I was quite excited as I made lots of preparations but was also wondering if I would like it, as this would be my first ever cruise. It was a fly cruise, on a charter flight from Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic. We flew to Montego Bay in Jamaica.
On landing we were taken through security which consisted of a man in a corridor, then boarded coaches that took us through Montego Bay to the cruise ship, the Magellan.
Our first port of call was La Romano in the Dominican Republic.It took about 36 hours to reach from Jamaica.
The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, with Haiti occupying the western part. The DR got independence from Haiti in 1844. The capital is Santo Domingo. We docked at the port of La Romana on the Rio Salado, on the SE of the island.
From La Romano, we went to Altos de Chavon which is in the secure enclave of Caso de Campo. This is a huge area of luxury villas and golf courses with its own international airport. Altos de Chavon is the replica of a 16th century Mediterranean village with an Italian designer and Dominican architect. The whole village is ‘cobble stones’ and it was all very pretty and arty, but obviously not ‘real’. The church was built in 1979
Higuero or gourd tree -
The amphitheatre is used for concerts -
A nice view over the Chavon River. Lots of turkey vultures flying around
Then onto the Cuevas de las Maravillas, Cave of Wonders, see separate blog.
On the way back to the ship, I sampled the mama juana, but didn't like it enough to buy any.
Local shops on the way back to the ship
There is a sugar cane factory close to the cruise terminal
sugar cane train -
The port authorities had hung the Union Jack upside down, so I showed them the correct way
Our next port of call after Dominican Republic was British Virgin Islands.
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