Speed Trials

We went to Punta Cana for our vacation this year because my girlfriend Shayla was getting married there. It was the first time I had ever been asked to be a Bridesmaid, and I was STOKED!

The wedding day took place on the fifth day of our vacation, and though there had been some rainy days earlier in the week, April 22 turned out to be nice and warm, a little overcast, and breezy. Perfect for a wedding.

The girls spent the morning by the pool and the afternoon in the salon. Our stylist was great, and despite major language barriers (she spoke no English and we could only manage a poquito of Spanish) she gave us all (almost) everything we asked for. She really was great. (unfortunately, we all left our cameras at our rooms, so no pictures were snapped at the salon… boo)

We were able to get dressed in Shayla’s sister’s room – which was a large suite with two bathrooms and LOTS of mirrors. Perfect for five girls plus one mother-of-the-bride. It was a whirlwind of makeup and jewelry options, with girls trying on different combinations, swapping necklaces and earrings, etc. Coming from a family with only brothers, I was amazed at the relationship between the three sisters (and their mom too). Must have been SO fun to have sisters growing up!!

The Photographer was on hand too, and there was a lot of posing and primping going on.

Meanwhile…

the groom was waiting on the beach:

The resort staff were all ready to go:

The guests took their seats and waited:

And finally the ladies arrived! We each walked down the aisle – the two sisters, followed by the two sisters from other misters!!

Then the Bride walked down the aisle with her father.

No father could be more proud!

She joined her expecting groom, and his best man (and brother).

This is no trick photography – I actually am a head taller than the other Bridesmaids

There had been some drama prior to the wedding regarding the dress. But in the end, it all worked out, and she wore a beautiful gown that suited her personality so well, as well as showed off her curvy figure!!

The ceremony was quick and painless,

(and surrounded by more bystanders than I thought there’d be… Seriously? Filming a total stranger’s wedding? Really?)

The newly married couple were happy to get on with the party!!

But first, thousands and thousands of photos:

The Bride saved a couple bucks by reusing the Bridesmaids’ bouquets as centerpieces, and by bringing her own fake flowers to decorate the cake. Smart girl. A wedding can easily triple in price at these kinds of resorts through the upgrading… (want fireworks? No prob, they just need a cheque for $5000!)

Side note: the Groom LOVES his wedding band. Shayla said that she caught him sneaking it on his finger at home weeks before the wedding. Now, if that isn’t the best thing you’ve heard all day, I don’t know what’s wrong with you!!!

Ange and I had a great time making goofy faces at dinner.

And hanging out with the mothers. They were so happy they got giddy!

We moved to a secluded area for speeches and dances:

And then moved the party to the discotheque, for those who wanted to dance the night away. Unfortunately, I lost Angelo after the speeches, he was getting pretty drunk and was ready for bed. I turned in way early, too. It had been a long (though wonderful) day!

Congratulations to the happy couple!!!

We left the resort in Punta Cana at 6:30pm on Saturday, and only landed in Ottawa at 3:15am on Sunday. By the time we got home at about 4:15am, we were exhausted. We were also disappointed that the window was open, and that Enzo was still out.

He didn’t come home till about 8:30am on Sunday. By mid afternoon, both my boys were dead tired:

The house was so quiet all day. Much sleeping occurred.

As for me, I only had one thing on my mind.

Seriously, since Friday I was reciting to Angelo in great detail exactly what I was going to put in my Green Smoothie when I got home.

This is what happens when you go a week eating crap food and too much of it.

The plane touched down in Ottawa at 3:25am this morning, marking the end of our week long vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

I was a bridesmaid in my girlfriend’s destination wedding – at an all-inclusive resort, which, as I mentioned, is not my ideal vacation setting. A lot of the concerns I raised in my last post turned out to be accurate, especially regarding the clothes and the food.

The vacation definitely started off on the wrong foot. We arrived in the D.R. at around 11:30am on Saturday, and we realized that out of the whole group of 18 people, Angelo and I were the only ones who hadn’t upgraded to the Royal Service package. That meant that they had their own exclusive lobby and front desk, better amenities and services, segregated pools and beach areas, and different restaurants. So the group was shuttled away to the Royal Service area while Angelo and I stayed at the main lobby. Due to a check-in SNAFU, our room wasn’t ready on time and finally at 5pm, Angelo demanded they give us a room immediately. They ended up giving us an identical room in another area of the resort.

Though the experience was stressful, it turned out to be a blessing, because the new room was MUCH closer to the Royal Service area than our original room would have been. The next couple of days were spent in the “commoners” area, and trying to sneak into the Royal Service area of the beach. (we had bracelets that differentiated between the Royals and the Mortals, so Ange and I made sure to keep them turned in whenever staff walked by…)

The weather wasn’t terrific in those first few days (so humid and overcast), and coupled with the segregation from our group, Ange and I felt pretty low about the whole trip. I don’t think I took a single picture in the first three days of the trip. I struggled with the vibe of the resort – I was disgusted by the over-indulgence and excess of everything. Too much booze, too much food, too much opulence and catering to a North American mentality that is (in my opinion) flawed. And I couldn’t relax. There were so many people everywhere you went, throngs of drunken yahoos yelling across the bar, beaches filled with resort goers for miles and miles and miles.

This was the antithesis to Zipolite, and it didn’t agree with me. I found myself eating and drinking out of boredom, and couldn’t relax. I wrote in my journal on the second day of rain:

“Today there is rain. Angelo and I took refuge in our hotel room, and have slept most of the day in our excessively big bed. The peace and quiet is much needed. This place is so oppressive. Even sitting here out on the balcony of my hotel room, the soothing sounds of falling rain is interrupted by screaming drunken patrons, roaring maintenance vehicles and squeaking trolleys. Though the resort was carefully manufactured for it, there is no tranquility here. Though the lawns are immaculately manicured, this place is ugly, obscene. The thin veneer of a packaged Paradise does not hide the coarseness of this place. It offends the senses.”

