김포공항 발렛주차는 편도대여가 가능한가요?
편도대여가 가능한가요 가족용 차량을 직접 운전하는 경우나 여행 시 특수 장비를 갖춘 장애인 차량이 필요한 경우 김포공항의 발레파킹 서비스를 이용하면 터미널까지 편리하게 이동할 수 있습니다. 아래 글에서는 비용, 김포공항 발레파킹 주차장 위치, 예약 전 알아두어야 할 사항에 대해 필요한 모...
I met our group of Americans (in town for a 40th birthday celebration) in the lobby of the Now Larimar all-inclusive resort on a Saturday afternoon to go on a cruise on the Bebe Catamaran.
All 44 adults and 3 children had shown up and everyone was excited to go. We stood around wearing our bathing suits and holding our beach towels/bags; most people were engaging in casual conversation and some people were walking up and down the lobby bar for more drinks before leaving. About a half hour later, the Bebe Catamaran tour guides were on time for a 2:00 pm pick-up and we began boarding the two open-air safari-style trucks that had been sent to us.
The ride from the resort to the beach only took about 5 minutes. We arrive at the small area of El Cortecito, which doesn’t look like much and might even seem like a somewhat shady area, especially in the eyes of tourists coming straight from the manicured grounds of a luxury resort.
The only street, which runs through El Cortecito, is a two-way street that is only wide enough for cars to pass in one direction. Luckily, there were no other cars passing by when we arrived, and our drivers were able to park safely on the street corner. We unloaded into trucks and walked to a store behind us. About 3 seconds passed before the vendors from the various gift shops spotted our tour group and started walking towards them in hopes of enticing some to come check out their store. However, no one dared to stray from the path and we passed a store to reach the beach on the other side.
Arriving at the beach and first view of the sea:
As soon as we stepped out of the store, the view of the beach and ocean was absolutely stunning; a stark contrast to the dusty street and run-down gift shops behind us.
We stood on the beach for a few minutes, removing our shoes which were placed in a large bucket as we were not allowed to wear shoes on the catamaran for safety reasons.
The tour guides handed each person a life jacket, and we headed to the ocean shore to board a speedboat that would take us from the beach to the catamaran.
I guess they couldn’t get the catamaran close enough to the beach for everyone to walk aboard, so the only option to get on was to get on the small boat first, though not everyone was too crazy about this.
We didn’t all fit, so the speedboat had to make three trips before we were all aboard the 56-foot sailing catamaran and ready to roll. With less than 50 people, we had enough space for everyone to sit, stand, or lie down as they pleased. They say they can have up to 60 people on board, but I personally wouldn’t put more than 50 people to make sure it doesn’t get too crowded.
The sun was beating down on us, there was barely a cloud in the sky and it was the perfect day for an afternoon cruise. Once we got underway, we were briefed on the itinerary and safety procedures by the crew, which consisted of the captain, bartender, and three officers. We had an open bar included (no pre-dive alcohol) as well as some snacks (fruit skewers and nachos with salsa) and snorkel gear.
Snorkel over the coral reef with Chocolate:
Our first stop was at the designated snorkeling area, just a few minutes from where we dropped anchor. There were already a few other boats there and people in the water; It seems that this was a good place to dive. The crew began handing out masks and tips. With 47 people, it took a long time to get everyone ready, although not everyone wanted to get in the water. They took the stairs down so we could walk into the water and some people decided to just jump off the side.
One of the companions (who was called Chocolate) led the divers to the indicated places, equipped with a bag full of bread to feed the fish and thus attract them to us. The water was nice and warm, as it should be in the Caribbean. One person, who had a dive watch, measured the temperature at 88 degrees Fahrenheit / 31 degrees Celsius! Unfortunately the visibility was not 100% clear and the quality of the coral reef was so-so. If you were hoping to snorkel over a multi-colored coral reef with lots of tropical fish in all the colors of the rainbow, you would be sorely disappointed. Honestly, the snorkeling isn’t that great!
I really didn’t like the idea of 40 or so people swimming on top of each other (and kicking each other), so I swam to the side a bit and found a spot over the reef with lots of fish. Most were black and yellow striped, some were gray with blue fins, and some were black. At one point I had a swarm of these cute little yellow and black striped fish surrounding me and one little blue fish almost swimming right into my mask.
