Day 14 – Exploring Santo Domingo & Dining in a Cave

Santo Domingo is dubbed "The First City of the New World," so as you can imagine, there is a lot of history.   Our hotel was located in the heart of the Zona Colonial so we were walking distance to the various markets, cathedrals, plazas, shops and any other worthwhile site.
 

We had high expectations for Mercado Modelo but unfortunately it was filled with mass produced generic souvenirs

El Conde is a popular walk street with shops and cafes

Plaza Colon, which is built around a statue of Christopher Columbus, is the central area of the Colonial Zone

Lauren strikes a pose in the Plaza Colon 

 

Greg stands alongside one of the towns many cannons - Santo Domingo is on the water and needed to fend off invaders coming across the Atlantic

The Cathedral, where Christopher Columbus is said to be buried, is the town's main attraction

Garrett taking part in the Dominican national past time of sitting

We worked up a strong sweat walking around sightseeing so we stopped for lunch and some air conditioning at Angelo, the neighbor restaurant to Pat’e Palo.

Enjoying the air conditioning at Angelo

By the late afternoon, we had our share of sightseeing so we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the last night of the trip.  Mo and Matt stopped off to get a few beers and mingle with the locals at a nearby café overlooking the Plaza Colon.

Weekeday afternoon beers is a common tradition in the Dominican, one that Mo and Matt fully supported

We wanted to do something special for our last dinner so we did a bit of research and found EL MESON DE LA CAVA, a high-end dinner joint that is about 100-feet below ground in a cave.  The place proved to be more than just a gimmick as the unique location and ambience was matched by its delicious cuisine.

Garrett and Greg descend into the dining area of La Cava

The dining area was a massive room surrounded by the rock walls of the cave

A delicious final feast

It's not a proper meal unless it ends with a hot hot fudge sundae

After dinner we bounced around a few bars in the Zona Colonial and wound down around 2am.  A fitting last evening to a whirlwind of a trip.

We were close friends before the trip but even closer by the end

Day 15 is our final day and it's mainly a travel day.  We fly Santo Domingo to Miami and then Miami to LA.

Day 13 – Travel to Santo Domingo and Out & About in the Capital

After the morning golf round, we hit the road for a three and half hour drive across the middle of the country to Santo Domingo on the south coast.  We arrived at the HOTEL PALACIO in the Zona Colonial, the historical area of the city, around 5pm.  We settled in, changed and headed to dinner at PAT’E PALO, one of the highest rated restaurants in the city.



Cuddle up - Matt and Mo crashed out on the drive to Santo Domingo



Mo fell asleep in the most awkward position, thankfully he's mastered various yoga poses

Joselito drops off 'La Familia' at Hotel Palacio in Santo Domingo

Before becoming a hotel, Hotel Palacio was a palace of a former Dominican President 

Mo checks out the view of the Palacio's garden patio

Around every corner of Zona Colonial was a historical site of some sort – cathedrals, plazas, museums, pantheons, etc.  On our walk to dinner alone we came across the palace of Christopher Columbus’ son Diego and the cathedral where Christopher Columbus himself is supposedly buried.  Even the restaurant we were going to was located in a block of 16^th century warehouses that were converted into restaurants and shops. 

We walked by the Las Cosas Reales, a16th-century  mansion that housed the supreme court

Alcazar de Colon, the former palace of Diego Columbus, son of Christopher Columbus

Pat'e Palo did not disappoint.  The setting, the view of the Plaza Espana, the music and of course the food were all spectacular.  It was easily among the best meals of the trip. 

Pat'e Palo overlooked the Plaza Espana, an open area that often hosts live music

Lauren with our waiter Junior - the waiters wore pirate getups

Short Ribs - You couldn't go wrong on the Pat'e Palo menu

Lots of smiles and full bellies 

After dinner we bounced around ‘the Zona’ looking for some action but we had to venture out of the area to find anything worthwhile.  Based on a few local recommendations, we made our way across the river to Avenida de Venezuela, a local area popular for merengue dancing.   Our first stop was House Drink, a club-like spot with lots of packed tables and thumping merengue tunes.  Stop two was La Barrica, which also featured meringue but the place had a bit more of a country bar vibe. 

Lauren and Matt gave merengue a try at House Drink

Dominican beer is served so cold that often times it's partially frozen

The boys sitting bar top at House Drink

Matt's vodka with olive juice always proved an adventure - at La Barrica they served a  glass of vodka with a side of olives

Lauren and Garrett enjoying the local vibe at House Drink

Greg wasn't too fond of the Charlie Chaplin photo at La Barrica so he gave it the bird



Around 2am we had our fill of merengue so the boys headed to the casino while Garrett and Lauren headed back to the hotel.  It was a brief stay, but just long enough for us to take advantage of the free table-side food.  

 

Greg enjoyed some fried chicken, vegetables and plantains at the blackjack table

Day 14 is a Santo Domingo site-seeing and exploration day and with so much history around the city we will have our work cut out for us.  

Special Post – Golfing at Playa Grande Resort

Not sure how to describe the golf experience Mo, Garrett and Matt had but hopefully a few brief sentences and a bunch of pictures will do the trick.

