An ongoing adventure of travel and living while using a wheelchair. Tim has been disabled from birth. Darryl is his father and caregiver who travels with him.
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One more item on the agenda for our Costa Rican adventure. We want to see some monkeys.
Down the beach from our hotel, the Riu Palace, there's a little jungle bar called the Monkey Bar. The local monkeys come down from the trees at sunset to beg from the tourists gathered there. We tried to get down the beach to it but, at a certain point, the sand just gets too deep and soft for the wheelchair. Letty talks to a security guard at the hotel and he tells her not to bother...just go to the trees along the south side of the hotel and you can see monkeys there too. It's also hard-packed enough that we can get Tim and his wheelchair to.
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Armed with a couple of bananas from the buffet, we head over in the late afternoon to see what we can find. Beyond the entrepreneurial massage tables, trinket stands, and enterprising banana salesmen that congregate right on the other side of the Riu property line, it's a short walk into the trees and jungle. We notice that the 100 feet or so from the beach into the forest also means a temperature spike of another 20 degrees. It's hot in here.
A few people have come before us so we join them in admiring and tempting the little capuchins that scamper among the branches.
Some are timid, some are a little more brave and will guardedly snatch a banana out of your hand, and one was downright mean. He took the banana offered but growled at me and slapped my hand as hard as he could when taking the free food.
And there we have it, we've completed our goals of coming to Costa Rica...lazing in the pool and on the beach, wandering out into the countryside to experience regular Tican life, adventure touring (zip lining on a volcano), and now interacting with the local wildlife. It's been a grand time, we'll spend the rest of our time with the drunk Canadians ("we was hammered, eh!") we've made friends with in the pool before heading out to the airport in the morning. We'll update you on that in our final post. Darryl Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick All Rights Reserved Photos by Letty Musick Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved
I think I count six bars at the Riu Palace in Costa Rica. There may be a couple more but there's definitely not any less. Plus, guests of the Palace also have full bar privileges at the Riu Guanacaste next door. You don't have to walk far to get your buzz on, that's for sure.
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One of the unique bars is Lounge 24, at the back of the lobby behind the coffee and pastry bar. It gets its name by being open and available to guests 24 hours a day. Feel like a nacho and beer craving at 3 in the morning? This is your place. A fairly good selection of quality snacks and bar food line the back wall. It's definitely a step up from the all-night offerings of the last Riu we stayed at in the Dominican Republic. For drinks though? You're on your own. That's not a bad thing, it's just what makes Lounge 24 unique...all the liquor and fixings are there for you to make whatever you want. Think the lobby bartender is making your mai tai too weak? Make it as strong as you want here. It's a nice break and even makes a good arts 'n crafts activity for those who want to play with a little mixology. Watch in the video above as Tim and I demonstrate how to make a mai tai in this little DIY bar off the lobby of the Riu Palace in Costa Rica. As an aside, after we finished, the other people in the bar watching us film the video, had me make mai tais for the whole group. For the rest of the week, wherever we went in the resort, when one of those guests would see me, I'd get a greeting "hey, Mai Tai Man!" Darryl Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick All Rights Reserved
With the rental car shenanigans behind us, it was a dark and
lonely road to the Riu Palace Hotel on Playa Matapalo. Around one dark corner,
a lone horse stood in the road. I almost put him down. Now and again,
speedbumps would appear in front of a school.
Narrow one lane bridges popped up with some regularity. Pedestrians and
bicyclists would materialize out of the
dark, moving slowly in the traffic lane.
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It was a bit harrowing that first evening then coming down
the steep hill into the little bay we’d call home for the next week. My wife urged me to slow down while I
informed her my foot was already pressing on the brake pedal.
Three massive speed bumps really slowed us down and then we
were at the gate to the Riu.
There are two hotels here, the Riu Guanacaste...the nice but
more budget friendly of the two…and the Riu Palace, the top level brand of the
Riu chain.
Unloading the car, we step up to the checkin counter and I
immediately remember why I love the Riu.
As a server hands us each a welcoming cocktail (especially
nice after the fight at the rental car agency and the dark drive) checkin goes
efficiently and effortlessly.
“Remember, we are here to serve you. You only have to dial 9
on your room’s phone and we will get anything you want.”
And, as we’ve found out at the Riu before, that is not an
empty promise.
Our room is just what we booked. Oceanview, though not quite
beachfront, over the pools, with a nice terrace and three beds set up just for
us. The bellman shows us the ropes, with the in-room liquor dispensers, the
minibar, TV, and more.
