Thursday on our tropical vacation, Dad, Corbin and I headed out bright and early for a long ride to Cap Cana from our resort. We piled into that open air van again (I was prepared this time with extra water, some bagels from breakfast, and a fully charged camera), and headed out for the long journey.
Now, there was one huge significant difference between our first open air journey, and this one. When we went zip lining, most of the roads were back roads. Yes, they were uneven, but totally manageable. This time, we were on main roads. I learned one fact: The Dominicans are HUGE fans of speed bumps. These open air vans have
no shocks. Nada. Literally were airborne, butts landed HARD on unpadded seats. It was
not a pleasant experience. Luckily, by the time we were on our way home, we were so exhausted that we didn't care anymore.
Anyway.
After about an hour and a half drive, we arrived in
Cap Cana. There were first world amenities, and no spiders in the bathroom. I'd say that is a win-win situation. We went through a brief safety and instruction course (in English, Spanish, French, and Italian), and headed out to pick our buggys.
It was a blessing in disguise that the morning started out pretty cloudy. None of us had applied sunscreen, and so the shade was a much needed relief.
The boys were obviously so excited to be there so early.
Once we headed out on the buggys (Corbin and I in one, Dad in the other), we learned that Corbin should have remembered his sunglasses. We were driving through sand and dirt, and at one point, I looked over at Corbin driving and there were literally sandcastles on his eyelashes. I don't even know how he was driving because even with my oversized diva glasses, I could barely keep my eyes open.
HI DAD!
After a few miles, we arrived at the most beautiful beach in the entire world. Water crystal clear, and the whitest sand I've ever seen.
We were allotted about a half hour to swim, and enjoy the beach. We had a snack, some water, and were ready to hit the road again! This time, we drove from the beach to this beautiful cave. On the way, we loved seeing cell phone towers disguised as palm trees. Around New York, those tricky cell phone companies try to disguise them as pine trees.
We arrived at our second destination, Hoya Azul.
After a short hike, we emerged in a cave with a swimming hole. The water was
so blue. You could see the entire way to the bottom, which was 41 feet deep. The water was
freezing, but after the sun had come out, and I was covered in sweat and dirt, jumping into that icy cold water felt incredible.
Normally, I am not even close to being happy about swimming in non-manmade bodies of water, but this trip was full of exceptions. I knew I would be miserable sitting in my wet bathing suit the entire way back to the meeting spot, and then again the whole way back to the resort, but I didn't care. When else was I going to be swimming in a gorgeous place like this? Corbin and I even broke out our 90's waterproof disposable camera and snapped some fun shots under the water. I can't wait to get those developed...
After much swimming time, we hiked back to our buggys and drove back to the main part of Cap Cana. They were selling American snacks and bottled water, and I can't remember the last time I was more excited to eat a bag of goldfish.
The ride back to the resort was just as bumpy as the ride there, but like I said, we were
so exhausted that we couldn't be bothered with the bumps. We got back to the resort mid-afternoon, had a quick lunch after meeting up with Mom, and then headed to the pool for the rest of the day to nap and enjoy our last 36 hours of sunshine.
If you are
ever in Punta Cana, I highly recommend Cap Cana tours. Honestly, it was one of the most incredible days of my life, and I would absolutely do it again if I had the choice!
