S.A.D.? The Caribbean Cure to Winter Blues (A review of Punta Cana)

I find this time of year slows everyone down. We are on the brink of spring, yet the icy wind still carries winter chills on its wings, snow still layers the shadowed crevices of the earth, and everyone remains sun-starved and suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. We can almost taste the warmth of sunny days and growing flowers… but it still remains just barely out of our grasp. This time of year begs us to take a break, get in touch with our playful side and enjoy a freedom offered only one place in this entire world: the Caribbean.


Cloaked in unyielding beauty, the Caribbean whispers of long lost treasures, ruthless pirates, and strange disappearances in the Bermuda triangle, begging the rest of the world to come dare and explore its untold secrets. Not even the most talented poet could capture even the simplest beachside scene: Imagine standing on the shoreline of some lost Caribbean isle. Untouched by civilization, the only noises you hear are the gentle lapsing of the crystal blue water grazing over the dried lava shoreline that once captured shells and beasts in its molten fury, now leaving only fossilized remains to tell their tale. Pools have formed in crevices in the dried lava where sea life flourishes; tiny crabs dance sideways along the shore, thousands upon thousands of snails cling to the rust-colored rocks searching for food and sun. You walk along the beach – too new to erosion to be soft white sand and instead composed of tiny broken unwanted shells spewed out from the sea. But amongst these tiny broken pieces, hidden under the leaning palm trees above, lay treasures from the ocean floor – whole conch shells, perfectly spiraled deep-see crab homes, the occasional weathered jaw bone of some unfortunate creature that has drifted ashore.

This image may seem too good to be true, but I promise I’m there. Lost in the Caribbean Sea, hidden by a troubled third-world country, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, is just one of many tropical islands that has avoided the big tourist bust. Not that there are not fancy resorts, they’re just growing. The island has not be Americanized, Europeanized, or whatever you want to call it when you end up staying at a Best Western in the tropics. Punta Cana is still growing.

This is both a good and a bad thing. While I prefer to see the world is its most natural state, I also like to be comfortable. Most of the resorts in the area are all-inclusive, bragging all-you-can-eat-all-the-time and enough booze to last you a lifetime. But the problem is not, as with so many all-inclusive vacations, that there are not enough options. Many resorts boast around ten different restaurants and buffets, not including numerous bars scattered about the area. But it’s terrible. The food is barely edible; the resort employees are still new to the whole concept of “Western food” and refrigerators so chefs overcook everything, turn familiar plates into indistinguishable piles of grossness, and shy from anything native. I don’t understand. Why, when you have a vast ocean as a wonderful resource of phenomenal Caribbean fish, lobster, and shrimp, would anyone want to serve imported goat-burger and canned turkey? And why, when the Caribbean remains famous for deliciously flavored rum, would anyone pour disgusting drinks of cheap, imported liquor?

But it has its ups. The most appealing aspect of Punta Cana is its absolutely indescribable beauty (so far as you do not leave the resort coast line – the rest of the island is a trashed, third world nation). Every hotel boasts aqua-blue pools in fantastic shapes and sizes peering over the palm dotted white, sandy beaches into the placid ocean, with waves crashing into tangled masses of coral reef nearly a mile off shore. Astonishing beauty is everywhere.


My week was spent curled up on mats at the beach, sipping rum and sprite (not my drink of choice, but the best tasting booze down there), feeling the sun bake my body like I was in a heavenly oven (when that overwhelming warmth engulfs you as a New England native, you treasure it – for you know back home they’re shoveling snow). I tried desperately to loose myself in a good book, as many beach dwellers did, but I found myself too impressed by the gorgeous views, the naked women (think French Riviera – sometimes wearing a top just isn’t acceptable), and creeping sensation that it was all to good to be true. If ever I was anxious to do something with myself (though vacation to me means doing nothing), the options were endless. Somewhere along the shore the was always an exercise class or a dance lesson, from the native meringue to the cha-cha, and for a small fee anyone could snorkel at the natural reef, swim with dolphins or sharks, take out a kayak or a paddleboat, windsurf, or learn how to sail in the warm Caribbean waters. Seemed like a dream come true to me.


The pool was another paradise, away from the sand. More women wore tops, there was less of a breeze, and the food and bars were just a few steps closer. In the pool they taught introductory scuba classes to prepare the adventurous for a deep sea dive, they organized games for silly native prizes, and occasionally they promised mildly amusing entertainment at a pool-side show. The bottom line: no matter where you turn, there’s a whole lot to do, or a lot of room to do nothing.

And it’s so affordable. Because Punta Cana is still young to tourism, the resorts are vying to attract customers with low prices. Airfare is astonishingly cheap and a week of all-inclusive at a five star hotel can cost around $1000 – a small price to pay in comparison to most other warm-weathered getaways.


In our adventures, we met many interesting visitors, too. Most were from Canada (apparently they have access to good deals up north), though we spoke French with the Belgium, burned with the British, and drank with the Irish. Everyone was so friendly and so honest, save for the hotel employees – natives who will try and con you out of any cash you’re willing to lose.

The un-glorified nature of Punta Cana allows for a more affordable adventure in the warm weather. It does not necessarily promise good food, but it will offer plenty of fun and entertainment. And without Western health and safety standards, no one cares. No one cares if you swim out into the ocean and get eaten by sharks or destroyed by the coral reefs. But that’s another adventure… for another day.