Day 4: Dominic Republic & melt downs

Our first island with an excursion La Romana, Dominican Republic. Through some research I found Seavis Saona Island Tour. It included a speed boat ride to the caves, Saona Island, local lunch, rum punch and sodas, and snorkeling at a starfish sand bar in the middle of the ocean. The reviews were great and the cost was about $50 less per person. It required us to be off the boat by 9:15am and at the taxi terminal. Again I woke up early cleaned the room, packed the bag, and laid out clothes. I woke up my crew at 7am and they started showers. Ethan who is normally a breeze to wake up was not doing well this morning. He didn't want to go to breakfast so after he showered and dressed I let him go back to sleep while we went to breakfast. What that means is if Ethan is grumpy Lorelei was horrible! I think the 1am pizza's were finally catching up to us in room 2341.  We finished up just in time to bring Ethan back some breakfast and head of the boat.

While disembarking I reminded our kids that things would get crazy once off the ship. Lots of people trying to sell you things and talk to you. Don't engage in conversation and hold Momma and Daddy's hand. According to my research the DR was comparible to Jamaica when it came to aggressive locals. The Momma Bear and Poppa Bear in Nate and I were on high alert. We got off the ship and were able to jump into the appropriate taxi pretty quickly. From there it was smooth sailing from the Seavis office to being put onto the speedboat.

This was our favorite part of the entire trip. This excursion was a mix of everything we all enjoyed. We traveled some time on the boat and in the bumpy water at 60 mph it made for a fun ass ride. I held onto Ethan while Nate held onto Lorelei. Both were laughing and screaming the whole time.

Our first stop was the local caves. What a beautiful area. Known for being used as a hurricane shelter back in the day and discovered by Christopher Columbus. Also some of the best diving in the world.

 

 

Next stop Saona Island!  Exactly what I needed. The kids and Nate wanted to snorkel and I wanted to sit on the beach. There was only about 50 people on this beach and we had front row seats to a beautiful crystal blue water front. Because the beach was a 20 minute ride from the marina it wasn't filled with vendors. We had one lady come up and ask if we wanted any necklaces. Lorelei bought one as her DR souvenir. I watched the them snorkel and sat down and finally relaxed. It was exactly what I needed and my element. The snorkeling according them was a bit difficult because the water was cloudy that day but they still enjoyed it.  The water was calmer than Grand Turk and Lorelei really got a hang of it. She was funny though. Just like her momma every time she saw a fish she screamed into her snorkel. lol Ethan picked it up quickly and took the camera under for us.

 

Mandatory family pic

Ethan's underwater snorkel pic

Ethan's fresh coconut. So nasty. Hated by all.

They called us for lunch. I was expecting much but was impressed! A full spread of food including a marinated pork, grilled chicken breast, tomato pasta, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, rice and beans, and more. Both boys made giants plates and went back for seconds!  The only thing I didn't care for was the ad said punch rum. In the island's it's usually pretty good and I had told Ethan he could have one small cup. Well, they had all you could drink rum/cokes and light beer. Neither of which looked or tasted good to any of us. But the soda was free and for my crystal light drinking family they enjoyed the soda.

From there we loaded back into our speed boat and headed to the mangroves. We couldn't get out of the water because they were protected but they were awesome to see.  Along the way we saw the most beautiful shades of blue. The waters in the DR are gorgeous.

 

Next we headed to the Starfish Sandbar. So cool. In the middle of the ocean a sand bar with giant star fish. Again the crew passed out pound cake and fresh pineapples and more rum.  Oh, how I wish we had rum punch. This is when things started to go down hill. In the middle of the ocean, in the middle of the afternoon Ethan wasn't feeling the sandbar. "Ugh this just doesn't make sense. blah blah blah" I could tell he was grumpy. A grumpy Ethan only happens when he's tired. We ignored him and continued on with enjoying the starfish.

 

Thankfully he bounces back quickly. Thank you to Speddy.

The next 30 minutes turned his frown upside down! A fast, high action, wave riding, wet boat ride back to the marina. Ethan had a blast. Lorelei loved it too but was so tired she fell asleep half way through. Despite the bouncing and sprays of water. By the end of the ride we were full and happy.

We grabbed our cab back to the port and went straight to the ship. Ethan showed and dressed for dinner and met up with his cousins who had come back from their dune buggy excursion. Lorelei, Nate, and I showered and dressed and headed upstairs to watch the ship leave DR. I made Ethan snap a picture before he took off.

After dinner the plan was for Lorelei to go to Camp Ocean for the evening. They had lots of activities planned that night and we had a pub crawl to attend with our Facebook Group. When I tried to drop her off she had a complete melt down. I looked or at least felt like a shit bag mom. That put me in a bad mood. She said she didn't want to go but wouldn't say way and cried louder and louder. I took her back to the room and told Nate I was putting her to bed and I would read my book. Nate, Marie, Kim, and the rest of the crew left to meet up with the Pub Crawl. Lorelei passed out immediately and I sat up and read my book dozing in and out. Ethan came home at 1am and Nate came in shortly after. I was annoyed with Nate that he didn't at least check on us during those 4 hours and that he went to pizza but didn't think about me. He was tired and could careless and we both went to bed grumpy.

As hard as my family can go we need our sleep and this is what this day taught me. We are not an up at 5-7am until 1am kind of people. My children and us need our sleep. After that we had mandatory nap times which made everybody happy from there on out.