Tuesday, February 11
Vacation time in Punta Cana! I chose to return for the third time to the Iberostar Grand Bavaro (inexplicably also called the JOIA Bavaro now). Our previous visits were in 2024 and 2019. Southwest Vacations makes it very easy to book this trip: one click for nonstop flights, the all-inclusive hotel and transfers, all done on Black Friday after Thanksgiving so we get a further discount. A few more clicks if you count getting a separate reservation for Allie from Boston.
Our Tuesday flight to Punta Cana was easy, just a few hours ahead of a snowstorm in Maryland, Allie was able to catch her very early flight out of Boston and arrived at BWI just as we were pulling into the parking lot. Allie had already purchased a Cinnabon for Mom by the time we met at the gate for our 10:15am flight. I spent most of the flight enjoying my Songs of Life playlist followed by Songs that Matter (to Me). I enjoy listening to my old buddies from time to time, and thought of a few new additions.
Transport to the hotel was also easy after we got through the rigamarole of getting our bags, passing through customs, and finding the Amstar representative to sort out the details of combining two reservations into one car trip. By 4pm we were in the lobby of the hotel, enjoying drinks, getting checked in and deposited in our rooms. This time, I splurged a bit for an oceanfront room and was pleased to see the expansive porch/balcony — a nice view, well shaded, a very pleasant place for me to hang out.
Our first night we went to the surf and turf restaurant, El Galleon, and each ordered steaks. I ordered a grilled lobster as well to share. The steaks came and were adequate. It took a while before they brought the grilled lobster tail but it was hot off the grill and very tasty. The best thing we’ve had at this resort. I wish we had ordered more lobster and less steak.
We headed back to the room after dinner and hung out for a bit watching TV and/or sitting on the balcony in my case. The evening entertainment at this resort is not its strength. But we were tired anyway and in bed by 11pm.
Wednesday – Friday, February 12-14
The next three days were a rinse and repeat cycle of waking up early, staking out a front row palapa at the beach by 7:30am, and having the nice breakfast buffet. Barb and Allie were generally on their beach chairs reading by 10am. I was on the balcony reading or listening to music or podcasts. Barb missed her 11:30am water aerobics the first day but caught the next two, then we would have lunch together at 12:30pm before going back to our routines for the afternoon. The girls would generally head back to the room around 3pm for a rest and shower before we’d head out to dinner. Allie booked a massage at the spa for the final afternoon at 3pm. That was the only extracurricular activity we partook of.
The second night we tried the Caribbean restaurant mostly to have their lobster but this time it was baked and not nearly as good. Oh well. Lesson slowly learned.
A few words on happiness and the pursuit thereof. I do enjoy these short bursts of overindulgence. As always, we seem to eat and drink too much on the first day or two, then settle into a slightly more reasonable level of overindulgence by the third evening. By the third full day we start to get bored and then it’s time to go. I suppose we could have stayed one more day this time since Monday is a holiday, but as it is we will return on Saturday evening and get settled into home in time to enjoy the holiday there. It seems like a good plan.
Having a few days of doing nothing and being pampered always brings up thoughts of what makes me happy. I like just sitting alone with a book and a reasonable internet connection to my music, podcasts, news and emails. Plus I can write when I feel the urge. Certainly Barb enjoys her beach time, getting quickly tan with her books. Allie also was eager to have a few days of “me” time, though we are happy she seems happy to spend most of that time with us. We are soon reminded that this lifestyle is neither healthy nor sustainable but it is enjoyable in short bursts.
Getting in and out of Punta Cana is about as easy as could be — the airport is now modern and they process the tourists reasonably well. The drive from the airport to the resort is as close as we get to the actual Dominican Republic, which is to say not close at all. The single road we travel is moderately congested with a lot of rickety vehicles on the road, but it’s four lanes and the cars/vans we ride in are air conditioned and comfortable. This time there seemed to be a fair amount of new construction underway which is an indication of some prosperity and stability, something worth noting on an island shared with Haiti. The few people we come in contact with are friendly.
There is literally nothing to complain about other than an abiding twinge of guilt that we are not doing more to appreciate or learn about the Dominican Republic people or culture. We are here for a few days of hedonistic overindulgence and we like to be unencumbered by the real world to the greatest extent possible, thank you.
This particular resort is not quite perfect but is pretty good on most fronts. Certainly the weather is hard to beat. I checked the weather app from home and it said each day was cloudy with a chance of showers for our entire stay and in fact for weeks before and after. The reality is that it’s mostly sunny with a smattering of clouds and a small chance of a passing shower overnight. The temperatures are in the low 80s during the day and the mid 70s in the evening. There’s a strong breeze by the beach that is maybe a few knots higher than we’d like but not really a problem. The breeze dissipates quickly as you move inshore which keeps things mostly pleasant. It got a little cool in the evening on the balcony but was still pretty darn close to perfect, especially with the full moon.
