04.01. - La Romana 🇩🇴

Today we were awakened by the lateral currents of the parking ship. Unfortunately, the rattling is quite loud. I was still half in a dream and dozed on. This time the view was obstructed by the Artania. Today we had the opportunity to have breakfast in peace. The restaurant was already quite empty when we arrived. Our Stuttgart family was also there and ate there for the first time. Without haste, we enjoyed the first meal of the day. When we left the ship, we walked through a very modern duty-free shop and past a few smaller stands to the information stand. There we asked for a taxi to the nearest nice beach. The lady said we should expect $60 for the one-way trip. If more people joined, it would be cheaper. So we waited and watched the people. When two relatively young couples also asked for a taxi, we joined in. The good thing was that one of them spoke fluent Spanish and got more information. In the end, we shared a taxi with an additional French family to the beach for €15 per person round trip. The four of them were also from Munich and the first week on the ship. After 30 minutes, we reached Playa de Bayahibe, where the color orange prevailed from the MSC towels. We agreed with our taxi driver to return at 2:30 p.m. Apparently, we were the only guests, so he made himself comfortable with his buddies. Somewhat bewildered, we now stood in front of a row of souvenir stands and an armada of plastic chairs. Behind it, the beach shimmered, which had already stretched for a while. From here, you could have taken the speedboat to Saona Island. This was used as a filming location for the Bounty commercial. As Danny and Schwägi later told us, this was supposed to be the most beautiful beach. So not comparable to this one, which for us is by far one of the worst in the Caribbean. The water looks fantastic, but the beach is full of trash, shards, and stones in the water. Nonetheless, we found a cozy spot in the shade to rest with a cemetery behind us. But I have to admit that, in my opinion, these are very well maintained. We ordered a cocktail and enjoyed the slightly quieter day. I was able to complete my entries, read a book, and swim in the sea. Stephan enjoyed the sun and also found some rest. Right on time, we met the Munich and French people. On the way back, we gave them some tips and had a really good conversation. In the beautiful duty-free shop, we bought a rum. We used the rest of the afternoon to relax and have a small snack. Although it was quite windy due to the moving ship, we sat in the whirlpool and then wrapped ourselves in a lounger. Meanwhile, Danny watched the departure and was the first one at the crêpe stand for happy hour. There were very tasty Nutella crepes. I shared one with Schwägi. Just before the sun disappeared behind the clouds, we went to the cabin and later diligently did some sports, where it was very crowded this time and we hardly found a free spot for our exercises. With new energy, we started the evening. Our first destination was the photo booth to look at the many photos from the previous day. Stephan and I immediately sorted out the ugliest ones and asked them to put them back together with the ones from my brother. I already had a slight feeling of how much nerves that would cost us. Today, we were exceptional alone for dinner. As it turned out later, the two of them were invited by a Romanian to the better restaurant where Marcus and Gaby always ate. By the way, we also met them at the photo point. The two of them were just as enthusiastic about the beach as we were. This time we managed to leave the restaurant before 11 a.m. and still had time for a cocktail in the casino. The English were there again that evening and played diligently. One of them had a lucky streak and won around €600. It was an interesting game to watch. In the meantime, the bartender made me a beautiful flower, as he had seen the rose made by Andi for me and Franka. Although we could have watched for hours, we decided to go to bed. It was already after 12 a.m.