My Weekend in Photos
1. Highlights: Delicious Sopa de Queso, "Catchup" bottles at a random grocery store in Jarabacoa, Me at work (that's the escort required badge I've been rockin for the past few days), the guagua I took to Playa Rucia on Sunday, and Cayo Arena on a stormy day2/3. Lovely Birds of Paradise flowers at the General's Jarabacoa home
4/5. Making homemade Mexican tacos
6. Rolling the harina de maiz for gordita shells
7. The General's mansion
This past weekend was an adventure, de verdad (truly).
I barely slept in the midst of traveling with coworkers and my host to
different parts of the country. On Saturday, we woke up early to
drive to Jarabacoa, a small town in the mountains of the Cibao, with lots
of outdoor activities to offer. We spent the day at the mansion (*cough*
weekend home) of an esteemed Dominican military general. It
was entirely impressive. Their beautiful home overlooks much of Jarabacoa
and is without a doubt the largest house in the area. During the day we passed
our time in the kitchen cooking authentic Mexican food with my coworker's
Mother, Rosa Maria, who was visiting from Mexico. After a total
of six hours in the kitchen, the meal was finally complete, and
we all sat down in the grand dining room to enjoy the meal. The
menu consisted of gorditas, tacos, frijoles, sopa de queso (cheese soup),
and three types of desserts. I've never enjoyed such rich food
in my life! This was a meal that I will certainly dream of in years
to come.
On Sunday, I woke up extra early to go on a trip to Cayo Arena with my host. This was the true adventure of my weekend. The day even started off pretty rough, but little did we know, we would soon face much greater obstacles. At 6AM, we waited for over 30 minutes to park the car at a metro station. The guagua (bus) we were supposed to take was set to leave at 6, but because we couldn’t park our car until the lock-man came to open the parking lot gate, we ended up leaving at 6:30AM. When the lock-man arrived to open the gate, several minutes past 6AM and obviously in no rush/running on Dominican time, we quickly left the car, ran to the bus, and set off on our trip to Cayo Arena.
On Sunday, I woke up extra early to go on a trip to Cayo Arena with my host. This was the true adventure of my weekend. The day even started off pretty rough, but little did we know, we would soon face much greater obstacles. At 6AM, we waited for over 30 minutes to park the car at a metro station. The guagua (bus) we were supposed to take was set to leave at 6, but because we couldn’t park our car until the lock-man came to open the parking lot gate, we ended up leaving at 6:30AM. When the lock-man arrived to open the gate, several minutes past 6AM and obviously in no rush/running on Dominican time, we quickly left the car, ran to the bus, and set off on our trip to Cayo Arena.
The drive up to Punta Rucia was quite peaceful. I enjoyed
staring out the window as always, and was pleasantly surprised to drive by my
old stomping grounds in Santiago (where I studied abroad in 2012). We finally
arrived at the beach around midday and spent a few hours snorkeling in the
gorgeous blue waters around Cayo Arena. This was my second time snorkeling, and
it just happened to be at Cayo Arena both times. I’ve been told that it is
comparable to the Great Barrier Reef and parts of Hawaii, so I’m glad my first
few experiences have been there.
After snorkeling, our tour group gathered on the cay for a
bit. In just a few moments the weather changed dramatically. The wind picked
up, the clouds above became dark and ominous, and the waves grew higher
and higher. We couldn't leave the cay just yet, because our boat had not yet
arrived to take us back to Playa Rucia. So for two hours, we endured drizzling rain
and stinging sand (from the powerful wind) as we waited to leave. The wind was
quite intense. Three people were pulled out of the water after being carried
too far by the rapid currents, and one of them was unresponsive and had to be
evacuated back to land to get to the hospital. When we got into the boat to
return to the beach, the wind and added rain created a combination that
amounted to the feeling of small pellets being shot at my skin. It was
unpleasant to say the least, but also extremely painful. The ride back took
twice as long because the waves made it difficult to return the way we
initially came. After an arduous boat ride, we finally arrived back at the
beach. Our group gathered in a local restaurant where we dried off and ate a
late lunch. When the rain had subsided a bit, we loaded into the guagua to
return back to Santo Domingo.
No one could have known what we were up for next. The heavy rains we all experienced on the way back to the beach had caused a local bridge to flood. So for the next four hours, after driving about 5 minutes away from the restaurant where we ate lunch, we would sit in a long line of traffic trying to leave the beach. It was absolutely insane. If it had been Americans in that situation, let’s just say there would have been a revolt. Thankfully I am in a country where the people are generally of good humor in times of trouble. They adapt to difficult situations and don't stress out like most Americans, and especially not over situations that they have no control over. As we were surrounded by guaguas, some buses began to play bachata music and others to drink rum. People seemed to just accept the situation for what it was and find reason to celebrate (I’m not sure what exactly) in the midst of our inconvenience.
Eventually the water on the bridge receded, and we began our journey back to the capital. It was a weekend full of surprises and setbacks, but I enjoyed it none the less, and now I can add these two trips to my list of adventures in la Republica Dominicana.
No one could have known what we were up for next. The heavy rains we all experienced on the way back to the beach had caused a local bridge to flood. So for the next four hours, after driving about 5 minutes away from the restaurant where we ate lunch, we would sit in a long line of traffic trying to leave the beach. It was absolutely insane. If it had been Americans in that situation, let’s just say there would have been a revolt. Thankfully I am in a country where the people are generally of good humor in times of trouble. They adapt to difficult situations and don't stress out like most Americans, and especially not over situations that they have no control over. As we were surrounded by guaguas, some buses began to play bachata music and others to drink rum. People seemed to just accept the situation for what it was and find reason to celebrate (I’m not sure what exactly) in the midst of our inconvenience.
Eventually the water on the bridge receded, and we began our journey back to the capital. It was a weekend full of surprises and setbacks, but I enjoyed it none the less, and now I can add these two trips to my list of adventures in la Republica Dominicana.
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