alex came to get Nicco for his part in the show. He was a little timid and intimidated, but he did great.

 (out of order again, watching and waiting...)

First, he wiggled his fingers to make the dolphins sing,

 Then they took him on a boogie board ride around the arena,

 then the trainer held Nicco on his hip and waited for two dolphins to place their noses under his feet and lift them up into the air.

 They swam like that for a bit then the trainer tossed Nicco up and the dolphins swam away. He got salty water in his eyes and up his nose and he didn't like that, but I was giddy! It was so fun to see our boy in the show!

 He got his picture taken with the dolphins,

 then I got to pet them and take a picture with them too.

 So softy!

Pretty and friendly. What a great experience!

We tipped them less than the price of the dolphin swim, but more than was necessary, according to Bob. He said that our tip probably sent them over the moon! Well, it was worth it for us!

Next we wandered around the rainforest and saw the birds...

 he got to hold one of the show parrots like a baby! Because it was low season, Nicco got lots of opportunities he would not have had otherwise.

We had an exhausting and exciting day. He will certainly have some stories to tell when he gets back!

Sosua Beach



The anticipated day arrived...a whole day at the beach!

 

But first, we had to get there. Everything I read prior to leaving warned tourists NOT to drive in the DR. Get a driver. Take a taxi. Find a tour bus. But whatever you do, don't brave the streets on your own!

 

Dominicans tend to drive like horses with blinders on. They only see what is in front of them. Not behind, not to the sides. You must be alert at all times. You also never know when you might be stopped by an "electrician" "fixing" a problem. A big truck and rickety ladder in the middle of the road, with mopeds zipping by...not an obstacle course I would want to undertake on my own, that's for sure.

Puerto Plata has about 200,000 people and I'd say a rough guess is that 190,000 of them drive mopeds. Without headlights. Or side mirrors. Loaded with passengers. Seriously...we saw one guy driving his whole family, five people, on a moped. If they aren't loaded with people, they might be loaded with loads. Of fruit, plastic, washing machines, boxes, tires, you name it, they carry it.

It's no wonder all the cars have massive bumpers.

After running the highway gauntlet, Bob treated us to the gauntlet of vendors on the way to the beach. Rows and rows of people selling anything you can imagine that might catch the eye of tourists walking by. Shouts of "amigo" and "hola" and "I do this very nice, just for you" greeted us as we made our way to Bob's favorite spot. He has a guy he prefers to conduct his beach going business with. We had three umbrellas and five beach chairs reserved for us, although we only needed the three chairs. Nicco never sat down. Ever. And one of his parents was in the water with him at all times. Two of our chairs were occupied by bags and towels.

 Beautiful! The clearest of clear and bluest of blue water.

Nicco attempted to boogie on the gentle waves, but he didn't do it perfectly the first time, so that turned into a near tantrum.

 

After threats of leaving and never coming back, the boy settled for rolling and gliding in the waves until lunch time.

We dragged him away from the waves to The Hungry Viking for lunch.

 It nearly killed him to sit so close to the shore and not go in. He asked if he could just dip his toes while we waited for our food. And could he just go down for a minute while everyone else finished.

I could not force him to wait for the bill to be paid, so I walked my boy back to the shore until the rest of our company joined us.

After a day of sun and surf, we went to dinner. Patrice had commented earlier about islanders epitomizing recycling. When we pulled up to the restaurant, an example of ingenious recycling greeted us:

The hotel placard painted over an old Marlboro sign. Classic.

And another day is in the books!