Taino and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

 

“Life is better with palm trees and coconuts. Sun, sand, and smiles in the Dominican Republic. Paradise found. Chasing sunsets and making memories. Happiness comes in waves. Don’t worry, beach happy?”

Anonymous

Looking out over the town of Taino in the Dominican Republic, as our ship pulled in, we had no idea where we were. It didn’t look anything like the port we docked at the last time we were here. Then we found out why. We were docked at their new port in the town of Taino. This port is only two years old and is a gorgeous port.

We were one of the first people off the ship and were walking in Taino by 7:30 as we had an excursion and didn’t want to be late. We wandered around the port and saw the beautiful new pool and lazy river graced by beautiful palm trees. There were also many colorful shops, bars, and restaurants.

We exited the port area and found our where our excursion was meeting. The last time we were here we booked through Shore Excursioneer and loved it so much that we booked with them again. Our last time, we went on the excursion to the top of the mountain. This time we chose to do a beach day. We met our guide, Alex and he was very friendly and spoke good English. He first took us to Fortaleza San Felipe which was a Spanish fort where we got out and walked around. This fort was built to defend the islands northern coast. Over the centuries, it was the site of many battles and occupations. We got off the bus where we had a great view of our ship, the shoreline, and fortress. The ocean views were lovely.

Our next stop was the town of Puerto Plata. The bus dropped us off at Central Park, a small park with some lovely and historic buildings surrounding the square. Many of the buildings were built in Victorian Style and were just lovely, painted in many beautiful colors. There were a lot of pigeons roaming the park and the locals seem to enjoy feeding them. They were different from the ones we had seen on the east coast of the US with many varieties and colors.

We were guided into the magnificent two spiraled Catholic Church, called St. Philip the Apostle Cathedral. It was originally a wooden church that got destroyed in a fire in 1863 during the “Dominican War of Restoration. The present church construction began in 1870 and reconstruction started in 1929 and was completed in 1956. A couple of earthquakes slowed down the reconstruction. It is build in a Victorian style. We walked inside and the first thing I noticed is there was no holy water in the back of the church. Alex told us it is locked away for masses. The next thing I noticed were the pigeons that were flying through the church. I guess the locals welcome them into even the churches. The stained glass was stunning and we could feel how proud the people of this town are of this beautiful cathedral.

Alex explained the colors of the Dominican Republics flag. White is to symbolize peace, blue is for the sky, and red for Christ’s blood. The seal in the middle of the flag shows a Bible opened. He told us his country has the only Bible displayed on a countries flag and he was very proud of that. The people of the Dominican Republic are very religious and are mainly Catholic.

We followed him to Umbrella Road. What a gorgeous street that has the most stunning flowers and bright, beautiful umbrellas displayed overhead. There were shops to include a great chocolate shop, jewelry shops, and places where you could buy a cold or hot drink.

Then he walked us over to Paseo Dona Blanca also known as Pink Street. This was a great photo stop with the Victorian style buildings, and surrounded by bright pink painted buildings and walkways. This unique alleyway was created to honor the arrival of Mrs. Bianca Franceschini who helped to pioneer the development of tourism in Puerto Plata.

At that point, our excursion split in two and one part was going to the top of the mountain, and we were dropped off at a nice beach club. We really enjoyed just relaxing and swimming. Then we sat up at the bar area where they had comfortable seating in the shade. It was a great beach club and we totally relaxed.

When Alex was finished with the tour up the mountain, he came back and picked us up. We were the only two people with him which was great as we got to ask him lots of questions. He was a joy and super informative. I would highly recommend this tour group. They offer three different excursions. We have done two but the last one they offer, is a waterfall excursion which we will do next. This is a beautiful place to visit. We had a lovely day.

Till next time. Bye for now.