Our DR Trip: Vacationing

Several people asked us why we chose to go to the DR on our trip. The truth is that it was one of the only ones I found where we could stay steps away from the beach. Kyle wasn't too excited about going on a service trip, but he does love the beach. So in a way, the ocean was kind of like my assurance that even if he hated every other part of the trip, he'd still have something to enjoy. (Luckily, once we got there, he enjoyed many other parts of the trip, too!)

We kept pretty busy volunteering and learning about the DR, but we were also able to squeeze in a little relaxation and some typical tourist adventures, too. Kyle's favorite was by far the beach. Contrary to the information printed in our brochure, it WAS, in fact, rainy season during our trip. That meant it rained pretty much every day we were there. Most days were cloudy with occasional showers, which was really nice while we were working. There was really only one day that was a complete washout, but I'll get to that a little later.

On a typical afternoon, after we got back from working, Kyle and I would go back to our room, grab our flip flops and head to the beach. It was a short walk from the lodge and, although I was nervous about us going alone the first night, it was completely different once the sun was out and we knew more about the community we were staying in.

The beach was small, especially with high tide, but it was almost private, which made it even more relaxing and peaceful. Most days it was too cool for a swim, but it felt nice to dip our feet in the cool water and walk along the sand. Kyle's favorite part was the waves.  

Evan is a boy who lives at the lodge. He went down to the beach with us the first time and showed us all his tricks. I climbed the tree, too, but my balance was far less superior.

Bill and Terri took this picture for us. 

We tried to catch a sunrise at the beach, which was difficult with the clouds but beautiful nonetheless. 

We passed this little nail and hair salon each time. 

But the beach wasn't our only entertainment. They'd planned the trip out so we would have some relaxing days sprinkled in with our work days. Our first tourist day was on Day 3. We went into Puerto Plata and made several stops. It reminded me of the vacations Mom used to plan for us as a family growing up. We toured a Dominican rum factory, took a cable car 2,700 ft. up Mt. Isabela de Torres, ate at a Dominican restaurant, visited the Amber Mueseum and then walked around the city. It was a lot of fun.

Kyle was a stinker and didn't even sample the rum. I at least tasted it even though it's not that good straight. I prefer mine in a pina colada!

Brugal is a 5 generation family business. There are several alcohol producers in the DR but apparently this is the only one that makes rum from start to finish entirely on the island - starting with the sugarcane. 

More merange music while we waited for our turn on the cable car. 

Just before we boarded, we watched the magician. He was pretty good! I think he even took Kyle's mind off of the heights. For a few seconds anyway. 

From the first day that they told us about this, Kyle had been dreading it. He isn't a fan of heights and the incline looked awfully steep to him.

But he swallowed his fear and got on anyway. I loved the view from the top. I spy another baseball field! 

Once we rattled passed the halfway point, the climb got much steeper and Kyle was ready to be off this ride. 

We made it! Willie, Meggie, Terri, Bill, Kyle and me at the top of Mt. Isabela.

The pictures do not do it justice. 

We stayed on top for about an hour, exploring the paths that led to the lagoon and the cave. 

We weren't super impressed once we got there. 

The cave was a little underwhelming, too. Definitely no mistaking it with Carlsbad Caverns. 

As we were wrapping things up, the fog rolled in fast and made it really difficult to see.

Me, Willie, Meggie, Terri and Bill. 

This was the restaurant we stopped at. I wasn't sure what to expect but the food was good. The rice was my favorite part and that's saying a lot considering I also tried some of Kyle's fried chicken.

Like in every city, we saw lots of motorcycles and moto taxis. Our driver this day was different than the other days and he almost gave Kyle a heart attack. Much like the moto drivers, he was not careful or cautious.

The Amber Museum was designed to look like Jurassic Park. 

 

We saw lots of amber there, but they also had larimar, which is a blue stone found only in the DR.

The city's central park.

There was lots of colonial architecture in Puerto Plata.

Our walk around the city turned out to be a hunt to find Kyle a loofah. Who knew he couldn't make it a week without one?! We stopped in several places but finally found a store that had them. (I have to admit it did help to shorten the cold showers, so it was worth it in the end.)

All of that walking around got us a little lost. As we called our driver and circled back to the van, a woman approached us who spoke very good English. She was yelling at us, saying the DR didn't deserve us and we should have gone somewhere else. Our driver started laughing when he heard us talking about her. I guess she does that quite often.

It was our first, decent sunny day and, rather than stopping in Cabarete, the group voted to head back to the lodge. There was more beach than there had been and it was warm, so we waded in the water and enjoyed the pretty view.

Evenings were pretty laid back. Once you took a frigid shower, there was usually about 20 minutes to relax before dinner was ready. We sat out on our porch doing word finds, journaling and watching the puppies. Ernie was the puppy Rottwiler and his little buddy was Oscar. They had licked a poisonous frog before we got there. Dave said the week would tell whether Oscar would live. Judging by his behavior toward the end of our trip, I think it's probably safe to say he's still alive and kickin'. The other dog who was a resident of the lodge was Bert - the big Rottweiler (about 140lbs.). They keep him around for protection. Giorgio startled him one night and he just barked and barked at him, standing in the middle of the sidewalk so he couldn't pass. Glad it wasn't me! Several other neighborhood dogs would come around, too. El Capitan is what they called one of them. Another had ear mites and would let out a high-pitched squeal when they were itching him. Poor guy.

