This past June, Trilogy members packed their bags and headed to the beautiful beaches of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. This was the fourth Trilogy-wide vacation organized by Trilogy at Vistancia’s Activity Director, Gregg Snyder. To capture the fun in the sun of this latest trip, Gregg kept a daily blog of the dancing, dining, snorkeling, swimming, sailing, and high-flying adventures of the Trilogy travelers. As planning is underway for the next Trilogy-wide vacation this fall, we thought it might be a good time to take a look back at Trilogy’s last adventure. Enjoy Gregg’s blog, below, and keep an eye out for details of the next Trilogy Trip, which will be posted soon on MTL.
(You can also visit YouTube to view videos of the Trilogy Adventure in Punta Cana. Simply go to www.youtube.com, and then type “KivaClubVistancia Punta Cana” in the search bar.)
Sunday, June 6th
Trilogy Members have just landed in the Dominican Republic!
Trilogy members arrived at the local airport in the D.R. on Sunday afternoon and were greeted by the wonderful Club Med International G.O. (Gracious Organizer) team, Kevin Batt (my buddy from Club Med Miami), Sparrow (from Club Med Canada), and myself. Once they passed immigrations they were taken to the awaiting bus, their luggage was loaded, and we were off to the Club Med Village only minutes away. On the bus they were told about the resorts offerings, and all about the Wine & Food Festival that was going to take place during the week.
Once we pulled into the Club Med resort with our tired but excited Trilogy members, we were greeted by the entire G.O. team, and were given cold scented hand & face towels, cold drinks, and a small speech from the resort manager Eyal Amzallag, who welcomed our group and quickly had us all feeling at home. Members were then whisked off to their rooms to change and unpack. The afternoon was low-key, since most had taken redeye flights to arrive in the Dominican Republic. We had a delicious lunch, a short tour of the resort, and a glorious afternoon relaxing on the beach.
That evening we all met at the bar for a cocktail before heading into the restaurant where we had reserved Trilogy seating for all the evening meals. After dinner, the majority of the group went straight to bed to recharge their batteries in order to start the first full day off at 100%.
Monday, June 7th
Theme of the day was American Wines & Culinary Delights.
On Monday morning the members awoke to the sounds of the birds & the Caribbean trade winds. After breakfast, we picked up a program of the featured “Wine & Food Festival,” which was organized by Club Med for the week that we were in Punta Cana.
(Before I go on to describe our day, you may be wondering, “What is the Wine and Food Festival?” Here’s a brief description.
Club Med flew in 26 different chefs from the Food Network, culinary specialists, wine makers, and many other sponsors. For six delicious days in a row there were drink mixology demos and tastings with famous bartenders & sponsors in the late morning and evening. These were followed by cooking demonstrations with celebrity chefs from world famous resorts, cafes and private restaurants from around the world. Members and resort guests all had the chance to taste and sample everything that was prepared, along with menus and samples to take home.
At 12:30pm, Celebrity Pit-Master “Dr. BBQ,” who is featured on the Food Network channel, hosted a different style of beach BBQ each day, along with the sides and drinks that best worked with the proteins – so the members were in heaven. The first day started with his BBQ ribs, coleslaw, and ice cold beers.
That’s not all! The afternoons started up again at 5pm as the winemakers held a daily wine tasting, starting with California wine, then on to Spain, Argentina, France, Italy and other countries, as well. After the wine tasting we had yet another tasting, which followed a theme of the day. Tasting themes included cheese, chocolate, cigar, and rum tastings.
No one went hungry during the week and everyone went home with all of the recipes from the different demos, profiles of all the celebrity chefs, and much more.)
As soon as members finished their breakfasts, they all went in different directions to take advantage of what the village had to offer in terms of activities, events, entertainment, or just relaxation. The entire day was open to play. Some went to Zumba classes or water aerobics, some snorkeled & sailed with the beach team, some hit tennis balls, and some went back to the beach and simply enjoyed doing “nada” (Spanish for nothing at all). That evening we had a private Trilogy-only dinner at one of the annex restaurants. We had a very nice pre-cocktail party followed by a celebrity chef dinner, which was “out of the box” for some members, but everyone enjoyed the fine cuisine.
Tuesday, June 8th
Theme of the day was South American Wines & Culinary Delights.