The resort guests are mostly older Americans with a smattering of European and Latin couples. Being an expensive adults-only resort, the guests are nearly all older couples. There are a few honeymooners and middle aged couples. There was a group of about ten 60-year-old ladies in matching t-shirts from Bel Air on the plane with us, friends from high school all celebrating their mutual birthdays. They are at our resort but we haven’t really run into them much. Allie is one of only a few younger people here solo or with their families. She seems to take this in stride even if, as happened yesterday, she was “roped into” water yoga because she’s one of the few fit women in a bikini. She also prefers not to be pulled onto the dance floor in the evenings. I fully understand.
The food here is good but not really great — one grilled lobster tail notwithstanding. The buffets are overflowing with selection, especially at breakfast. I (and most of the guests) gravitate to the same 5 or so items out of a bounty of more than 100 choices. I feel a little bad for the 95 things that get overlooked. I can’t imagine what goes on with food waste; I hope it gets consumed somewhere. Allie seems to be better than I (and way better than Barb) at trying new things which is commendable. The restaurants don’t require reservations (other than the Japanese teppanyaki which we’re not doing this time) and are not overcrowded.
The servers and service are uniformly pleasant and accommodating even if they sometimes don’t speak English all that well and don’t always bring things as promptly as one might like. Still, it makes for a very pleasant atmosphere. The servers seem to recognize their end of the bargain and seem to be happy to be here and to have us. It’s a nice facade and doesn’t feel overtly exploitative.
Time to stop my colonialist reverie for a bit and go get fed…
I had a truly light lunch — a little fish, rice and beans and a smidge of marinated shrimp salad — and it felt nominally healthy. I topped it off with a stop at the bar to try a mamajuana, a Dominican drink that turned out to be served solo, a la cognac or port. It actually tastes quite nice but it’s not really what I wanted in the middle of the day. Still, I will sip on it and continue with my ramblings…
I sometimes wonder whether we should bring other people on these trips. I think Betsy and Joe would like this place but I’m not sure how well it would go. I honestly rather enjoy my downtime on my own and wouldn’t be that eager to go golfing or sail boating or chase any other activities. It’s the selfish angle of self-indulgence that I would not be eager to give up. I guess I should also note that I completely avoid the opportunity to touch the water at either the beach or the pool. I have no interest in either and wouldn’t want to be with people that make me feel otherwise. Barb and Allie have learned to leave me alone about it.
I just noticed that this afternoon we have substantial cloud cover for the first time. We’ll see what that does with the ladies and their beach time. I daresay I see some rain on the horizon, heading our way. Barb’s tanning time will be reduced. I’m sure overall it’s a good thing but she may not be happy about it. [The rain did come for all of five minutes but that was enough to force Barb and Allie back to their respective rooms…just in time for naps. It all worked out. Since then, clouds persisted for a bit but there’s been no more rain.] Barb took the opportunity to feed the resort’s several cats a bit of her breakfast leftovers — this despite signs saying don’t feed the cats. Rebel.
Anyway, getting back to the theme of (my) happiness: I retain a bit of guilt that this place and this type of vacation makes me happy but it undeniably does. It is surely not for everyone but I am glad we have found this resort, can access it conveniently, and can come back for sporadic interludes of overindulgence. But the truth is, I’m also quite happy at home, in my regular routine with all my carefully curated indulgences close at hand. I’m quite happy to have my own little castle for the next decade or so though the (somewhat) active part of our retirement.
Thursday evening we went to the Italian restaurant. The best dish of the night was a risotto side. The rest, including a cacio & pepe pasta pork cutlet were decent but not distinctive. Barb wanted to send some photos of her playing ping pong back to her ping pong buddies, so we staged a little photo session after dinner. We didn’t actually play a game, but Allie took lots of shots of Mom taking shots. This is just a sampling of her form.
Friday was Valentine’s Day. The housekeeping folks made a nice show of it in our room but there was no special dinner event unless you wanted to spend several hundred dollars for a private dinner on the beach. We didn’t. We went back to the Galleon for another crack at the grilled lobster but this time it wasn’t nearly as good. Oh well.
Saturday, February 15
Leaving the resort on Saturday was easy. The little tuxedo cat came to Allie’s balcony to wish her goodbye. Don’t tell Perri.
Once again the Amstar transportation company sent two cars even though I’d gone out of my way to have them send only one. Navigating the airport was also relatively straightforward though there were several long mazes of lines to wade through. Still, everything moved along and we got back to Baltimore in one piece that afternoon. Allie had to wait nearly four hours at the airport for her connection to Boston, all the while hoping it wouldn’t be depayed by snow in Boston. She made it, getting home after midnight. It is a less convenient trip for her than for us, but them’s the breaks when we’re paying, I guess.
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