Ernie and Oscar

And this is Bert. He was Kyle's favorite.

The food there was fresh and so good. And, despite what Dave had initially said, there was lots of variety in what they cooked for us at the lodge. My favorite dinner was sancocho, which Scott said was the national dish. It's a stew made with whatever leftovers they have on hand. Ours had chicken, pork, potatoes and carrots in it. They serve it with rice (of course!) and, as always, fresh pineapple. Kyle really enjoyed the beef pasta meal and the the seasoned fish. He also developed a taste for pineapple that he never had before this trip.

Our last full day was supposed to include snorkeling and a ride on a catamaran. This is one of the things I was most looking forward to. Kyle and I went snorkeling in the Key West on our cruise but it had just stormed so the water was choppy and we didn't see much. I was ready for a do-over. Unfortunately, the night before, Scott warned us that there was bad weather coming in and we likely wouldn't get to go. We decided to make it a game-time decision, but when the rain started pouring around 8 p.m. and still hadn't let up in time for breakfast, there wasn't much of a decision to make. 

Because most everything in the DR happens outside, there isn't a whole lot to do on a rainy day. We opted to go into Cabarete to do a little souvenir shopping and have lunch. Dave and the team camped out at the Lazy Dog Bar and Grill while we explored a bit. The road by the beach was lined with shops and we stopped in at most of them, but Kyle and I didn't find anything we couldn't live without. 

We met back up at the Lazy Dog and Kyle got the chips and salsa he had been craving. They had a big menu of American bar food. Willie and I split the quesadilla and an pulled chicken BBQ sandwich, which was my favorite of the two. Then it was time to head back to the lodge. 

There were LOTS of people wind surfing and parasailing, which really surprised me considering how crummy the weather was.

Just an example of one of the many restaurants that backed up to the beach.

They get very creative when hauling loads on a moto!

Kyle found KD!

I was a little bummed that we never got to go to the beach in Cabarete when it was nice out. However, once we got there, I could tell it was probably pretty crowded on a sunny day. Plus, there were all kinds of people coming up to us trying to sell things. That got annoying after a while.

We talked to this girl who was wind surfing. She said she has been doing this for years but only recently would she attempt to surf on a day like this.

I was feeling a little sorry for us on that last day because our plans had been ruined. No boating on the ocean or looking at colorful fish. Then, on the way to Cabarete I saw the flooding that all this rain had caused. I was reminded, yet again, that my so called problems really aren't problems at all. It was so hard to just drive by this area and not do anything to help. Dave and Amelia knew several of people who lived in flooded neighborhoods so they were trying to get in touch with them. The Civil Defense (similar to Red Cross) was out helping rescue people form their homes in boats, and lots of people were standing by the road since that was the high ground.

The lodge got its fair share of water but nothing like the flooded areas.

It continued to rain throughout the day, so we opted to pack our bags and get everything ready to leave. Kyle asked Scott if we could just leave our shoes behind. They were dirty so we didn't want to pack them, but we were also certain that someone there could make better use of them than we could.

The rain finally stopped by the morning of our flight, which was a great thing. We ate cereal breakfast and then wondered around by the beach with Willie. It was fun to talk to her about her future and plans she has for retirement. I have trouble getting a clear vision of what my life will be like in 5 years, so retirement is pretty much unimaginable to me at this point. 

Willie took this picture of us at breakfast, minus Bill, who wasn't feeling well.

 

Evan and Bert

The water was still pretty rough and high so there was no walking on the beach this day.


Instead, we decided to explore some run down huts that looked like they were pretty nice at one point in time. I think it may have been a resort or rental that was never fully finished.

We ate lunch together and then the goodbyes started. Bill and Terri left first, followed by us and Meggi. It was sad leaving everyone because there is a very good chance we will never see each other again. I am so thankful I got to share this experience with this group. It was great meeting new people and hearing about their different perspectives. One day after working, we all ended up in the pool. Scott found us some Coke, and it was fun to just relax with one another and hear about what our lives are like back home. 

Scott and Amelia drove us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. Customs felt like it took forever in Miami, and we had to run to catch our connection to Dallas. We didn't expect them to hold our checked bags overnight, but I was too tired to care. We got to bed around 2:30 a.m. DR time. I didn't have a stitch of makeup on when we boarded our flight to OKC and Kyle was wearing the same clothes as the day before. Going into this trip, I never would have gone out of the house like that, but, considering that's how we had looked pretty much all week, I was over it by that point. We were wishing we had packed heavier jackets, though, because when we got to Oklahoma it was cold. It wasn't snowy in OKC, but this is what our house looked like when we got home. Talk about an adjustment from our tropical climate!

Overall, I am so glad we went on this trip. It was all about getting out of our comfort zone and doing something we felt called to do. It may not have been the most relaxing vacation, but it changed our perspective on the world and brought us closer together. It also taught us to be grateful for the abundant life we do have and to be better stewards of what God has blessed us with. The DR will always hold a special place in our hearts. I will forever be grateful to Uncle Dan and Uncle Greg for making this adventure possible.