Imagine you’re at a bar and you strike up a conversation with a stranger that leads to discussing everything from politics and war to women and sports.  Before you know it you do a 151 shot and you agree to a round of golf with the new friend, not thinking it’ll actually happen.  That’s how it started. 

After going to bed only hours before, we took the leap of faith and woke up at 7am to meet our new friend Senor Robert.  We figured it’d be a 50-50 shot he’d show, but when we got downstairs he was there waiting.  What ensued is arguably one of the greatest rounds of golf of our lives.

Senor Robert, Matt, Mo and Garrett were all smiles

When you drive through the Playa Grande Golf Resort gates the views of the endless cliffs with pristine turquoise water crashing against the rocks immediately strike you.   The course is designed by renowned architect Robert Trent Jones, the same designer of Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach, California.  In fact, the course is often referred to as the Pebble Beach of the Caribbean. 

The views made looking for your lost ball not nearly as depressing

Garrett takes in the pristine views from the fairway

We teed off around 8:30am and after a few holes of mostly staring at the views and not paying attention to our golf game, we noticed we were the only ones on the course.   Our caddies kept us on track and treated us like professionals by recommending clubs, providing distances, cleaning…and finding…our balls, lining up our putts, etc.

Matt found himself in the rough throughout the day...

Mo sets up his putt against a postcard-like backdrop

Several holes, such as this one, called for a cross-canyon tee shot

We were the only golfers on the course so we stopped to take photos whenever possible

Be sure not to hook it or you'll be swimming with the fishes

Mo lines up one of his handful of birdie putts - he birdied two holes on the day

Matt toes the edge of one of the many Playa Grande cliffs

Garrett and Matt enjoy one of the many picturesque scenes

Garrett tees off with the beautiful Playa Grande in the background

The views continued to get better on each hole and peaked on the 13^th where the green over looked the famous Playa Grande beach, considered one of the top 10 beaches in the world.  Again, we took note that still no one else had teed off and we had the entire world-class golf course to ourselves like we were playing in our own backyard. 

The view of Playa Grande beach from the 13th green

The boys were on cloud nine the whole round

We picked up a few words and learned a few lessons throughout the round such as:

* Gorilla Grande – A big dude who hits the ball a long way; Mo and Garrett were referenced as a Gorilla Grandes on several occasions

* Dominican Gimme – Gimmes in the Dominican are an extra club length

* Putter – Putter in Spanish is Putter

* Mierda – Literally translates to ‘shit’ and was used by the caddies after Matt teed off saying “en la mierda otro vez” or 'in the shit again'

* Dame Gasolina – What you say when you hit a putt short as if it ran out of gas

* Luna – When you hit a ball sky high off the tee

We wrapped up the round in the early afternoon on Tuesday and we are still on a high from the experience.  Huge, huge thanks to Senor Robert for hosting us on an absolutely phenomenal experience and adding such an invaluable excursion to our trip.

Day 12 - Vamos A La Playa

Cabarete is as lively during the day as it is at night.  All the restaurants, bars and souvenir shops open bright and early to capture the tourist business.  However, Cabarete is probably best known for its world-class windsurfing and kite surfing.  People from around the world travel here to take advantage of the unique wind conditions that funnel through the bay.

Our crew was up mid-morning to grab breakfast and then hit the sand.  We were treated to another perfect day of weather.  Other than a few dips in the water, a couple of strolls up and down the beach, a card game or two, and several massages on the beach, it was an uneventful day, which is just what we planned.

Mo and Garrett getting their beach bodies ready

The epitome of our relaxing day - massages, naps and taking in the sun

Seats open

Cabarete beach

Garrett was the King of Queens in the hard fought Hearts battle

Matt mixed in a massage from 'El Tigre'

Una cerveza por favor

Local vendors walked the beaches selling fresh fruit

As the sun set we went back to the room to clean up.  Earlier in the day we noticed a great surf & turf, aka mar y tierra, dinner offer that we planned to take full advantage of.  We got to dinner around 7:30pm and it was a bit warm and humid so Mo, Greg and Matt decided to go topless at dinner – it’s the Caribbean so topless is completely acceptable. 

Dinner on Sunday was toptional

The surf and turf feast in Cabarete

Even with his shirt off, Greg was still overheating so the boys assisted him with a head-and-shoulders-only dip in the restaurant’s pool.

Preparation...

Ready to engage...

Commencing the dip...

Drying...

Todo bien!!

After dinner, we bar-hopped up and down the beach to watch Dallas squeak by Garrett’s Redskins on Monday Night Football. 

LA was well-represented in the Cabarete bars

We wrapped up the night by again making new friends at Jose O’Shea’s, including a Canadian named Robert who had retired and moved to the north shore of the Dominican.  Robert was sitting bar top alongside us and he started telling us about all kinds of great things to do on the island, including a claim that the nearby Playa Grande Golf Resort is one of the best golf courses in the world.  Matt, Mo and Garrett had been looking to get in some golf on the trip, so this recommendation piqued our interest.  After a couple rounds of shots, Robert told us he would pick us up at 7am the next morning (it was about 1:30am as this decision was made) and take us on the 45 minute drive to the course.

Would the gang be able to get home, sleep off some drinks, wake up early, and make it to Playa Grande for a spontaneous round of world-class golf?  Stay tuned…