We decided we should explore both ends of the spectrum with our time off…
So we headed up into the mountains!
And there is a lake nearby…might be a little cool to do any water skiing, but looks fun for a hike or snowing…can you see the lake in the distance?
Can you guess where? 🙂
Today, we toured around the island a little bit…to check out the local culture and lifestyle.
Lots of Russian immigrants and economy based on their influence here in the Dominican Republic.
Did you know that a “Car Wash” in the Dominican Republic is more than a car wash…it is kind of like the shady “massage parlors” in the US. Nope, not interested, now you know why there are so many on the island!
Numerous cocoa (chocolate) and tobacco farms on the island. And yes, cigar rolling is a cottage trade and industry for many around the island.
Checked out some of the older churches built back in the 1500s.
A lot of Spanish colonial history here – still a lot of tension with the Haitians…even though they have been independent from Haiti for several hundred years.
The military control and guard the beaches here.
Sometimes the waves and currents can be a little too rough for even surfing.
Amazing view here along the coastline!
That is why the wild donkeys like to hang out and live here greeting foreigners…
Interested in learning more? Check out my two other postings from our visit:
The Dominican Republic is definitely a place you can relax, take a nap or read by the pool.
We did a little of all the above…and snuck in a little workout as well to enjoy a drink by the pool later 🙂
and then when the sun goes down, the music starts.
and the dancing is infectious when on vacation…hard to take pictures when you are moving to the fast paced music!
And when there is music, you run into famous musicians like DJ Ashba who was unfortunately not playing the guitar tonight, he was on vacation like us 🙂
Let’s see…it is early morning in the Caribbean, so what should we do?
Go running of course! and since it NFL playoffs time, we should definitely a 12K in honor of the Seattle Seahawks 12 man!
The one problem is they limit your speed along local routes. You cannot go faster than 9 KM an hour 😦
But the really cool thing about running around the world, is all the things you discover that you would never see from a hotel or resort.
Scenery and wildlife…
or the risks of robots that are violating Asimov’s 3 Laws of Robots and may attack foreigners that are not careful!
Running around the world is always fun. Some of my other favorite spots:
OK – lets do some diving!
The Reserve Paradisus Palma Real
Our little getaway is on the Atlantic of the island. Not too fancy. No docks for the boats. These pics are going to have a red tint due to the lens of the camera being ready for diving.
Divers from around the world
Needless to say, you need to take some Dramamine…
You get very wet before entering the ocean
The boat motion is pretty significant in the Atlantic side of the island.
We started taking some videos using a GoPro Hero this time.
I see why people love these cameras now. I can see why they are addictive. I will work more on editing the videos in the future – I am still experimenting 🙂
Mr. Puffy
The underwater currents were equally rough. This puffy fish even had a hard time.
The strong currents made it quite rough and tricky choosing your path through the coral. This is where dive training, patience and the buddy system are very important to your safety in these conditions.
We made it back safe and starving (after the traditional breakfast meal before diving) thanks to the great dive master Sol!
The evenings are lit up and full of color to try and match all the daytime flora and fauna.
Yes, I know I need to get a newer smartphone…it is coming. Not the priority this week 🙂
Back to the story…even in isolated resorts in Punta Cana, there is entertainment.
Last night was the circus acts – a little magic, a little music, a little humor, and some acrobatics.
I do have to admit, the local talent, may not be Cirque du Soleil, but they give it their best and it makes and nice enjoyable evening hour on the island.
Stay tuned to this channel… 🙂
We needed a break and some time off. We got on an airplane and headed south…where to go?
Our friend wanted to do a little diving, so we picked a different island than we had ever been to before.
The Dominican Republic sounded different. Warm water and sun 🙂
We wanted a little downtime to do some reading and relaxing…
and try some different foods and drinks of course!
Stay tuned on the diving! This blog will continue 🙂
The park is in danger due to COVID-19 as shared by many news sites. Help is needed!
If you believe in the amazing history, accomplishments and importance of this site being available for man others to visit, please consider joining me and sponsoring a brick!
Someone finally shared a picture of my brick which has a conspiratorial ardency/correlation to another famous person! 😉
Since I had to stay up really late last night work on some Cybersecurity challenges in London…I decided I needed a short break.
I decided to take an extra long lunch break today and check on some earlier Cybersecurity experts outside of London.
One of the most famous Cybersecurity experts in the world Dr. Steve Lipner recommended I visit when I had a chance. The grounds and museums were very well kept.
Maybe it was Mr. Lipner that was inspired by the story of Dilly Knox and his famous bath routine, I am not sure…
It is only a 40 minute train ride out and it is a very quiet campus that is full of history.
It became quiet famous again after the movie the Imitation Game, but the positive is all the renovation and work that is being done to re-create the bombe experience in how they worked to break the enigma devices.
They had several Enigma devices which was quite a treat to see. Interestingly, there are two others in England. One is in Churchill’s War Museum and another is in the Imperial War Museum, both in London!
The real amazing thing I learned was the Lorenz machine which was used by Hitler for his secret messages and not the Enigma. This was not even de-classified until 2003!
http://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/lorenz/sz40/index.htm
If interested, here is my posting from touring around London.
Many people wonder…what should you do on your last day in NYC.
You go to Coney Island of course!
I have to admit it was a little of an old school carnival, but I can see why locals and tourists all like to visit.
You have to enjoy a famous hot dog of course and have the chili-cheese fries at the most famous hot dog stand in the world…
It is a simple ride from Manhattan on an express route for $2.80 each way. It only takes about an hour, but if you get bored, you can do some dancing on the train if you like.
We did not go into the museum, but it was a great opportunity to visit the new Freedom Tower (World Trade Center 1)
and also observe the very moving memorial (no pun intended) that was built in the former footprint of the twin towers.
Afterwards, it was a good excuse to get some classic New York pizza nearby…and check out Wall Street to see where all the big money is made in this country. In all honesty, there is not that much activity or thriving environment in Wall Street anymore…I am not sure this is the best place to seek new opportunities any more…
Later that evening, we took in a Broadway show – the controversial “Book of Mormon”.
We had great seats up front, but they don’t let you take pictures during the show.
I have to admit the acting and humor was quite a show. The music was also very well done. It was quite funny to see the orchestra members watching movies on their iPad next to their music scores…
Later, after the show, we had to check out one of the local Irish pubs for a beer and enjoy the open floor and see the evening skyline 🙂
Today was a little different…we walked to the Hudson river to check out the Intrepid carrier.
It was fun to offer a little tour of a naval ship (type) that I had served upon 20 years ago…although this was quite a bit older that CV-67.
Amazing how quickly getting around a carrier came back to me…I don’t miss the food though!
It was cool to see some familiar planes, but very weird to see them painting in non-combat demo colors that you would never see on active duty. Real planes are only grey…and a true F-14 always has drip pans beneath it due to all the leaks…
The museum was well done with lots of space exhibits and fun activities for families (like the Enterprise space shuttle).
The cool thing for me is the Growler submarine which carried the legacy Regulus cruise missiles. These were like the cold war variant of the V2 rockets based on the German technology captured after WWII and were carried on submarines until the Polaris missiles were deployed which could be launched from under the water.
Now for dinner, we went to the Rainbow Room on the top of the Rockefeller building (NBC).
On Monday nights only, they have big band orchestra, music, singers and dancing.
Amazing food, amazing views, amazing service, amazing music, amazing energy and tons of fun. Highly recommended.
David Cross Travel Blog 