Altos De Chavon

So we were there on May 10 2016, we took a Carnival Excursion which also included a river cruise.

There was a journey on an airconditioned bus - through areas that were fenced off, with gates. The guide spoke a lot about the rich resorts and how many Americans/Europeans came to them, famous film stars etc. It seemed to me like a huge armed/guarded Sandals resort, where outside the resort was a dangerous place. It was rather sad, but didn't feel unsafe, as we were on a bus and didn't stop.

The village of Altos de Chavon was built in the 1970s, by locals, using local stones, under the direction of Americans, to look like a 17th century village. It was very pretty - but a little Disneyeque in my opinion. It's some sort of artist colony where people come from afar for the privilege of studying there. It's set atop a hill/mountain with gorgeous views, very tropical, very lush. Several movies were filmed there (Apocalypse now, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean). There was a church, an informative visitors center, restaurants, jewellery stores and a golf shop. The guide was informative, but something about him was sad to me. Dominican Republic is not a rich island like Cayman Islands, Turks/Caicos and it shows. Amber is the local precious stone and there's lots of it for sale everywhere.

Wear sneakers/flat shoes, as the walking is on cobblestones.

The "riverboat" down the river was in fact a large raft with a large roof. The river was very brown, but we were assured there were no crocodiles in it (maybe an alligator or cayman!). It was peaceful, relaxing. They made it fun by providing local music, free rum punch and watching the staff dance with all the white men that can't dance! We called them the Wigglers as they taught us all how to wiggle, and we still can't dance. So much of the excursion's success depends on who you get, so although this wasn't our most fun trip, it was nice enough. We can cross it off our bucket list.

Dominican Republic is not Dominica, that's a little island much further south on the way to Barbados. The guide gave us good information about Haiti, on the West side of Hispaniola, it's crazy how they (the D.R.) share the same island yet their economies are so opposite. Makes you realize how important political involvement is - and to know freedom isn't free. OK, enough with the soapbox - just remember to vote!