Um, yeah, I wasn’t happy.

But then as the weather turned, and we experienced some sunny days, and fell into a routine, Ange and I changed our lousy attitudes and the whole situation brightened up.

We enjoyed spending the morning on our balcony, watching the sun rise and drinking coffee before heading down for breakfast. Ange made great use of the resort’s gym, and went almost every day. I joined him a total of TWO times for some weight training and physio, which is too bad. I should have made more of an effort.

By the Wednesday, staff were on to us, and told us we had been kicked out of the Royal Service area a couple of times. I had been talking to the bride about the situation, and I told her that I should have bought a Royal Service package, just so we could all be together. As we were talking, I made the decision to upgrade. I found Angelo and just went straight to the front desk and did it, and never looked back. Sure it was an additional expense, but it didn’t matter, because it meant that we had not only some nice amenities for the remainder of the trip, but we were allowed to lounge in the Royal Service Pool and Beach, without feeling like impostors. It took away a huge stress for me.

Thursday was the wedding, which will be a post all onto itself, but suffice it to say that it was really nice, and except for a few glitches, the whole thing went well and the bride and groom seemed so happy! And the parents – I tell you, you couldn’t have had any prouder parents!!

One thing that was really amazing was the beach. It was so beautiful, and the sound of the waves always calms me down.

I love walking along the beach, my feet sinking in the soft sand, waves washing up on the shore. Ahh… So nice. Swimming in the ocean is always way fun, and I was happy to be back on a beach.

In the last few days of our vacation, we met a couple from New Jersey who were SO MUCH FUN! I had been a bit disappointed that we hadn’t met more people, but we made up for it in the last two days. The Jersey’s were so fun, and we just hung out by the pool and laughed the whole time!

Angelo and I also had a GREAT time together. I love traveling with him. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we do, we always end up having so much fun together.

Those are the memories of the trip that will stay with me: having fun with my amazing man and with friends old and new.

Okay, so I’m not going to be a stick in the mud and come down hard on the whole all-inclusive resort phenomenon. We all know that I prefer traveling without an itinerary, without reservations, and without a bracelet that shows what hotel I’m staying at. But that isn’t to say that I’m not going to enjoy my week in the D.R.. I just have to realize that this vacation will be DIFFERENT from last year’s vacation, is all. Here are some of the differences I’ve noticed so far (and we haven’t even left yet!):

1. Eating patterns. When I left for Zipolite, I was a disordered eater. The fact that I went there, took off my watch and didn’t look at a clock for 8 days, I think pretty much single-handedly broke me of my disordered eating. I just ate when I wanted, and I didn’t stress about food. Not once.

Now, I’ve come a long way, baby, so the food issue won’t be such a big deal, but the resort DOES have dedicated times for eating, which means I will have to pay more attention to the clock, and eat when I’m “supposed” to. We’ll also be eating in a large cafeteria…

2. Local foods. Another thing that made Zipolite so great was that we ate almost all of our meals right on the beach. Vendors would come by with the catch of the day, and we had lots of tamales, fish tacos, and fruit that was indigenous of that very village.

I was reading up on D.R. local cuisine, and I was getting pretty stoked on the mangú, the bean ice cream, and all kinds of other things. But a friend reminded me that at the resort, most likely I’ll be served “American” food, which is kind of a bummer. We’ll see, though.

3. Packing. When we went to Zipolite, our biggest item in our pack was our hammock. I packed a couple of bathing suits, a couple of items of clothing, and a sarong.

That’s it. I wore the same pair of flip flops, the same tank top, and the same two bathing suits (if at all) all week. It never even crossed my mind to pack a pair of earrings or a necklace. Not when I knew we’d be hitchhiking or taking the collectivo from place to place.

Packing for the resort, however, and knowing what the rest of the bridal party is planning on wearing, I know I can’t stick with that carefree, vagabond way of packing. I’m going to have to suck it up, coordinate things into “outfits” and bring jewelry. And really, there’s no point in packing light: we’ll be picked up by bus from the airport and will stay in the same room the whole week.

4. Hygiene. So, yeah, we didn’t shower once in the whole ten days we were in Zipolite. So what? My hair was so salty from the ocean water that by the end of the trip I couldn’t even put my fingers through it. I had sand in places I never knew sand could go.

But at the resort in the D.R., I have a feeling that things are going to be different. We’ll be expected to bathe regularly (maybe even daily). Mostly because we’ll be surrounded by people (people we actually know) and I don’t think they’ll appreciate the sweetly salty smell that comes from days and days of lounging on the beach.

5. Accommodations. So, in Zipolite, we didn’t spend a whole lot on rooms, and in all, we stayed at three different hotels. The rooms each had their own charm, for sure, like this one that had bamboo walls:

Our room at the all-inclusive resort I think will be a pretty big deal. It’s going to be a luxurious affair, with a huge bed and a nice, private, bathroom.

But the biggest difference between this year’s and last year’s, the thing that’s going to set this vacation apart from all the others, the one big thing that has me so excited to get on that plane tomorrow morning, is that I will be celebrating a great friend’s wedding. I am so excited to be one of Shayla’s bridesmaids, to be there for her on such a happy day. It’s going to be a great vacation, but also, it’s going to be a great celebration of all kinds of things that make us feel good: Lovers, Family, and Friends.

Let the week begin!!