This was yet another fun filled day in Punta Cana for those who wanted to participate in events, as well as those who wanted to relax. Many of the members started their day with a morning walk around the resort, aerobics classes, stretching, water aerobics, or lying on the beach. Others slept late, as they had been up until all hours dancing in the night club.
Since it was South American day, we enjoyed a food demo overlooking the Caribbean ocean with Celebrity Chef Sur Torres from New York. She is the owner and chef at a Mexican restaurant in the Village and has won many awards for her cuisine as well her restaurant. Each member had a sample of the dish that she was demonstrating, and from there it was off to the beach for BBQ lunch. So much to eat, so little time!
The beach BBQ had a Brazilian themed called “Churrascaria,” which consisted of marinated beef with rock salt, beer & oranges over low coals, paired with a cold salad, rice and beans, and ice cold drinks, including the Brazilian National (rum) drink “Caipirinha.” Wow!
That afternoon members took part in other activates – such as practicing their archery, since they knew that we were having an all-Trilogy archery tournament on Thursday. Some went sailing or snorkeling in the warm waters, while others, like Linda Hurley, challenged themselves to the high-flying trapeze and trampoline. (These activities were on Linda’s “bucket list.”) Then there was Colleen Brownworth, who is afraid of heights but managed to do the trapeze and the trampoline, as well. Bravo to all! We then enjoyed another evening of cooking demos and drink tastings, before heading into the restaurant for delicious food and great company, as we shared stories of our days.
After dinner, some watched the nightly entertainment that was provided by the G.O. team before heading to bed, while others moved on to the “night club” that opened each night on the beach, where they showed us their best dance moves.
Wednesday, June 9th
Theme of the day was Italian Wines & Culinary Delights.
Today, Club Med’s Excursion Team organized a special, all-day excursion exclusively for our Trilogy group. The goal of this excursion was to give the Trilogy members a taste of the Dominican Republic in 12 hours.
First, a bus took us through the small villages so that we could get a glimpse through the windows of how the Dominicans live. Our guide told us about the history of the island, the income of the locals, what they eat, the popularity of national sports like baseball, the government status, religions, why so many Haitians work in the Dominican Republic, and so much more.
As we were on our way to the middle of the island, we stopped at a duty free shop that sold Dominican cigars, rum, jewelry, and art. We then had an hour-long ride that took us to the sugar cane fields. Here we boarded three old German military trucks (4×4’s) and headed out to see how sugar cane is grown and harvested. We were even able to taste the sugar cane fresh from the field.
We then rode the 4×4’s into the jungles of the D.R. to visit a small local village to see how the locals live. We drank fresh coconut water, sampled passion fruits, checked out a Dominican home and kitchen, and felt welcomed by the warm smiles of the people. Then it was off to have lunch at the wild animal reserve that was created by a good friend of mine named Rosella.
Upon arrival we were greeted by Rosella, her staff and a refuge full of animals. Some animals were wild, some had been mistreated, and others just adopted the refuge as a home. Rosella explained the reason she started the animal refuge, as well her mission to help the local villagers grow their own crops, repair their homes, clothe and educate their children, and much more. Her animal reserve is located on the “Shavon” river. This is where they filmed the movies Apocalypse Now, Rambo II and Anaconda.
After the small tour we were treated to a typical Dominican lunch in the jungle, alongside the river. We had beef, pork, beans, rice and lots of fresh, local fruit. After lunch, those who wanted to tour the jungles, learn about the animals, and see the different vegetation stayed back with Rosella. And what about the others?
Well, let’s say that about 95% of the Trilogy members chose to zip-line through the jungles, high above the trees. Wow – what an experience! Everyone tried levels 1, 2, and 3, but the group got a bit smaller when they offered levels 4, 5, 6 & 7, which were on the top of the mountain overlooking the tress, the jungles and the river. We had Peter Bell, Dick & Sharon Gilbert, Noreen Francis, and Pat Adler, who hiked up the hillside, even though it was hot & humid. Once we were at the top, it was all downhill from there! Great fun was had by all who tried the zip line.
Once we got back to camp to join the rest of the group, we boarded a riverboat that took us down the Shavon River with salsa music, rum & cokes, dancing, and just taking in the sights of the river and jungle. After an hour or so, we boarded our bus to head back to the resort. I think everyone had a great time even though it was a long day with nonstop moving.
