Day one: Santiago
We began our journey by staying in town and buying souvenirs at Mercado Modela in the downtown. It's a big market that sells several things native to the country like tostoneras and amber. We practiced our bartering skills and got Christina some good things to take back to the states. We ended our day with a double date at one of our favorite restaurants, Tablon Latino, directly across from Santiago's monument of which we walked around after. Did I just say a double date when Christina came here alone? I'll get to that excitement later...
Day 2: 27 Charcos
We got Joaquin a babysitter and headed to Puerto Plata to jump off some waterfalls! It's such a cool excursion! We read that doing all 27 is for the more advanced jumpers and hikers so we just did the first seven. I for one, was terrified so was grateful we just did the first route. They give you a helmet and a life jacket and the guides are so strong to help get you up tough spots so I wasn't as afraid as I thought I'd be. Luckily Jesus and his cousin Manny both got the day off so they could join us. The waterfalls were so beautiful and every single one had a natural slide to go down! I chose to slide every time because I was too scared to jump but the slide was terrifying in itself and everyone with said the slide was scarier than jumping so I'm happy with what I accomplished. I would even go back and do it again and I never say that about anything involving heights! After the waterfalls we stopped and took photos of Fort San Felipe and found a random beach I can't remember the name of. Christina tried her first Mofungo in the picture.
Day 3-4: Santo Domingo
We got a hotel and headed down to Santo Domingo, the capital! Our first stop was Boca Chica beach with beautiful soft white sand but sadly not enough of it. It was overrun by restaurants, bars, and people selling stuff everywhere. We couldn't even enjoy our lunch without being asked to buy everything from everyone. The beach waters were so blue and beautiful as well. It's a shallow beach without waves so good for families and little Joaquin.
After the beach we walked around La Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo. We saw different historic places and forts about Christopher Columbus as I believe the DR was the first place he colonized. This part of the city has a Spanish influence and my favorite part was this cute little street lined with outdoor cafes.
The next morning we took photos outside the LDS temple which really is a gorgeous temple. It was closed for maintenance but luckily security let us in for a few shots.
Next we headed to Tres Ojos. Tres Ojos are some fascinating caves with three lakes inside. Please note the two sleeping stray dogs in our photo!
Day 5: Sosua
Sosua is probably the closest beach to where I live but still a good hour and a half away. It took a little longer as we decided to drive through the mountains! Sosua is on the way to Puerto Plata and we already travelled the main road so we wanted to see the mountain side and the GPS said it was faster. This was a terrible idea. Although I enjoyed seeing where so many people lived in their little houses and outdoor showers, it was not an easy drive. It was so bumpy and so windy that I spent the majority of the time figuring out how to stabilize Joaquin's head in his car seat so he could fall asleep. Not to mention we all wanted to vomit. However now we had that experience and needless to say took the other way home. Sosua was another pretty beach. Christina and I decided we weren't as impressed with our three beach choices as everyone told us we'd be. We have seen more beautiful beaches in the outer banks North Carolina and Florida. I do believe the DR has some of the most beautiful beaches but I think you need to go to a resort for the full effect and of course there's many other beaches we haven't seen yet! We still need to see Punta Cana, Samana and Isla Sauna which are supposed to be amazing! Granted what we saw was still very pretty, it is the coast after all!
In the midst of all these adventures, Jesus and I were busy playing match maker with a tall, dark, handsome, single, law student and extremely good quality Dominican Man whom we met at church. We began our set up with a double date with Christina the night she arrived. Then we had him over at our house with another couple for family home evening. Then he asked Christina on a date as just the two of them. The dates continued occurring as did a few besos and a complicated yet enjoyable love story commenced. Christina extended her stay in the country to see the Enrique Iglesias concert which we never made it to so instead she spent more time with her new summer fling. Is it a summer fling? Is it more? Is it less? Will Christina extend her stay even longer? Did I mention they don't speak the same language? You'll have to read the short novel I plan on writing for a future blog post as this plays out. Here's a couple photos of the lover. The last photo was us playing stalker in church trying to take a photo while he sat up on the stand during the beginning stages of the relationship...Oh did I mention he's a member of our Bishopric?! But yes, he's single. Christina says he looks much cuter when he smiles bigger so she'll work on getting a better photo of the two of them on their date tonight.
And finally a little blurb on our food adventures. Here's a little restaurant we found behind someone's house with traditional arroz con adoules y pollo guisado. We also stopped at this lady on the side of the road selling torta de maiz for dessert! I'm only showing these photos because we were without Jesus this day and he never lets us stop at places on the side of the road or restaurants that don't look hopping because one: he is very protective and has to keep us safe and two: he is kind of a foody! ;)
