Puerto Plata - September 7th 2022

Hello guys!

Today I'll be talking a lot about my travel to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. While on my cruise on the majestic MSC Cruise, we stopped at this amazing place called Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. 

While we were there, we were treated to this guy, who is an avid tour guide from Puerto Plata and we strolled around in his car. Going places I had never been before. 

To start with, we went off the ship to the port. The port had a lot of different options including (the ever-lasting, Diamonds International) which oddly enough, is in every port you see, lol, Souvenir shops that sell postcards, straw hats, and even a parrot that spoke your words. 

We got to the sightseeing buses, and this gentleman took us around the city. We went to Long Beach (not LA but in Puerto Plata) and walked in the sand. It was very soft, and I felt as if I was floating on a cloud. 

I remember the most exciting thing I've done was take the cable car to the top of the mountains, to take in the sights and scenes of the island. When we got dropped off, we were stopped by the camera people to take pictures of the monkey (wearing a diaper) and the true parrot (something like this picture below).

While heading to the cable car, I realized about the excruciating heat and the sun blasting in our faces like a Caribbean Summer. The sun felt good on my face. When we went up to the top of the mountains, I remember how scared I was to ride on a cable car. Dangling 800 meters on this 1970s-made car, and hearing about the tragedy that happened in 1998 with the Cavalese Cable Car Crash that killed many. I was thankfully brave enough to resist the negative temptation of that scene and looked at the beautiful landscape of this island, and honestly after sweating everywhere on my face, the views are stunning.

Just looking at those two photos, I'm still stunned about how I could be in such a place like this. 

At the top of the mountains, we saw Christ the Redeemer standing on a half-circle dome. It's truly a breathtaking experience, especially this picture. 

We walked around for a bit, to take in the amazing views of the national park and stopped at this local hut that sold beer and coke. I decided to buy a bottle of fizzy Coke in a bottle. The taste? It was lightly sweet and delicious.

After the long walks in the park, we came down with the cable car. Then we headed to McDonald's. Originally, the tour guide wanted us to try their local food, but I told him that every Micky D's in every country are different. So we ended up there. 

We had a Big Mac and a Chicken Mac. It was good, but a bit too much. 

Then headed back to the cruise port.

Overall, the experience of going to Puerto Plata is amazing. The views are so blue with clouds in the sky, and the people are fantastic, and friendly to the touch. Fun times.