Another Day in Paradise

Day 3 of vacation (see Day 1 and Day 2 here)

I am an early bird.  I was awake before anyone else, so decided to head to the gym.

Proof that I attempted exercise while on vacation.

It wasn't open.  So I went back to the condo and ate chorizo and egg sandwiches prepared by my sister and fresh pineapple.

I am a pro at cutting up pineapple!

Then we headed to the beach.  It was hard for me to lay out on my stomach because my ribs were so sore from surfing!

I wore my blue and white swimsuit because it was game day!

We walked up the beach and shopped a little.  I wanted to buy my mom a Larimar necklace (larimar is a semi-precious stone only mined in the Dominican Republic) but the vendor wouldn't tell me a price until I showed him everything I wanted to buy.  Once I picked my purchases, he took me into a back room (scary!) and told me it would be over $300.  Those of you who know me know I can haggle, but they were ridiculous.  I walked out pissed off!  They acted like because I am American, I can afford to pay any price. 

We'd had enough sun, so we decided to grab dinner at a bar on the beach, called Bamboo.

Sarah, Linsey, and I split some appetizers.  Bruschetta, the appetizer platter, and empanadas. 

The bruschetta consisted of 3 slices of french bread - 1 with some chopped tomatoes (I assume it was supposed to be bruschetta), 1 with pesto, and 1 with nacho cheese.  Like ballpark, fake orange nacho cheese from Sam's in a jumbo can.  I love this "cheese" with all my heart, so I didn't mind, but it is what you expect at a concession stand, not a restaurant.

The empanadas had spinach and cheese.  They were okay, but bland and blah.

The appetizer platter consisted of pit in olives (delish! I love olives), some salted meat slices (I fed them to the little guy below), and something else that I can't remember but I think I ate it.

He was happy to eat my mystery meat!

Before leaving the states, we heard about this club in a cave. There was a bracelet you could buy that gave you access to the club, unlimited drinks, and transportation to and from the club.

The problem was you have to buy this bracelet through a tour rep, and since we weren't staying in a resort, we didn't have a tour rep.  

A random shop owner walked by and introduced himself while we were eating dinner (this is very common because everyone wants to sell you something). He asked if he could do anything for us, and I told our club dilemma.  He went and made some calls, came back with another gentlemen who allegedly worked for the club, and we were in business.

When we got back to the condo, some girls were concerned about the saftey of going to this club with these strangers.  They were skeptical that these men had anything to do with the club and they were going to take us somewhere and do God knows what to us. 

After an hour long very in depth serious conversation about it, weighing the pros and cons, we decided to go.  We decided 6 girls to 1 cab driver is a good ratio.  We also mapped the route to the club, so we would immediately know if we were being taken elsewhere.

Best.decision.ever!

The club didn't open until 11:30, so we napped, then got up, got dressed and took tequila shots!

To Sarah's last hours in her 20's

We went to catch the taxi and the shop owner was there to see us off.  Thank god, because the taxi driver didn't show up.  So the shop owner took care of it.  He found us another taxi, rode with us to club, and made sure we got our bracelets.  And to think we doubted him!

This was by far the coolest club I have ever seen!  Better than Vegas!  The outside looked like a castle, mote included, and the inside was a cave, bats included. 

Being the infectious disease nerd that I am, I was of course concerned about rabies exposure from the bats, but they were only in the entry cave. 

                                    

Since we didn't get there until close to midnight, we couldn't waste time getting to the bar in prep of midnight birthday shots.  

To 30!

Vin Diesel?

fire breathers!

freaky stilt walker alien, bug man

cage dancers

fire dancers!

lighted dance floor

cab ride home.  Happy because we had so much fun and so many Presidente!

It was the most fun experience I have ever had in a club!  Bourbon Street runs a close second, but this was different and I've done Bourbon a thousand times.

Where is the most fun club/bar you have ever been?