On Thursday we took a very different type of excursion. This one was billed as an “Outback Adventure” but actually gave us small snapshots of the true Dominican life.

We left midmorning from or neatly manicured, posh resort –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and headed, with our guide Eddy, to the residential back roads of Puerto Plata. Wandering through the narrow, bumpy, partially paved roads

and through the lush,

forested countryside

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we eventually arrived at the home of a smiling, congenial, old gentleman named Papo. We spent the next while meeting his extended family, touring his home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and small farm and learning about his way of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For me, the most interesting takeaway of this part of the journey was that the majority of the Dominican people are monetarily poor and live very simple lives, but they are rich in the things that matter. They have everything that they need. Their homes are mini plantations providing almost all of their nutritional needs and building needs. They are surrounded by extended family and neighbors who help each other and enjoy each other’s company. Their life is good.

Our next stop was also very interesting. We visited an elementary school near Papo’s house.

The children greeted us with smiles and a poem recited in English. The classroom we visited was quiet and the children were well behaved and actively engaged in learning.

 

There are not enough schools and so the children attend school in shifts with 3 shifts per day and a shift only lasting 4 hours.

 

We were told that the current president of DR, President Danilo, is working very hard and pouring a lot of tax dollars into building new schools and upgrading the educational system. He wants to make education for all children mandatory and to increase the length of the school day to 8 hours.

 

Eddy obviously has great respect for the current president and explained that, unlike many of the past presidents, President Danilo is working to clean-up the corruption of the government and to improve the lives of the Dominican people. He has a 90% approval rate. That’s pretty impressive.

*A brief history lesson: the Dominican Republic gained independence from Haiti, 130 years ago, but then struggled under an oppressive dictatorship for another 70 years. They over through the dictatorial form of government and have had a stable, democratic republic for the last 60 years. They have a very good national healthcare system and free public education. Tourism is there main source of income followed closely by mining, agricultural exports and a rapidly growing textile industry.

Some other random pictures taken along the journey:

 

 

 

 

Okay, enough learning. It’s time for lunch. We traveled next to the Outback Camp where we were served an authentic and very delicious Dominican lunch – YUM!

We wandered around the grounds a bit and then headed for our last stop –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a private beach with miles of golden sand and beautiful blue, clear waters.

They provided chair massages, boogie boarding, and, of course, rum punch and Presidente (the local beer). A was a great ending for our last and very interesting excursion.

 

A last thought: This is our fourth trip to the Dominican Republic and we love it here. The people are friendly, happy and always willing to share help, information, you name it. The island’s north shore is beautiful setting to get away and has been a perfect place for us to unwind, relax and center – just what we needed.

Buenos Dias, mi amigos

Today we traversed the beautiful Dominican countryside on yet another adventure. This one included zip-lining, horseback riding and a tour of a tiny but diverse plantation – and all of this before lunch albeit a very late lunch!

 

Our journey took us through the pretty town of Puerto Plata – one of the bigger cities on the northern side of the DR – to just outside the tiny village of Imber.

The weather was overcast much of the day, unlike the last several days which were beautiful – go figure. Despite the mud and gray skies, we had a great time.

 

Zip lining was first on the itinerary. Unlike zip lining we have done in the past where you hike to the edge of a chasm and step off, several of these lines included a lot of stair/ladder climbing which we were not prepared for mentally or physically.

Nonetheless, we pushed through climbing to great heights and then stepping off into even larger, longer chasms. Why? Because it is exciting, fast and fun!

There were six lines total and some of the longest we have experienced.

It was great.

 

The next thrill was horseback riding. For all of our 44 years of married life, Tom has held to the axiom, “Horses and I have an agreement – I don’t climb on their backs and they don’t climb on mine.” Knowing this long held philosophy, I was stunned when he informed me that this excursion included riding along a hilly trail through wood and stream on horses. But that is exactly what we did.

For some reason the guide picked the orneriest horse of the bunch for Tom, and he (Tom’s horse) spent the entire ride trying to nip the other horses, blaze his own trail, and scrape Tom off his back along fencepost and tree. My horse just wanted to push ahead of all the others and to run – a plan that I worked very hard to quell! With bones, teeth and nerves rattled, we both made it through. Needless to say, this was not the highlight of the excursion and we have both avowed/reavowed to forgo any future horseback riding!

The last part of the excursion was a tour of what was billed as a “plantation”. It was about a quarter of an acre but boasted pretty, little gardens

 

 

 

 

and a variety of fruit trees. Our guide, Javier, led us through pointing out the different trees and bushes and telling a bit about each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour ended with beverages and a sample of several of the fruits – juicy and delicious.

 

We then waved goodbye to our guides and Imber and headed home to a very late lunch and this time Mai Tais.

Buenos tardes, mi amigos

Tom and I have been in the small resort of Blue Bay Villas near Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic for just over a week. As usual, it has taken several days to gear down to “island time” – to unwind – to let go of the “hurry to get everything done” mentality that is our life in Virginia Beach, to the, “We don’t have to do a __ thing if we don’t feel like it” mentality of island living.

As is our norm while on vacation, we have gotten back to walking 3 – 4 miles a day (huge progress from the barely ½ mile Tom was able to do in December – yea!!!). Sometimes we walk along the streets and other times along the miles and miles of golden, sandy beach. Then it is sun time, reading, listening to the waves, Zen time for the rest of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, however, was an excursion day! One of my very favorite things in life – snorkeling! Tom and I, both being Pisces, love the water and aquatic life, so we spent several hours in perusing the beach and the reefs off the coast of Sosua, DR – an exciting and wonderful experience!

 

Sousa is a tiny and beautiful little town about 30 minutes’ drive from our resort – a tiny, sparkling gem of the DR.

 

 

 

There was only one other couple in our small group – Christa and Christion – a lovely couple from the Italian (southern part) of Switzerland. Along with Julio, our guide, we spent just over an hour exploring the reef,

 

feeding bananas to the fish,

 

 

and absorbing the wonders of another world.

 

(Excursion photographs are courtesy of Juan – a photographer who captured our experience on camera – thank you Juan.)

Arriving home midafternoon, the rest of the day was spent recuperating with Pina Coladas – life is mue bueno!

 

Buenos noches, mi amigos.