After a day at sea, our last port of call was Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. Amber Cove is a private resort used by cruise ships. It is located on the north coast of the country.  Amber Cove is near Puerto Plata, first discovered by Columbus in the 1490s and the site of one of the first forts in the Americas. Amber Cove and Puerto Plata are located on the Atlantic north coast of the island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti on the west.

There was a very long walk on the pier to get to the cruise terminal. The local pier authority provided free rickshaws for those not wanting to walk. We thought the long walk would be good for us after that huge Thanksgiving dinner.

Bill wanted to do a dune buggy/off-road excursion. A group of us took an open air bus to the location where we picked up the Polaris off-road vehicle (ORV).

Each ORV has a driver and passenger side-by-side.

The guides warned us we would probably get dirty. Little did we know! After some brief instructions on operating the ORVs, our convoy set off with several guides leading us. We did not have bandanas, so we bought two.

We rode through tiny towns and down dirt roads, some very muddy.

Cattle grazed on the sides of the road.

We stopped briefly at a little store where they offered us free coffee and of course the opportunity to purchase souvenirs.

We were soon headed back on the road, headed for the beach. Bill and I had just commented to each other that, except for the dust, we had not gotten very dirty. Up ahead was a huge mud puddle that stretched across the road. Bill sped up so we wouldn’t stall out in the deep water. (At least that is what he claimed) And then…..

We were covered in mud and whatever else was in that water. My side of the ORV seemed to get the worst of the mud.

The ORV was covered in mud that quickly dried in the sun.

Thankfully our destination was not far away. Bill and I got in the water and tried to wash some of the nastiness off our arms, legs and face. Luckily the bandanas and sunglasses helped keep it out of our eyes, nose and mouth.

Then it was back in the ORVs for our drive back to the bus. And we were grateful for no more deep puddles.

We Survived!

Back on the ship we got some interesting looks from other passengers on the elevator and hallways. It was quite a job getting ourselves clean and rinsing out our clothes the best we could so we could at least get them back home.

A Beautiful Gazebo As We Sail Away!

Next up: Our last day at sea and Bill is a daredevil !