There’s also a spa tub between the beds and the bathroom
that’s really more in the way than useful but I can see where some people might
like it. For us, the large, walk-in shower is more of a luxury making it easy
for Tim to have a bath.
It’s not an official accessible room (although they do have
some available) but we find the regular rooms here work just fine for us and we
get better views and locations than the wheelchair rooms offer.
After tipping the bellman, we hit the buffet for dinner
before retiring back to our room for a deep, night’s sleep to catch up on all
we missed the day before and to shed our travel frustrations.
The morning dawns bright and sunny. A hot sun. The breakfast buffet is very good
and extensive. Great protein in the fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and more. Costa
Rican food is represented by their banana –leave wrapped tamales, gallo pinto,
and several varieties of rice and sausage.
A couple of shady lounge chairs invite us to stake out a
place by the pool. A ramp makes it easier to get Tim in the water. We wade in
and roll the chair as far as we can, put Tim’s feet through the hole of an
inner tube, stand him up, let him fall through the hole till his arms hook onto
the tube…holding him up…and away he goes to float for a few hours in the Riu’s
pool.
Nicole, our pool server, keeps us supplied with Mai Tais,
chocolate martinis, beer, and water. The three of us float around like this,
soak up the sun, and meditate on what activities we’ll be doing this week.
After swimming, soaking, and meeting new friends at the
pool, it’s off to L’Anfora off of the lobby. This is the Riu’s Italian
restaurant and the only one besides the buffet that does not require a
reservation.
I have a local version of ossobuco while Tim has lasagna and
ravioli. Letty has a nice seafood pasta.
Our room is right over the floor show area, so after dinner,
we can watch from our terrace. The music can be loud, so you might want to ask
for a room away from it if it bothers you. Since they have a curfew of 11pm
that is strictly enforced, we can live with it.
After a day of cocktails, sun, and water, our minimal jet
lag is diminished and we retire to rest up for the next part of our adventure
where we head off property and go exploring the Central American countryside.
(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed) Here's how we found access in the Dominican Republic in 2011...
ON ARRIVAL: Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) does not have jetways. All passengers board and deplane via stairs. Four men carried Tim down the stairs (and back up when we left) in the plane aisle chair. An airport chair awaited us at the bottom.
Wheelchair users are escorted though the entire arrival process, including through immigration and customs all the way through to your ground transportation. Our gate checked chair was provided to us at baggage claim.
The airport, other than the boarding stairs, is very accessible and nicely ramped throughout. The restrooms have handicapped stalls and there is also a family restroom available.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION: Since it was our first time, we decided to use a manual chair instead of the power chair.
We used Dominican Airport Transfers, where we were able to book a private van for the three of us, round trip, for less than $100. They were on time (actually a little early), safe, courteous, and comfortable. Since we've been to the DR, they have aquired a lift equipped van that you can book with advance notice.
AT THE HOTEL:We picked the Riu Palace Punta Cana because it was the only hotel we could find that would block an accessible room for us. Several resorts in the area purport to have accessible rooms and facilities, but we could not find any other that would guarantee it.
Watch the Video!
See the video above for a tour of the accessible features of the hotel. There are step-free rooms with roll-in showers which are very nice junior suites but they are not located in the prime area of the hotel. They are very close to the ramp which leads to the restaurants, pools, and beach. Other step-free rooms with bathtubs are available closer to the beach.
There are six lifts...two on each side of the lobby and one in each wing closer to the pool and beach...four ramps, located at the bottom level of each lift, that will provide access to the plaza, restaurants, shops, pool, and beach.
The grounds are very nicely ramped throughout. A paved path runs along the beach starting at the Colonial Street shopping area adjacent to the pool. About 200 yards south on the path, it jogs pretty close to the water where you can transfer to lounge chairs on the sand.
(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed) It’s a balmy 80 degrees. A meringue duo is playing in the plaza’s gazebo. Cocktails are being served to the guests at the tables spread across the square. At 9:30, the resort’s guests make their way into the adjacent theater. It’s showtime at the Riu.
After the winners of the day’s activities are given their certificates and the entertainment staff has prepped and the cocktails served, the show begins. An army of bodyguards marches to the stage and Michael Jackson…or at least a reasonable facsimile…takes the stage for an hour of dancing and lip-synching.
