Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

The Vacation Express trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic begins in Atlanta on a UPS charter flight. The UPS charter flight was a completely pleasurable experience. The flight attendants were extremely courteous and we were given hot towels followed by a hot meal. The leg room was generous and the flight only a little over three hours.

When we arrived in Punta Cana the first thing we saw was the thatched roof airport amid beautiful coconut palms and lush vegetation. A Dominican band was playing as we entered the airport and we immediately identified our Vacation Express Rep who was holding up a sign identifying herself as such.

The ride to our Resort ( Barcello Bavaro Beach) was a short one. The Barcello Bavaro Beach Lobby was beautiful and open air. We toured all of the hotels offered by Vacation Express and
all were quite lovely. All of the hotels are all-inclusive and on the beach. They all offer several restaurants both ala carte and buffet. The food is quite good with a lot of fish and fresh fruits. The alcohol is mostly domestic but Heineken is offered at some of the bars for an extra charge.The local beer is Presidente and is quite good. You will not find any American beers. All of the hotels have “animation” teams comprised of young people who work all day and night keeping guests entertained. They do everything from meringue lessons to elaborate Vegas style shows. Almost all of the resorts have a spa and a children’s program.

The beaches in Punta Cana are absolutely gorgeous. They are quite expansive with coconut palms growing all the way down to the water, sand that is a pinkish white and turquoise water. The grounds of all the resorts are very lush and tropical.

There are excursions outside of the resorts including jeep safaris and snorkeling trips, but other than these, there is not much to do outside the resorts. And you would certainly not want to rent a car as there are no street signs and they seem to make up the traffic rules as they go.

The resort’s staffs are mostly Spanish speaking, but the managers and concierges speak some English. Also, the Vacation Express reps are available by phone as well as having a few assigned times at the tour desk of each hotel when they are available for booking excursions and answering questions.

The guests are largely European (topless sunbathing), but we were told that many Americans are discovering Punta Cana as a great vacation destination and to book trips there.

Punta Cana is a Caribbean paradise only a three hour flight from Atlanta and a tremendous value!

Carlos Fuentes, the Domincan Republic and the Cigar Foundation

Does the title sound to good to be true? Recently I had the great opportunity to do several things I really enjoy doing, and cap it off by doing it for a good cause. First, I'm not a cigar aficionado. I enjoy a cigar about once a full-moon. However, when a group of compadres that belong to the Society of International Business Fellows sibf.org, invited me to go on the first Caribbean Initiative in the dead of winter, how could I say no?Our trip began by flying an air taxi satsair.com to Atlanta, to pick up a flight to Santiago. There I met up with the rest of the group of SIBF'ers. The Dominican Republic or DR is one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean. It's a beautiful diverse island, with the some of the best beaches in all the Caribbean. The dollar goes along way there, making traveling there a joy. But the key for me, is the people, there warmth and good nature are what make the island one of my favorite destinations in the world. Our first days were spent enjoying the local sites and an independence parade, which be equivalent to the American 4th of July celebration.A couple of days later we packed up and headed to Santo Domingo which was a pleasant 2.5 hour ride through the countryside. There we went directly to the Fuentes cigar factory. Carlos Jr. met us at the door and led us on a 2 hour tour of the factory. All cigars at this factory are hand-rolled, and there are hundreds of highly skilled artisans rolling cigar after cigar. The highlight of the tour was the a insider visit to the Fuente Fuente Opus X room. The Opus X is one of the highest rated cigars. There were around 20 or so rollers, in this room each rolling a specific cigar type. Carlos Jr. explained that there is only one person that rolls each type of Opus X, and that if person happens to go on vacation or becomes ill, production for that size of cigar ceases. A roller is capable of only producing a little more than a box per day. It stands to reason that these cigars are so prized that they have been sold for up to $80 USD each on the secondary market.The next day we ventured into the country side to see Carlos Jr.'s passion, the Cigar Foundation. (cf-cf.com). Cigar wrappers, the leaves that hold the tobacco, had never been successfully grown in the DR. Even though cigar production is a significant export for the DR, wrappers were imported from other countries. The Fuentes pioneered wrapper production in the DR and from this new industry a village evolved based on the significant need of labor to farm the wrappers. The unique growing area, was relatively far from any developed area. So even though this new industry provided lots of new good paying jobs, in a country and time when this was definitely needed, it created a bit of void for the next generation. This is where the Cigar Foundation came in. Through monies donated primarily from the Fuentes and Newman family, the Foundation developed a school for the children in the region that otherwise would not have been able to get an education. Over time this school turned into two schools with athletic facilities as well as a small health care facility. Many business, government, and entertainment leaders this cause, and at the school there is a wall listing these supporters, which reads like a who's who of renowed celebrities.