Those who stayed at Club Med for the day enjoyed the resort’s activities, the beaches, warm water, and all of the wine and food demos, which were organized around the “Italian” theme of the day. That evening, everyone met up in the restaurant for dinner, and then it was off to the show and bar to finish off the day.
Thursday, June 10th
Theme of the day was Spanish Wines & Culinary Delights.
Thursday was “Sports Day” and the G.O. team organized a day of archery & petanque tournaments, sailing regattas, and other activities around the village.
The Archery Tournament started at 11:00am, and we had a great turnout for both the women’s and men’s divisions. All scores were totaled after three rounds to determine the winners with the most points. It was great to see everyone joking around and encouraging one another. Once that was finished, we headed in for a quick lunch before the Petanque (French style of Bocce Ball) Tournament began at 1:30pm.
Once again, we had a great turnout for this tournament, which was held on the beach under the coconut trees, which provided lots of shade. We also had the Caribbean trade winds to cool us off a bit. Trilogy couples battled back and forth to finally come up with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. After the tournament, many returned to the beach to relax and swim, while others took part in some of the other resort activities.
I took a group of 20 members on a private snorkeling and boat trip to the spot called the “Aquarium” to check out the coral formations, fish, and plant life. After we were finished snorkeling I took them to the “Natural Bath,” which is located a mile off shore in the middle of the Caribbean. When we arrived at this beautiful sand bar, where the turquoise-blue warm waters are only waist deep, I surprised the members with a floating bar! They had the time of their lives and we took a lot of pictures.
Once back at the resort, we all freshened up for the evening cooking & drink demo. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner together, followed by our nightly entertainment and dancing.
Friday, June 11th
Theme of the day was Portuguese Wines & Culinary Delights.
The morning started off with breakfast and then the usual activities of power walking, stretching, water aerobics in the sea, watching the morning cooking demos, and relaxing on the beach. Then it was time for the last of our All-Trilogy tournaments, with a sailing regatta organized by the Punta Cana Beach team.
Gene Adler was up for the race, and there were about 20 Trilogy spectators at the event. Were they all afraid to take Gene on? The winds were perfect side shore trades and one of the staff decided to enter into the competition, only to be surprised at Gene’s sailing abilities! Nice work, Gene!
The weather was perfect on Friday, so after stuffing ourselves at the BBQ on the beach with the Pit Master, most of us enjoyed a relaxing afternoon before the evening group cocktail party.
For the evening’s festivities, we all dressed in tropical, flowery prints – so we made for quite a good-looking group when we had our photo taken with the Caribbean waters in the background. After the cocktail party, we held a “Sports Awards” session at which we handed out medals to the winners of the tournaments in Archery, Petanque, Sailing, Zip-Lining, and Trapeze (for bravery). There was also a “Mr. 4th Place” award, which went to a member who always seems to receive a 4th place finish in our Trilogy trips to Club Med. I was even awarded a certificate of “Mr. Mom” for my role as organizer for the week.
At our delicious dinner that night, we celebrated some of our members’ birthdays and anniversaries, which made the meal even more special. We’re all sure to leave here with happy memories and close relationships.
Saturday, June 12th
Theme of the day was French Wines & Culinary Delights.
Saturday was our last full day and everyone was seizing the opportunity to “take it all in” during the short time that we had left in Punta Cana. They played sports, sailed, explored, relaxed on the beautiful beach, went to the cooking demos, and savored the tastings, which revolved around French wine and cuisine on this last day.
The weather was perfect once again, as it had been throughout our seven-day stay in the Dominican Republic. The staff was friendly and helpful, the food was great, and the drinks were even better. We knew would miss the beautiful beaches of Punta Cana. Before our last day was even complete, the members were already asking me where we would be heading on the next Trilogy trip.
Sunday, June 13th
Departure Day! Back to the States…
Trilogy members boarded a number of different coaches, as they were heading back to the states at different times all day Sunday. The G.O. team was there to send off each of the different groups, and to thank them for coming to Punta Cana. Many of the Trilogy members exchanged addresses with the G.O.s and invited them to come visit us at Trilogy.
This was the fourth Trilogy trip in as little as two years, and we’ll most likely start planning the next one shortly. Where will the next trip take us? Most likely we’ll either travel back to Ixtapa, Mexico, or to Sandpiper in Florida. Stay tuned to MyTrilogyLife.com for details!
