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October 13th, 2015:
Sosua, Dominican Republic
Hey everyone! So I finally found WiFi! The funniest thing happened! We ran into this group of white English people, and I just casually asked where they were from! They said "The Calgary area in Canada!" So that was pretty cool! We asked where exactly, and they're from Coal Dale Alberta! Turns out, Jesse's family lives there, so he's like, "HEY! YOU MIGHT KNOW MY AUNT AND UNCLE!" They exchanged names, and sure enough, they know Jesse's aunt and uncle very well... ISN'T THAT SO WEIRD? WHAT A SMALL WORLD!!! Anyway, we kept talking, and they told us about this secret WiFi hotspot behind our building. It's not part of the resort... So that means... IT'S FREE!!! Plus it's even better service than the stupid hotel WiFi so I'm SO HAPPY!! Now I can update my blog and post pictures without paying extra money! :)
I did end up getting through to my parents on the phone, though! After about 45 minutes of trying to figure out the pay phone, the front desk people allowed us to call from our hotel room. It's 15 pesos per minute (38 pesos is 1 Canadian Dollar), so we had to make it quick! I called my Dad's cell phone and caught him while him and my family were still having Thanksgiving dinner at Auntie Sherry's house! The connection was pretty crappy, so I don't know how well they understood me, but, at least they know I'm alive and well!
Let me tell you about the last couple days! So, we spent Monday sorting through all of our tour options and trying to plan out our week. Our WestJet vacation consultant guy helped us pick. He gave us tons of options, explained them all really well, hooked up us with way better prices than what they're listed for since we're a bigger group, and helped us plan how we're getting home. He told us all of the do's and don'ts around the hotel and outside in the Sosua area, and he explained what do eat, drink, and what to avoid. He's so helpful! Plus his name is Junior (but with a super spanish accent) so everyone thinks he's pretty cool.
We all decided to try the 4 in 1 tour that includes jeep rides, horseback riding, zip lining, and waterfall climbing, all for $120 US dollars/person! It's not bad considering each excursion is usually $75-$90 EACH! Plus lunch is included! We booked it for tomorrow (Wednesday) so that later on in our trip, if we liked anything from that tour, we could go back and do the ones we liked the most. I predict that everyone will enjoy climbing the waterfalls, so I bet we'll go back and do that again before we leave. I'm actually so excited for that part since I've got a brand new GoPro to capture it all on film!!! I'm also excited to use it while we go scuba diving, since it's waterproof, and since I've never been able to capture a video while scuba diving before... I think we're planning on scuba diving on Friday. Only Christian and I have ever done it before, so the others will have to test it out in the pool first to see if they like it. We all have to do a mini certification class in the pool before we go anyway. So no body has to worry! Plus Junior is friends with the Scuba diving dude so he got us the pool lesson, and TWO ocean dives for $115 when usually they charge $150. The resort offers couple's massages right by the beach, for $25 US dollars for 45 minutes! Not bad, huh? I think we want to try the massages AFTER we do that excursion, assuming that we'll be sore and tired after our day of adventurous exploring.
By the way, I can't wait for certain people to watch the GoPro videos I'll be taking this week. For example, my grandparents! They didn't have the same opportunities as I might have today. And all I've wanted is for them to experience the cool things I've been able to see in my lifetime! I'll have my GoPro strapped to my head the whole time we're in the waterfalls. That way, the video will be filming exactly what I see. Same with the scuba diving! It'll be just like they were with me!!! I guess ANYONE who watches it will get the same experience... Plus I'll get to relive it every time I watch it, so the GoPro is a win win!
As for our not-so-amazing rooms, Tevin and I did some snooping around and found some very interesting things. The right half of the resort seems to be unoccupied. We found at least three more buffet restaurants, and nicer rooms... We stumbled across what looked like a hotel lobby, but there was dust on the counters and the lights were off. It was kind of creepy, actually. On the wall, we noticed a plaque that read, "Casa Marina Beach Resort." The BEACH resort is the one that we booked at. The sister resort, that's supposed to be right beside it, is called the Casa Marina Reef Resort. So we were a little confused... We were staying in the Reef and not the Beach??? We PAID for the Beach section of the resort... Not the Reef....
