Novel Notes: Punta Cana Trip

It's been awhile since I wrote a non-review post and I wanted to say hi, everyone and that I am still here! It's been crazy busy at work as the semester waned but since now it's the summer semester, the students are off campus and it's a bit more manageable workwise. I was fortunate enough to go away during Memorial Day weekend. I ended up extending my weekend to go to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for my husband's cousin's wedding, which was fabulous by the way. This was my first time going away for a destination wedding and the whole long weekend was so much fun. Besides the hiccups with all transportation, including us getting stuck in Toronto overnight on Memorial Day into Tuesday, the trip was amazing!

Not only did I get to spend more time with my husband's family, we finally got to relax and enjoy the wonderful views Punta Cana provided us. It was a paradise from Thursday to Monday! The water was the perfect temperature to cool you down during the hot summer day. The sun shined reflected on the water, making it dazzle as the waves washed over the shore. The sand was so smooth! The beaches here in Massachusetts are often filled with rocks and seashells so it was a nice change to walk on the smooth sand. The cabanas were great! We got a great view without too much sun. I am so happy I brought my sunhat and a lot of sunblock. The sun is so strong in the Dominican Republic.

The pool was great to keep cool without worrying about the rough waves of the ocean. The swim up bar was perfect though! I mean how many times do you get to still stay in the pool and get drinks? I succeeded in getting my fresh coconut to drink out of. I actually had quite a lot of coconuts that weekend. We also found a new delicious cocktail drink at the swim up bar that we ended ordering all the time during the trip. The Dominican Baby was the bomb!

For the wedding events, there was a cocktail party the night before the wedding which was nice since it was along the beach at a beach bar and we got to see the beach at night with all the lights. On the day of the wedding, on Saturday, we left to resort to travel to the wedding venue. OMG! I have never been to a wedding so beautiful. From the views along the water to the delicious food, everything was on point. The decorations created a whimsical romantic feeling to it and everyone had a great time! The drinks were great too! I loved the Passionfruit Mojito. The couple getting married were all smiles during the ceremony and reception. It's such a wonderful thing how two people and their families fuse into one.

 

The next day, we attended a catamaran trip with a good amount of the people who attended the wedding. We got to go snorkeling, ate some of the most delicious seasoned shish kabobs ever, enjoyed some wonderful views and we even got to swim/stand in the shallow section of the ocean to chit chat and to have fun.

 

The day before the wedding was crazy weatherwise. We had an afternoon T-storm that was so intense! I never heard thunder so loud before! The downpours were so intense that many of the walkways and the pristinely landscaped grounds were flooded! We lucked out that we got the storm the day before the wedding instead of the day of the wedding. 

My husband and I even got to play a little bit of Pokémon on our trip. I was super excited to relax at the beach while doing a Lapras raid and we were even fortunate enough to get some Heracross pokemon. I love exploring new areas with Pokémon Go.

Some of the things I had on my to-do checklist in Punta Cana included the following:

Drink coconut water out of a fresh coconut
Eat fresh tropical fruit every day
Enjoy the Dominican coffee
See the sunset at the beach
Catch a Heracross Pokémon
Buy a bottle of Dominican vanilla extract to bring home

I have to say I was able to do everything on my list and much more.

Everyone had a great time and I cannot wait to visit the Dominican Republic in the future. The husband and family are thinking about going to Santo Domingo the next time we go back. I cannot wait!