When I went up to see where the rest of the group was, the guide, Chocolate, was right next to me, and I decided to talk to him for a while instead of sticking my head under the water.
He was a young boy, very kind. He told me that he was from Port-au-Prince in Haiti and that he had been living in the Dominican Republic for three years. He spoke Spanish very well, with a slight Creole accent, and said that he had originally come to the country to study but was now working for the Bebe catamaran excursion. Having read about Haitians living in the Dominican Republic, I was tempted to ask him how he got to the country and if he was a legal resident, but I decided it might be a bit personal (and awkward), so I asked him a bit about his family, etc.
He told me that he had several family members in the Dominican Republic, but most of his family still lived and worked in Haiti.
Man Overboard – take one:
After about 30 minutes of snorkeling, our guides called us back to the catamaran. Once everyone was on board and we were ready to go, a lady in our group noticed that we were missing someone! “Raymond*! Raymond! Raymond!!!” she yelled at her, but no one answered her.
The captain cut the engines and Chocolate quickly jumped into the water and swam around looking for our missing man. Meanwhile, everyone else lined up on the side of the catamaran to scan the ocean for our missing person. Some people got nervous, wondering if maybe Raymond was lost forever, which could never have been the case. After a quick search and rescue, Raymond was brought safely aboard the catamaran, a bit confused by all the ruckus that had occurred.
We continue sailing along the coast, enjoying the open bar (which now serves rum and beer), the music and the view of the beach. The team was serving fruit kebabs, but I only noticed when one of the guys came back with an empty tray. Unfortunately, they sold out before I had a chance to try one.
The Natural Pool and no more beers:
Our next stop was at the Natural Pool, in front of the Barceló Bávaro Beach Resort. This is a popular stop for most ocean excursions in Punta Cana, and when we arrived, there were already a couple more boats and a lot of people in the water. The natural pool is like a sandbar in the ocean where the water is very shallow (waist-deep) and calm. Each tour that stops at the Natural Pool spends about 30 minutes here, serving drinks from a floating bar, which in our case was a simple wooden board that could hold a tray full of drinks.
Shortly after we arrived we ran out of beer which caused quite a stir as most people drank beer. Tension rose among the people in the group, and the crew had to resolve the situation quickly before it got out of hand. Unfortunately, as we were about to head back to shore, there wasn’t enough time to get the beers down to the natural pool. The best solution turned out to be having the beers waiting for us when we got back, so we could have them on the beach and in the safari truck on the way back to the hotel.
Man Overboard – Take Two:
After a half hour in the Natural Pool, we started our way back to the beach where we had left. At the request of some of the other people on board, the crew raised the catamaran’s sails so we could sail back without having to use the engine. The wind had picked up and we returned at a good speed; although not without making a stop along the way as our friend Raymond fell overboard…on purpose.
It turned out that someone had dared him to jump overboard and told him he would get $500 US to do it, which he did. The crew immediately stopped the boat and watched frantically as Raymond swam to shore, thinking that East it was the beach we had gone from and our resort was right over there. He didn’t realize that he was wrong and that our resort was actually much farther down the beach; a good 30 minute walk. After a couple minutes of calling him and doing everything they could to convince him to come back, he did and after that the crew protected him and grabbed him every time he tried to move an inch.
We got back just as it was starting to get dark. It took a while for the people on the beach to organize the beers, who first sailed to us on the speedboat and then sailed back to the beach when the group decided to have the beers ashore.
Some people were concerned about the waiting time to get on the speedboat and return to shore, and decided to jump into the ocean and swim to the beach. We drank the beers, got back in the trucks and headed back to the resort just as daylight had completely disappeared.
The person’s real name has been changed.
편도대여가 가능한가요 가족용 차량을 직접 운전하는 경우나 여행 시 특수 장비를 갖춘 장애인 차량이 필요한 경우 김포공항의 발레파킹 서비스를 이용하면 터미널까지 편리하게 이동할 수 있습니다. 아래 글에서는 비용, 김포공항 발레파킹 주차장 위치, 예약 전 알아두어야 할 사항에 대해 필요한 모...
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