good morning

 Good morning! We were a awake early 😀 

raindrops

 This morning we wildly changed up our routine by going to the beach first to get prime seats before going for breakfast! So many options… food first? beach first? Our chairs were under a low palm shelter which gave us good shade right from the beginning, and as it turned out, good cover from the pouring rain!

Yes, it started raining around 1pm, just after we'd finished our lunch… we were 5 minutes from leaving to come back to our room but our timing was off. But hey! We got to experience rain on the beach! We waited for about 20 minutes but there was no sign of it letting up so we bundled all our belongings into bags and under towels and dashed to our room getting soaked to the skin… as we got back to our room the thunder started. 

When we first settled into our chairs at the beach this morning we tried to take a dip in the ocean but the waves were crashing into the shore, threatening to knock us down into the surf, so we hit up the infinity pool which was as close as the ocean where we met Jackie & Mike from Nova Scotia. We've met many many Canadians here. Punta Cana is also known affectionately as Punta Canada as it is a favourite vacation spot for us northerners!

And so the morning went: a dip in the pool, back to the beach, into the pool, into the ocean, and a lovely 1km walk down the beach! Yes! I was able to walk that far without feeling worse! Bare feet on the sand with waves gently whooshing over our feet must be healing 😀 if not physically at least spiritually.

Christina, our new friend from last night, is a nurse and a personal trainer so I capitalized on her expertise to ask about my arm pain that I've been having, despite lots of stretching. She gave me a few pointers and WOW! It's about 70% better! I know what to work on so hopefully I'll be back to normal soon!

Time flew by this afternoon as we anxiously awaited for 4pm… why you ask? Well, we both had our first ever massages! Bliss! I could feel every knot and tight muscle being released… it was perhaps the quickest 50 minutes ever… too bad air travel didn't pass so quickly and easily… but I digress. I'll investigate options in our neighbourhood once we are home!

We were limp but hungry afterwards so we popped into the bar near the beach for a gin & tonic, then to the Mexican restaurant for supper. There's just too much food! I haven't had room for dessert yet! Not that I'm trying to avoid it. I find that by the end of the day, my energy is flagging which drops my appetite down too, although honestly, having an appetizer and then a main course is enough!

Awesome!

“cosy in our room with the sound of rain pouring down”

“walking on the beach”

new friends

 We've fallen into a comfortable (and healing) routine… Up earlish, breakfast at the restaurant by the beach, then we spend the morning into the afternoon at the beach - water and sand! Isn't ‘grounding’ a thing? Sometimes we have lunch while still at the beach and sometimes back in our room. The hamburgers at the beach are fantastic and the salsa for the nacho chips is fresh and tasty. Today we ate at the beach, went into the sea one last time before coming back to our room.

Tomorrow morning we might take our floaties so that we can bob in the gentle swell of the undulating ocean - that would be pretty calming!

A dip in our own pool refreshed us for more relaxation… I feel spoiled! Today I feel recovered from the previous stressful days and I only expect to feel better and better as the days pass.

Tonight, after a rest and refresh, we ventured out for supper dressed in our finest. It was too early for the restaurant so we enjoyed a gin & tonic (hi Edna!) at the bar to whet our appetite. We were just about to leave when the couple that sat next to us a few nights ago passed by with the same destination - dinner company! It started a bit awkwardly as we sussed each other out, but soon conversation was flowing and we were having a great time. One of the things we loved about crusing was meeting people so we were delighted to have the same experience here! We exchanged contact details and hopefully we'll see them again sometime!

After we all turned down dessert, we went our separate ways… us back to crash in our room. We are lightweights! We had in our minds that we'd head back out to see the show at nine… that obviously was not happening!

All in all it was an excellent day and I ended it feeling as good as I started! I am confident that tomorrow will be a great day too! I just have to figure out a way to sleep through the night…

Awesome!

“the sun”

“the feeling of the sun on my skin - I've got plenty of sunscreen on and am actually still pretty white! Carm however has a bit of a sunburn…”

“meeting new people”

“feeling great at the end of the day!”

"Christina & Clive"