Spring break was a bit later than it has been in past years, but it was packed full of adventures. Angela, came all the way from Madrid to join the adventure in the Dominican Republic. It was so nice to see her after so many years. The last time I saw her was before I moved to the Dominican Republic, so approximately four years ago, but seeing her again, we picked up as if it were yesterday. She stayed for 2 weeks, so she became truly Dominican. She conquered public transportation, moto riding and eating the typical dominican fare.
First Stop: Las Terrenas
Las Terrenas is my favorite little beach town. It is a beautiful beach on the north east coast of the island. The beaches are beautiful, it is touristy enough to be safe, but not overly touristy like Punta Cana. It is where a lot of the French vacation, so Angela was excited to use her French skills and eat at a french cafe/bakery. The American in me loved the app "Komida" which allowed us to order french pastries from the bakery. right to our door. For all those who travel in the D.R...."Komida" works for both Las Terrenas and Cabarete.So we ended up staying in a gated community where playa bonita was our back yard and there were several restaurants to visit. We even tried our hand at surfing, well Angela surfed while Sondra and I practiced dragging our surfboard through the waves and learned that paddling is hard work. The hardest part for Sondra and I was getting off the wave. We would get on a wave (on our stomachs) and then the wave would head very quickly in the direction of the shore, it was exhilarating but also a little scary as we didn't quite know the correct way to bail. At the end of the day, we were covered with sand, as you can tell by our surfboards.
We also went into the "Pueblo de los Pescadores," which is the little fishing village that is very touristy. It has french boutiques, cafes and a great gelato place. It was a little more crowded than our own playa bonita, but definitely a great day trip. Las Terrenas was incredibly relaxing and it was a great way to start our spring break. After the 3 nights on the beach we headed into the mountains of Jarabacoa to show Angela a different landscape.
Stop #2: Jarabacoa
Jarabacoa is my favorite city in the Dominican Republic. We baptized Angela into the culture by introducing her to the moto conchos or moto taxis....the only way to get around the city. We also went canyoning which I believe is my absolute favorite activity. It wading through the water and going down natural rock slides, ziplining and finally rappelling down a large waterfall. We also tried the typical Dominican food of 3 golpes which includes mangu, a fried egg, fried cheese and salami. It is delicious and my favorite food here in this country.
We also went to Salto Jimenoa where a part of Jurassic Park was filmed (the introduction where the helicopter flies in) Despite the drought, we were able to swim in the waterfall before making the long trek back up the path.So Spring break 2019 was a definite success...I'm so glad for being able to share it with friends and looking forward to ending the rest of the year well.
