1st Port of Call, Puerto Plata

1st Port of Call, Puerto Plata

It is about time I shared my experience of our recent cruise with Holland America Line ship Eurodam. It was a great trip, and we can’t wait to be back on a cruise with them again.
The occasion was our son, Ashfaq’s, 60th celebration. All of us were asked to join if possible. Ashfaq’s whole family, Tazeen and Marium- our daughter and granddaughter, decided to also join the cruise.  This was our sixth time cruising, but the best in pleasure and comfort. Although it was only one week’s vacation including flying time to the cruise and back home, the idea for the host family was to have a short cruise because it was their first with a young family and work time constraints played into it too. The other most important factor of consideration was to have warm weather to escape our East Coast freezing weather. So, the ideal choice became a Caribbean Cruise with its tropical ambiance and all-inclusive affair.
Since the cruise was only five days long, there were only two ports of call. We did Southwest from Boston to Washington connecting to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We joined the ship in Fort Lauderdale- more about it in another blog post. We were picked up by a shuttle to be brought to the ship for boarding. We were early considering the ship was to sail to the Dominican Republic at around 6 pm.  I was excited that Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, was the first port of call. My main interest was an opportunity to practice my Spanish, though that never materialized. 
Our ship sailed on time, and after sailing all night, reached its first stop in Puerto Plata, DR, docked, and allowed passengers to disembark temporarily. All cruises when they stop at ports of call, offer their passengers a selection of excursions on every port. We reviewed our options in Puerto Plata. Our son and his family, and our daughter and granddaughter, decided on a beach excursion. I decided to do something different and signed up for a walking tour in downtown Puerto Plata. My husband decided to stay on the ship. There were 32 people in our excursion group including the guide and the driver. Even so, at the beginning, I was somewhat lonely and apprehensive. As we got off the bus, everyone started to walk huddled and talking. A couple of ladies were walking a little ahead of me and realized that I was walking alone. These two mother and daughter team approached me and introduced themselves. We clicked instantly and felt like we’d known each other for years. That was the beginning of my great day with Candace and Rianna in Puerto Plata from start to finish of the excursion. We boarded the bus and along the way our guide gave us the information about sights, history and culture of Donimican Republic in general, and Puerto Plata in particular.
Our first stop was Independence Square. This small Square in Puerto Plata has lot to offer to tourists and is a stone’s throw from the Cathedral of San Felipe. It is the heart of the city with Victorian-style architecture. Independence Square is a place for tourists to experience the country’s traditions and culture. It showcases aspects of their traditional carnival masks by having people dressed in traditional attires and masks that tell the history and folklore of the country.
We walked around while our guide provided us with a lot of information about the carnival, traditional masks, dancing, and local musical instruments while a band played their traditional music, and pretty girls danced in colorful flowing dresses. We stopped at a coconut water cart, and the guide offered everyone a coconut with a straw to enjoy a refreshing drink of coconut water. After that they offered to cut the coconuts for us to eat soft jelly-like coconut flesh. I have to say that It was a great treat.

Our informative walk with our guide led us to Paseo Dona Blanca. Dona Blanca aka Bianca Franceschini was a poineer in the development of tourism industry in Puerto Plata in the 18th Century. Paseo Dona Blanca, is a fascinating concept, created in Puerto Plata, as a victorian style alley with all its walls, flooring and all the decorative items painted in shocking hot pink; It is used as an attractive backdrop for tourist photography, weddings, birthdays and other photo shoots.The manifestation of the Dominicans’ dedication to their culture, and history is throughout downtown. We, as cruise passengers, had limited access to sight seeing because of time constraints, but we saw people dressed in carnival costumes, dancing girls with pretty flowing outfit and lots of carnival masks displayed for us to see.

Next our walking tour took us to the Umbrella street. This pedestrain-only street offers a chance to experience Purto Plata’s lively atmosphere where vibrant umbrella hang from the top creating a pleasurable and enchanting ambiance.

Then we were headed to Gregorio Luperon museum. Luperon became the president of the provincial Government in San Filipe de Puerto Plata, and after a successful cue became 20th president of the Dominican Republic. the Luperon Museum in Puerto Plata displays period items. The statue of General Luperon infront of the Fort San Felipe is significant. An impressive equestrian statue of Luperon with a sword is located in the grounds of Fort Felipe with sweeping ocean views emphasize his strong leadership role .

Christopher Colombus discovered San Felipe of Pueto Plata on his first voyage on January 12th 1493. He called it Monte de plata because he saw a silver lined cloud at the top. It was used to protect the city from foreign invaders. There is a museum inside the fort.

Last but not least was the lunch stop at a restaurnt. unfortunately, I dont remember the name. A deliciouis buffet of local cuisine. A typical caribbean spread of delicious rice and beans, meatz with Caribbean flavors, medley of vegetables boiled to perfection, side salads of potatoes, beets, and lettuce hit the spot. I shared the table with Candace, and Rianna and savored every bite.

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