Posted by:
pat
(---.dsl.wlfrct.sbcglobal.net)
John,
Interestingly, Dominican Republic was once on our list of places I wanted to visit, and then a family member moved there for about five years. After hearing the stories he told, it fell right off my radar screen. He described the poverty and the begging and stories of guards protecting the bathers on the beaches and the immigration problems with so many people fleeing from Haiti and all in all, it just didn't have the same allure anymore. One of the things that always captures our interest is the ability to travel freely in the location we're visiting without fear of what might happen to us by doing so. This just wasn't the thing to do, or so we were told, in DR. And then, just about a year ago, friends told us about their recent vacation experiences there. I didn't get the name of the resort, but they were ready to find a new TA after their experience. And they are very well seasoned travelers who spend beaucoup dollars a couple times a year on their family vacations so I'm thinking the description you were given was probably right on the money based on the things they shared with us. In fairness, I've spoken to many people who go to the DR and are content to do the AI thing and stay in one place but that would be a major deterent to me.
You asked about interesting islands so let me share those that we really enjoyed the most, beyond St. Maarten and Anguilla and you already know how much we love them.
We've only been to
Barbados once but thought it to be an absolutely spectacular place to visit. The beaches varied from location to location but I remember thinking how beautiful they all were and how different one from the other and the coastlines were all phenomenal. It's on our list of places to which we'd love to return, someday. There are so many things to see and do, from the rough and tumble Bathsheba coast line and the lighthouse out there on the coast, to the supposed pirate caves of Crane Beach, or so the legend goes as we were told, and the sugar cane fields and the processing plants and the Monastery in the middle of no where. Dining in the Gap was fun and of course, we had to try the fried flying fish which the island is known for. Bridgetown was about the only part of our trip that I hated - too busy and too much traffic but where have I heard that before? There's a rum distillery and horse racing and botanical gardens. If you're not faint-hearted, driving the island was in itself an experience but fun if you're comfortable with it and know what you're doing.
And then there is
Grenada - an incredibly beautiful island with rain forests and inland mountain falls and lakes, and warm and beautiful people. We explored the nutmeg processing factory and the cocoa processing plant there - I never knew that Grenada was known for this. We enjoyed the history of the island and our small part in it and once again, the feeling we were able to wander the island on our own was a nice thing. So much to see and experience there.
And lastly, as already mentioned,
Bermuda, and what's not to like there? Much more upscale ergo more costly but very clean and such beautiful beaches to explore and talk about a year round golfer's heaven....
There are so many other places to see and experience and I'm thinking each of them has something different that makes them each special in their own right but the bottom line is most probably that the best ones will be the ones you experience personally and offer the pleasures you most enjoy.
Respectfully,
pat
) and saw this so I will enter this as the quote of the day and as a test, who said it...