Our Week of Relaxing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Even though we were with his parents, I still had to get some of the obligatory selfies since I'm used to it just being us on most of our adventures.  At least my arms are plenty long enough, so no need for one of those crazy sticks that so many people seem to haul around these days.

Beach selfies are always a challenge since you can't tell what the final result looks like until you get out of the sun anyway.  I think one of our last trips I was trying to take pictures of him on the beach and ended up taking pictures of myself instead.  Woops!

The resort where we spent our vacation was huge!  The main lobby area was about a half mile from our room.  It had some really nice landscaping and wildlife.  Plenty of places to kick back and relax in a beautiful setting.

I think the flamingos were my favorite wildlife.  I don't think I have ever been so close to one before.  The first night we were there we thought they might be fake, but they were much more mobile in the daylight so that settled that.  I caught this pretty good shot of @dksart with one in the background.

The beaches were definitely nice, though it took us a little while the first day to figure out which portion we were allowed on.  The resort had a few different levels of booking, so they had a few spots roped off for private access.  You could walk quite a ways down the beach in front of other resorts.  However we got hounded at least once to come check out another resort, so you have to be a little prepared for that.  My favorite pics came from the morning we got up early to watch the sunrise.

Shadows...

@dksart in action...

And the final shot before we went back in...

I think we did end up spending more time by the pool, though.  It was pretty large and had plenty of shade to keep my pale skin from roasting. ;)

Plus there was easier access to mojitos...

We did put on regular clothes for dinners, of course.  It is kind of fun to dress up a little bit since I spend most days in gym clothes.

We enjoyed great weather through pretty much the whole trip until the last night.  Doesn't get much better than a quick week relaxing in a little piece of paradise!  Though some of the benefit of going is realizing how much you appreciate home, too.  We stayed just enough time as I think we were all getting a little antsy for our own beds at the end.

The food was a little challenging for me as resorts are not always geared toward lots of vegan options.  The buffet ended up being the best, though, so we skipped most of the on-site restaurants to stick with the same one where I knew I could get something suitable.  As I said in a previous post, the pineapple was by far my favorite thing to eat.  Fresh, local fruit is always the best!

I hope you guys enjoyed seeing a little piece of our time away.  The resort was called the Paradisus Punta Cana if anyone wants to check it out.  There are too many other wonderful places to visit in the world for me to say I would go the same place again, but I would recommend it if that's on your list of destinations to visit. :)