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If you’ve read part 1 of this report (and if you haven’t, click on that link now to get caught up…don’t worry…we’ll be here when you get back) you might have gotten an inkling of all the food, alcohol, activities available here. I should note that at the Riu (and most Punta Cana resorts) all of this is included in the price of your room. All you can eat and drink, watersports, and endless entertainment and activities. You never have to pay another dime. (Full Disclosure: The Riu is an affiliate advertiser on this blog - please see our Disclaimer policy)
A good night’s sleep in our room and we start the cycle all over again…
It’s a bit cloudy as we hit our time to go to the pool. We head in and as the sprinkles start the guests run away. Hell, a little sprinkle isn’t going to stop us so we get our spot, put out the inner tube, insert Tim and jump into the pool.
The rain lets up but a few minutes later it starts again. Tim and I head to the swim up bar. Letty joins us.
Once there, the sprinkle turns to a downpour as we take refuge under the small overhang of the bar. As the deluge continues on, the unneeded extra bartenders are called to relocate to the lobby bar, fashioning trash bags as raincoats to run across the open area.
After a half hour riding the storm out and seeing the heavy clouds offshore, we decide that the next break in the weather, we’re getting out.
An easing of the rain to a steady sprinkle gives us our chance. Usually, there is a strong man nearby that we can draft to help me lift Tim out of the pool. Not today…we’re the last ones there. It’s mainly just me, with a little help from Letty.
It’s tough, but we manage to do it.
Back in the room, we decide this is a good time for Tim’s shower as we have given up on the pool for the day. After dressing, we decide to explore.
Next to the hotel’s spa is Colonial Street, a small shopping area. While Letty looks at bikinis, the cigar seller strikes up a conversation with me. I ask if he sells Cuban cigars and he does. He clips one, hands it to me, and lights it up…it’s my sample.
Of course, next comes the hard sell, trying to sell me boxes of Habanos to take home but I keep telling him I can’t. Not Cubans at least with the embargo in place.
It’s a tough back and forth for a few minutes, then Letty comes over with her fluent Spanish to help me out. I finally get through to him that I just wanted to try a Cuban and we settle on some local Domincan cigars to take home. The large Cuban is my gift to keep smoking so I don’t have to worry about breaking any laws.
We have dinner at the Italian restaurant tonight. White fish and creamy chicken are our entrees but the appetizer bar ahead of time can be a meal in itself.
Salad, pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, cheese, are just a few of the items spread out there.
The next day, it’s time to hit the beach. We wander next door to the Riu Palace Macao where the paved beach path takes a detour close the water where we can get some lounge chairs and swim in the warm, Caribbean waters.
It’s not long before a waiter comes by and plies us with drinks from the beach bar.
There’s an old shipwreck just offshore, I ask him what the story is. He doesn’t know the whole saga except that the ship crashed about 30 years ago and has been slowly breaking up on the reef every since. (A quick search reveals the fact that it was a Russian freighter called the Astron that crashed in a storm in 1978.)
We’re in front of the Macao, which holds the area’s casino. Tim wants to go see it. It’s a small place, surrounded by ongoing construction, and we’re the only 3 people in there aside from the staff. Tim and I wouldn’t mind playing some roulette but we’re told the tables don’t open until the evening. Oh well, it’s not the most lively place so we leave and head back to our hotel.
This evening would be spent in the Riu’s sports bar where we watch local Dominican League baseball (or beisbol, as it is here) on the large flat screen cheering on the action with the bartenders. Want to make instant friends with any local here? If you’re a baseball fan, just start talking about the sport…they love it here as Europeans do soccer.
The next night was a fabulous show featuring a lot of Dominican folk music and dancing.
Alas, the time has come to go home. One last drink in the lobby bar with our bags and our taxi driver finds us. It’s back to Punta Cana International Airport where one of the workers escorts us through all the necessary checkpoints before boarding our plane to Atlanta.
It’s Thanksgiving Day and both planes home are half-full. We are able to upgrade to business class and stretch out, looking back on a great week on that melancholy flight home.
(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed) "You know I really miss going to Puerto Vallarta." Letty said to me...for about the tenth time.
"I know, hon," I replied "but you know that it's just too inaccessible for us now that Tim is grown up."
"I know, but I'd really like to go on a beach vacation," she finishes.
I really want to make her wish come true, but where can we go with the wheelchair?
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Okay, PV is out. Much research time is spent trying to find another Mexican destination that would serve up a more accessible destination. Cancun and Cabo just seem to overdeveloped and overrun to me. Ixtapa comes very close until we're finally able to contact the hotel that looked fantastic but ended up having "only" 234 steps to the beach.
We need something a little flatter, a lot tropical, and a little less Hawaii. Here is where we ended up...
