I just got back from vacation. I went to the Dominican Republic
Our first stop on the trip was at a grocery store and homestead, but also a location for gatherings in the evening. As we pulled up, there were a couple cats and puppies in the front yard area running out to greet us. They seemed to love any attention we were willing to provide. Luckily, we were all willing to provide plenty of attention to them during our time there because they were so adorable. We stepped in to a covered porch area where coffee was waiting for us. By coffee, I mean the most incredible, amazing and fantastic coffee I have ever tasted. This was black, “unsweetened” coffee, but it tasted like I was drinking coffee candy. It felt like I had died and gone to coffee heaven. If there was a thermos, I would have packed some back with me. I wanted to invite the lady who made the coffee to come home with me and make coffee for me on a daily basis. So if you don’t get how I feel about the coffee, I’ll put it simple: I. Loved. It. After enjoying the most amazing coffee in the world, our guide gave us information about the location. He told us that many people would gather at this place in the evenings to socialize, charge their cell phones, play dominoes and watch the cock fighting. We got to tour the cock fighting ring, see the birds in captivity, check out the grocery store as well as the kitchen and other areas. It was definitely eye opening. The place was run mostly on generators since they only have about 4-6 hours of electricity a day from the government. It’s crazy to think how lucky we are and how it seems so natural for us to have all of these luxuries. After spending about 20 minutes there, we had to say our goodbyes (and give a couple last cuddles to the dogs) and head out on our way.
We drove through more countryside. I became captivated even though I wouldn’t say that it was anything breathtaking or overly beautiful. The land was lush and green. There were rolling hills and fields with grass and trees. I think I was captivated by the juxtaposition of our resort and the “real Dominican”. We continued to drive through a mine area where they were excavating some sort of mineral from the ground. It was rocky terrain with a lot of puddles, so it certainly gave us a chance to have more adventures in our buggy. I was driving at this time and we were at the end of the buggy group. I had purposefully been giving some space between cars because the buggy in front of us seemed to stop suddenly on a regular basis. Well of course this happened when we were driving around and I had to swerve not to hit him. I slammed on my breaks (in the absolute nick of time) and we stopped at the edge of the quarry. Eek! It was certainly a close one. Our hearts stopped for a second or two, but I pulled it together and we went on our way.
Our next stop was at a farm. We saw some goats and as we were walking up to the farm, we noticed a man with a machete. A little frightening for people that don’t hang around machetes that often (people like us!). As we got closer, we saw that he had a pile of coconuts. He cut them open and we drank the coconut milk. I had pretty high hopes for the coconut milk and they were not fulfilled. I didn’t know what to expect, but people have told me that it is good, so I wrongfully believed them. It tasted like sugar water, which I guess isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not a good thing either. Now that I think about it, it makes me think that people who like coconut milk must be aliens. (Have you not seen Men in Black where the alien goes to the farm house and asks for sugar water? I’m just sayin’). Well I wasn’t the only one who didn’t really like it. There were about 4 of us, but our machete friend was waiting for us to finish so he could cut them open for us to eat. Issue number 2: I don’t like coconut. Sure, I tried it. I still don’t like coconut. Overall, it was a great stop and it was interesting, but it didn’t really provide me with any desire to have coconut ever again.
We continued on our way further on the trail. As we were driving, children were running out of their homes and waving. I felt like a celebrity. Some even took pictures of us with their (very out of date) cell phones. I realized that they were running out to greet us because our guide would provide candy to some of them. I asked him about this later and he said that he just sporadically does it on a fairly irregular basis. He likes to give them things, but he doesn’t want them to get used to it and start expecting it. The children were adorable and absolutely grateful. I asked about their schooling and he said that many will walk or ride horses and don
keys to school. He also said that a good bit of them don’t go to school at all. After hearing this, it made me thankful for our education system. I don’t think that it’s a perfect system, but we are lucky that we have the opportunity to attend schools. I don’t ever want to settle and say that our system is fine because there is still plenty that needs to be fixed, but at least children are able to attend.
The next stop is for lunch at a local grocery store. This one is more in town and has other places of business near by. They showed us around the grocery store and it was smaller than my living room. The “produce section” of the store was an area on the counter that had ½ a guava, a head of lettuce, and one other vegetable of some sort. They said that people come to the store on a daily basis and buy whatever food they need that day. It could be anything from a handful of rice to a slice of guava. I think everyone in our group was surprised by this concept and how very little the store actually contained. We enjoyed some ham, cheese and crackers then continued on our trip.
Before we headed out to our next destination, our guide told me and my friend that this was the time we needed to be extra good at driving. I think he was singling us out because we were females and he didn’t feel like we were very good drivers, but he was wrong! He said that we were heading to the beach and that we might get stuck in the sand so we needed to be careful. I was nervous, but I handled it well and did not get stuck at all. One of the other “experienced” drivers (a male) did get stuck though. It was icing on the cake for us. :) The beach was breathtaking. The best word to describe it would be paradise. It is what you would imagine a postcard to look like. The water was crystal clear and we were excited. All of us were so muddy from the trip, we couldn’t wait to get in to the water and clean
off. We spent about 30 minutes at the beach and had a blast. It was relaxing and a great celebration for all of us to refresh ourselves. It was the last stop of our buggy trip and we were sad. I set out to go on a fun and dirty ride through the countryside and in addition to that, I came back with a new perspective. We had an amazing time and wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything. It gave me the chance to remember to be thankful for all the luxuries that I have and to take pleasure in the simple things in life.
