I was surprised to see a green and white flag in the sand in front of a group of beach loungers. “You’re planting your flag here? You know, the last one to do that was the Spanish and that didn’t end well.” The three Canadians laughed. The guys, and their wives, were from Cape Breton Island, an area on the eastern end of the Province of Nova Scotia. We talked for a few minutes and I asked if I could take a picture of their flag. As you can see, they were more than willing.
We recently spent 10 days in Punta Cana, a key resort area of the Dominican Republic. We value the friendships we have made with vacationers from other countries during our trips. And though we talked with people from the U.K., Germany, and Argentina last month, we spent most of our time with Canadians. Lots and lots of Canadians. We spoke with more Canadians on this trip than we did when we went to Niagara Falls last August. And they were from across the country, from the Maritime Provinces to British Columbia.
It was an interesting time to talk with Canadians. The Canadian federal election was held on the Monday of our vacation, April 28th. Donald Trump has continued his fever dream of absorbing our neighbor to the north. Every TV in the resort was commandeered by rabid hockey fans. And one group of 98 travelers brought THREE musical acts with them, courtesy of Carol and Air Canada. (I apologize that I don’t recall her name. Carol is an Air Canada employee who works with Canadian travel agents to organize an annual trip. We were invited to join their group, one evening, to listen to an impromptu performance of a few of the musicians.)
We spoke with Canadians while on the beach, in the restaurants, the sports bars, and in the lobby lounge. A few entered conversations gingerly. Once they found out that we were both politically aware and decidedly not MAGA, they visibly relaxed and talked freely. And who can blame them? They are on vacation. They don’t need any aggravation. None of our new acquaintances had any interest in becoming part of the U.S. We talked with a native of a small town near Gander, Newfoundland, a woman who was traveling for the first time outside of Canada, as well as numerous experienced travelers, many of whom had visited our country. NONE OF THEM VIEWED THE 51ST STATE AS ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN INSULT. The Canadians shared some of their country’s flaws with us. They acknowledged areas where they could improve how they work within their country to make Canada more self-reliant and stronger. Our Canadian friends have a proud history. Canada is not for sale.
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Your vacation at a resort has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Unlike a cruise where we all get on and off the ship on the same days, we are all on different schedules. You will see some people for a number of days and some for just one or two. We had a family of six sit down next to us on the beach. We had never wondered what would be the best way to get everyone on the beach to avoid you and your little family group, but we learned that day. The loud guy wearing the “Gulf of America” hat may be an all-star at de-socializing the beach. Nobody talked with them. We never saw them again.
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Dinner one evening was at the El Dorado, a restaurant that features cowboy steaks and huge beef ribs. The roaming Mariachi trio could play any request, including a reasonable version of Metallica’s Enter Sandman. Sally and I enjoyed a beautiful performance of Obsesion.
This was our fourth trip to TRS Turquesa. I never thought that I would ever have a favorite resort. Most of these places are pretty interchangeable. Read the reviews. There is always someone complaining that the rooms are “dated”, the food OK, and the workers don’t speak enough English. And yes, those people really shouldn’t travel. The rooms are always clean and comfortable. The food, thinking about how many people are being served daily, is surprisingly good, sometimes excellent. And the hard working servers, hostesses, maids, and staff do an incredible job. We have stayed at 16 different places over our 27 vacations at all-inclusive resorts. TRS Turquesa is the one that feels like home.
Dave
Pictures:
- Hanging With The Proud Canadians
- Afternoon Performance
- At Lunch
All pictures – David L Cunix