The little green gecko is not trying to sell me insurance. Instead, he’s being impatient as my wife tries to get him to pose for a picture. The little guy is on the door of our room. Soon, after my wife snaps the pic, he runs to the edge of the balcony and jumps off like superman, landing gently on the leaves three floors down.
The marble floor of the junior suite cools our bare feet as we enter from the hot, sticky humidity of the Dominican autumn. Our bedding consists of two full beds pushed together making a super-size king bed. The management has put in an extra twin bed because there are three of us. My wife likes the feel of that bed better so Tim and I sleep in the large bed.
A big flat screen keeps my son occupied during spells in the room between activities with American sports programing. A full slate of local Dominican programs are also on, which comes in handy to watch the local Dominical Baseball league in full swing.
Our assigned room came with a big, roll-in shower and step-free access for the wheelchair. It was also in the very back of the gigantic Riu Palace Punta Cana resort and came with its own set of maintenance and noise issues. It was obvious that the hotel rarely rented out this accessible room and it seemed like the ugly redheaded step child of the resort. (Full Disclosure: The Riu used to be an affiliate advertiser on this blog - please see our Disclaimer policy)
After an almost sleepless first night, a visit to the front desk was in order. We were unhappy. Fortunately at the Riu, if you’re unhappy, you better be made happy or there will be hell to pay.
Another step-free room was found for us…closer to the beach…in a quiet area of the hotel with a nice terrace overlooking the main courtyard plaza of the hotel. Alas, this room only had a bathtub, but a shower chair was installed and it worked for us.
An extensive array of delicious breakfast foods awaited us in the morning. French toast, a couple of scoops of soft scrambled eggs, fruit, and a croissant fortified us for the day.
A quick stop by the reservations center located in the lobby of the Riu’s Italian restaurant secured us dinner for the next four nights in each of the hotel’s a la carte restaurants for dinner. Tonight would be Brazilian Churriasca followed by Japanese fare, Italian specialties, finishing up with a hearty dinner in beachfront steakhouse.
The last night of our stay would find us browsing in the casual buffet where we wouldn’t have to adhere to the a la carte restaurants dress code of long pants and sleeved shirts…it’s kind of a bitch to redress Tim multiple times a day but it’d be worth it to get the full resort experience.
After a change into swim gear, we head to the heart of the resort…the large pool located at the edge of Bavaro Beach. We get to know Carlos, a pool boy, who provides us with towels and finds the perfect spot to decamp into some lounge chairs steps away from the pool, the beach, and the bar separating the two. He quickly got to know us and would make sure that those two lounge chairs, with the space for the wheelchair, and the umbrella would be “ours” from now until we checked out.
We bring an inflatable inner tube for Tim to float in when we go swimming. Carlos took it for a minute, disappeared to some unknown location where there was an air compressor, and returned with a fully inflated tube.
For the next few hours, Tim and I would float around the large pool getting to know Jim, Heather, and their baby Lucas from Chicago; Roger and Ivy from Ontario, Canada, Simo, Elisa, and their disabled daughter Nailia, from Argentina; and Tom and Vanessa from Flint. When Letty would get too hot from sunbathing and join us in the pool, we’d float over to the swim up bar and get to know the extensive bar menu provided by Juan the bartender.
Steps away from the pool, La Altigracia…the resort’s steakhouse…would lay out a spread for the swimmers and beach goers consisting of steak, pork, chicken, seafood, and a giso of rice topped with saucy spare ribs and black beans…a delicious local specialty. Kids missing home could also have their fill of burgers, hot dogs and pizza.
After every meal was the extensive dessert and ice cream bar.
A little time in the sun was in order after the meal where our biggest concern was whether we’d lathered on the sunscreen thick enough.
Animacion…the resort’s entertainment team…would lead dances by the pool, set up archery and ping pong tournaments, and keep the guests involved in the experience. We’d take the afternoon and head over to the beach.
An accessible, paved beach path connects all the Riu resorts along the beach. When it gets over to the neighboring Palace Macao resort, the path takes a nice detour towards the water where it’s only about 30 feet from the water. Here we can get the wheelchair onto the sand, grab a couple of lounge chairs and relax on the sand.
Nearby is Scuba Caribe which serves as the resort’s watersports activity center. Snorkeling gear, boogie boards, wind surfers, and much more are available at no charge (a refundable cash deposit is required).
The lounge chair are on runners like skis, so it’d be easy to drag Tim to the water, put a mask and snorkel on him, swim out and watch the fish. Unfortunately this week the water is just too rough with some strong offshore winds kicking up the murkiness. I’ll just have to be content with a boogie board, a little body surfing, and drinking rum in the sun on the sand.
