Familiar Faces

My Mom, Grandma, and Auntie Shelly arrived on New Year's Eve in Punta Cana.  The trip was planned just a few months ago.  The tour group grew from one to three.  I was a bit nervous to have three Americanas who didn't speak Spanish touring this developing country.

I had planned on us taking public transportation the whole trip, but after seeing their bags I dreaded even walking to the bus stop.  So we got a cab from the Punta Cana airport to our hotel in Santo Domingo.  The ride was a full three hours of nail biting and near heart attack moments.  The only person not questioning whether we'd make it alive was the driver who was dancing, swerving in and out of the other lane and talking on his two cell phones at once.  We made a pit stop at his aunt's house to pick up a microwave and a clean shirt, then at his cousins restaurant for a glass of ice.  After safely arriving at the hotel we headed to the Plaza de España for dinner.

The next day we checked out the Colonial Zone and searched for a place to exchange money.  Most store were closed because it was New Year's Day, just our luck.  After exchanging money with a less than legit man we got on the bus that took us towards my site.  They packed three of us in the back row with our luggage.  I had to keep shifting so one part of my body wasn't asleep for too long.  We arrived at my house after dark.   The night ended with a game of Scrabble and a much needed bottle wine.  

Our first full day in my community we took a hike to my friend Olga's family farm.  It is located down a mountain a good mile and a half.  There we helped shell lentils and ate oranges while Olga and her mom, Daisy, cooked lunch.

Daisy in the outdoor kitchen.

Lentils and rice

That night, after experiencing their first bucket showers, we had dinner with my host mom Nilda.  She made Spaghetti with toastones.  The Americanas didn't know what to think.  Back at my house Mom and Grandma mixed up some Mojitos before we headed up to the discoteca.

The last day at my site we got our nails painted, handed out gifts, did some visiting, played games with the crowd of children who arrived at my house, and had lunch with my neighbor and good friend Maciel.

Wednesday morning we left Monte Bonito for Las Galeras, Samana, a small town on the beach.The main street is lined with tourist shops and foreign owned restaurants.  There is a French bakery and an Italian cafe along with Dominican cafeterias.  To get there we took a truck, a small bus, a coach bus, and a taxi.  That night there was a substantial increase in the flavor our food, maybe because it was no longer Dominican.

It rained off an on Wednesday and it continued to be cloudy the rest of the trip.  It keep the temperatures mild where it was pleasant to walk everywhere.  The bed and breakfast we stayed at was a short walk from the beach and also the center of town.

Piña Coladas on the beach

We spent Thursday walking on the beach, shopping, and eating.  That night we enjoyed dinner at the bed and breakfast.

grilled lobster for dinner

Our last day in Las Galeras was similar to the day before.  More shopping, walking on the beach, and eating.  The volunteers that live in town suggested we check out El Cabito, a restaurant overlooking a cliff. It was decided we should walk instead of call a cab.  We walked along the beach, picked up a police escort part of the way,  and then climbed a hill to reach this restaurant.  When we arrived, it was instantly worth the hour and a half walk.  The restaurant was literally hanging over the water.  It had a thatched palm roof, a few wooden tables, an out door kitchen.  You could hear the whoosh and feel the mist from the waves crashing into the rock wall.

Here we are looking over the railing at El Cabito.

Everything we ate was grilled, the Mahi-mahi, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables.  It was all delicious.  The best meal of the trip!

Saturday we had to get back to Punta Cana.  I debated with myself over how we should get to the airport, by bus, or boat, or taxi.  Transportation is anything but timely, fast, or convenient here.  We started early, at 4 a.m.  The owner of the B&B was nice enough to give us a lift to the bus.  At 5:30 a.m. we were all packed onto the mini bus on our way to Santo Domingo.  I had decided it was safest and most reliable to go from Samana to Santo Domingo to Punta Cana.   After way too many hours on a bus, we arrived at the airport on time.  We had some papaya milkshakes, and they were off.

It was such a great visit.  We hit a lot of what the island has to offer, from the tourist zone, Punta Cana, to Santo Domingo, urban and dirty, my community, mountainous and rural, and lastly Las Galeras, the beach and expat population.

I am feeling recharged now and ready to take on the next year and a half.  Things are coming together with my projects, and there are some PC events happening in the next couple of months.  I think I might make a trip home this year too.  

It was neat to see their reaction and opinions about the DR, I'm sure I thought the same things when I first arrived, but have since grown accustom to them.  Some things that stood out were:

• Noise level.  They thought it was extremely noisy.  There is always loud music, crowing roosters, braying donkeys, barking dogs, and people yelling.  
• Warm people. Almost everyone you come into contact with is friendly and accommodating.  The men help women out of the bus, hold their bag, give your their chair, offer you food.  It's pretty great.
• Closeness. There is no personal space here.  Thankfully they are so friendly since you are so close.
• Bland food.  The best food we had was not Dominican food.  They cook with lots of salt but few herbs or spices, and whether it's rice, beans, or chicken, they all contain the same seasonings.

My community will continue to ask if they made it home okay, when they are coming back to visit,  telling me their trip was way too short, and lastly how jovencita (really young) my mom looks.