As we continued our adventure, we noticed that one of the walk out rooms looked like the blinds were pushed aside. Tevin and I were curious to see if we could see in, to see if THESE rooms might be the ones that we saw on the website. The rooms that we're staying in look nothing like the ones we saw online. And after seeing that extra lobby, we were starting to think that maybe this area is the Beach, and the one we're staying in is the Reef. So, I peered in through the window. To my surprise, the door just pushed open as I leaned on it... I glanced at Tevin and he glanced back at me, so I pushed the door open a little further. It was definitely unoccupied, but it was definitely not clean. We quickly walked in to inspect the room: The beds were pushed around and messed up, the chairs were unorganized, and there were DEAD COCKROACHES ON THE FLOOR IN THE BATHROOM. Other than the horrible condition of the room, we did notice that the decor, colours, and the different furniture seemed to match the photos on their website better. This room had a dresser, mirrors, and everything that we were expecting!
A little confused, Tevin and I decided to go find the others. We brought our findings to them and explained our theory:
Since we are in the low season (the less busy travelling season,) they may have condensed the hotels together. They may have closed down the BEACH section and just kept the REEF section open. This is a problem for us, because we actually booked the rooms at the BEACH section. We also chose this resort because we were under the impression that all of the restaurants would be open. At least four buffets, and two a la carte restaurants. This would allow us to have different foods throughout our stay, since we're staying for two weeks. But as it turns out, there's only ONE buffet restaurant, and ONE a la carte restaurant. This limits our food options, and can make it harder for everyone to find foods they like.
So, we've concluded that that's what happened. I think we're going to try and contact WestJet vacations, and Red Tag vacations to explain this to them... Because you can't just false advertise on your website... We came here for all the reasons that aren't even here! (PLUS on the website, it says everyone gets a one hour free scuba diving lesson in the pool, but they only want to give us ten minutes free.)
Anyway, other than that, we've been settling in nicely. I think our group favourites have been swimming in the ocean, and playing board games beside the beach at night, with a light breeze cooling us off. It's so nice. With drinks in hand, nothing to worry about? What could we possibly complain about?
Monday afternoon, we decided to head into town and walk along the Sosua Beach. It has many stores and restaurants along the way. The beach is so pretty. Even prettier than our private hotel beach! We were a little scared at first, the area is kind of enclosed, and the vendors are quite agressive. At one point, a few big black buff guys were following us creepily down the beach. Tevin put me in front of him and Jesse, with Cayly and Janie in front of me, and Christian in front of them. I wanted to be the most protected since I was the one lugging around my backpack with my camera and money in it. The locks were on both zippers, though, so it's not like anyone could pick pocket me. Everyone was just being really careful and watching out for each other. If people started slightly swarming us, asking questions and stuff, we'd just power through and keep walking. Once we got to a certain point, we turned around and actually started looking in the shops. It seemed like they were less aggressive once they saw that we actually were going into their stores. There were some really pushy people, and some really sweet artist. They were so humble and quiet, they just let us look around at their paintings without pressuring us to buy anything. It was a nice break. We ended up buying a couple pool floaties, and walked back to the resort to cool off in the pool. It was really eye opening, and good to see that we can all sort of protect each other in nerve racking situations...
Speaking of vendors, the guys that set up tables in our resort, they left along with the locals that were staying at the hotel!!! Sunday night, everyone seemed to check out. Now all that's left, are Frenchies, a couple English groups, and a whole whack of Germans. So we feel a LITTLE better. We're still being very cautious and locking up our stuff every time we leave our rooms. But yeah! The vendors left along with them at it was way nicer to be able to walk around the resort without being interrupted every couple of minutes. "HEY! SINORITA!!! COME LOOK. COME LOOK." "HEY, EXCUSE ME. BEAUTIFUL, COME LOOK. YOU WANT TO BUY?" ...
Anyway, later that night, Tevin and I spent a little while in the hammocks that hang under these beautiful trees right by those beach jacuzzis I was telling you about earlier! It's sooo awesome and relaxing! I'm excited to see what we do with the rest of our week!
Anyway... Apparently a beach party is about to start! And a bonfire on the beach! So I should wrap this up! I'll try my hardest to update my blog tomorrow night after our excursion... But I'm not sure, I might be exhausted! Talk to everyone later!!!
Love always,
Lindsay
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