Republica Dominica, Day 2

Day 2 began with the breakfast buffet, and then volleyball, volleyball, volleyball! The weather was a mixed blessing-- naturally we would have preferred sunshine, but the on-and-off rain kept the jungle players away, and kept only the die hards on the beach. So the level of play was reasonably high, given the resort location. We played all morning, taking occasional breaks to jump in the ocean and cool off.

In the afternoon, Alice and I decided to do some exploring. We hiked up to the lighthouse (actually a gazebo) and then down to a remote section of beach, where we suddenly realized we were no longer on resort property. The "shops" we found were not hotel-affiliated, they were run by the indigenous population, i.e., the very poor. Everyone yelled and called for us to enter their shops. We finally caved and went into one, and were shown some interesting wood carvings, paintings, and some fake-looking jewelry. We were also asked if we wanted to buy marijuana, which we politely declined. At least, that's what I think he said. We eventually left without buying anything, and hurriedly strode back to the resort. Here are some pics:





That night, we had dinner at the steak restaurant. The overcooked ribeyes tasted like Steak-Ums, and Alice's fillet tasted like lemon-scented Pledge. We decided we'd settle on the buffet from here on in. After dominos, we went to the Plaza for mojitos and Ping Pong before turning in.