10 y 11 de Enero
Oh. My. God. I now know why I came here and no where else in the world. This weekend was absolutely fantastic and unreal. We left yesterday at 7am (Rosie and I took our first taxi, it cost about $3.. everything is just so much cheaper down here) and stopped in Santo Domingo, the capital, to pick up a photographer who was going to be filming us for some ISA promotion (he could have at least came when I was a little less white for filming on the beach? But what can you do). Santo Domingo looked really cool, Christopher Columbus’ first house is there (when he didn’t really discover America like he thought he did he actually discovered hispanola.. now the island of the DR and Haiti) and there is a lot of historical stuff there but we’re going there another weekend so didn’t stop to look at anything but just ate Pizza Hut in a mall. We drove right along the coast all the way to la Cueva de Las Maravillas. It’s a giiiant cave that is really famous in the Caribbean. It was way cool to see all the stalagmites and stalactites and the bats and everything (plus learning all the words in Spanish). We saw a few bats, a little scary, but not as scary as the very end of the tour when we saw a real live tarantula… wowww Paige you would have been weeping because it was right by the elevator we had to go up and was terrifying but really cool. There are also a lot of indigenous paintings in the cave (which is why we couldn’t take pictures) that were really cool and you could tell that they were really old because the cave had grown overtop of some of them, and it takes 100 years for the rocks to grow one centimeter. Extreme. Ha and Mauricio (one of the leaders of ISA who was chaperoning our trip) said some of them looked like pokemon. It was true.
After the cave we went to the Altos de Chavon, a really famous historical/artistic neighborhood kind of thing in La Romana. To get there you have to drive past all of these giant estates (Shakira and Enrique Iglesias have a house here) and then get to the actual thing which was a neighborhood basically made of all rock with super fancy houses and things. There were tons of gorgeous flowers everywhere, and there were a lot of archways and gates and gardens and patios and tons of super cool architecture. My favorite part was the giant stadium that was made all out of stones and up on a hill behind the giant stadium was a bunch of columns and gardens. So cool. I did a little ballet on the stage and I think the ISA film guy got it on tape.. oops. Then we got to the edge of the neighborhood that looks over this extremely gorgeous valley and river with amazingly green trees. There was also a golf course that was on one ridge of the valley (if you sliced it there’s no chance of getting that ball back ever) which was really cool too see. There were little shops and a chapel in a little square that we hung out it for awhile too, all made of the same stone. Really cool place and one of the most visited spots in the Caribbean.
Next we went to our hotel which was a little hotel that was across the street from the ocean and all of the sailing ships and docks and everything. It was our first chance to swim after sweating profusely for a week so the group went to the beach and swam in the ocean. It was the clearest and warmest water I’ve ever seen in my life. The sun was setting right as we got there (sammm sunset! I took pics for you, don’t worry) which was absolutely gorgeous. The sand is pure white and the water is so clear and is absolutely unbelievable. It was the first time Joe had ever seen or been in an ocean so he was super excited. It stays shallow pretty deep so we swam around for awhile, but it wasn’t safe to be swimming after dark so we had to go back to our hotel for dinner. (ps, French camera man was for sure wearing a speedo, got a little awkward but what can you do with 60 year old Europeans). I had spaghetti that tasted mostly like play-do for dinner, but I was starving so it wasn’t too bad. I sat near the French video guy at dinner and found out how awesome he was.. he makes and directs films mostly in France but has lived in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and has filmed jo-jo, a crazy dolphin who makes sexual advances on humans, for like fifteen years. He’s also been hired to do pieces for National Geographic and it was awesome to hear about all the stuff he’s done all over the world. I’m way excited to must meet a lot of sweet people on this trip because it’s only been a week and already I feel way more worldly.
After dinner we went to a discoteca… YES. We aren’t supposed to drink on ISA excursions, but Mauricio came with us and said we could have two beers (we had three, shh don’t tell). It was all black with neon words and pictures all over the walls and ceiling and a black light and disco ball and a stage for people to dance on. We got there at like 9, which is early for people going out, but by like 9:30 there were people there and dancing.. some were so good and it’s so fun to watch. After a little while of us watching, some guys who knew we were Americans came and asked us to dance and taught us how. It’s called bachata (not sure if that spelling is right?) and is so much fun. The first dance was terrible but the guy came back later and asked me to dance again and told me to stop looking at his feet and to just watch his face and follow him. I didn’t do too bad, and for awhile it was just the two of us on the stage at the beginning of the song and I was terrified of looking ridiculous but actually picked it up pretty quick. I’m super excited to go out now because its so much more interesting and fun than going out at home, I’m teaching you all to dance so we can dominate the bars. We had to get up at 7:30 the next day so we didn’t stay much later than 11 but Rosie and I stayed up until like 12:30 talking about plantains and other important life issues. We’re getting along really well and with everyone else in the group too, loove me some good unified group activities and bonding.
This morning we ate breakfast then began our excursion to la Isla Saona. We all got on a boat that was like a big motor boat—and thinking that we had to be on that semi-uncomfortable boat for more than an hour we got a little nervous—but then we realized that it was just the little boat that took us to this giant party sailboat with motors and a big deck and these trampoline-like things to lay out on and you could feel the water underneath. So cool. The crew was really fun and played music and we all practiced our dancing all the way there. There was one guy dressed in a dress and a gray wig and was a little creepy but funny (it was his job, he said he wasn’t really a transvestite.. we weren’t convinced but whatevs he/she was fun). I already am a terrible dancer and just learned last night, but the boat moving with the waves made it even harder but it was still really fun dancing and watching and laying out and just looking at the ridiculously blue ocean. The company that we went on the excursion with gives each boat a photographer to take pictures of everyone so that you can buy them at the end.. i don’t plan on buying any but the guy was pretty cool. He was Italian (and quite nice looking) and Rosie talked to him a lot and taught him words in English (included boobs which he got confused about and pronounced beebs, ha).
Mas o menos an hour and a half later (anything dealing with time is so laid back here, I never know what time it is) we got to la Isla Saono.. literally the most amazing place I’ve ever been in my life. We got to swim last night, but the sun wasn’t really out and the beach was pretty narrow, but here the skies were completely blue with only a few puffy clouds and the water was an unreal shade of turquoise. The entire day felt fake. There were so many palm trees and plants in the brightest green I’ve ever seen along with literally such smooth white sand it was like a movie. Throughout the day we swam in the ocean, laid out, drew pics in the sand, took pictures, and just tried to take everything in. The pictures don’t even do it justice. I got a massage for less than $10 that was amazing.. never in my life have I been so relaxed (don’t worry mom.. we start school tomorrow). I really can’t even describe how good it was. Towards the end we swam out wayy far to our boat (similar distance to swimming across the lake at the cabin) and I drank probs 30 gallons of ocean water, ultimate chicken noodle soup, but good cardio.
We took a big motor boat back but on the way stopped in la Piscina Natural, a part of the ocean that’s pretty close to shore but has a bunch of starfish. I TOUCHED ONE AND HELD ONE! It was so so cool. A boat of druuunk Europeans in speedos showed up next to us which was hilarious (free drinks are included on the trip but we weren’t allowed to have any.. it was too good to even want to drink but these people took full advantage of the cocktails). Such small swimsuits, but what can you do. When we got back we were all exhausted and starting to realize we all got a little sunburnt (I didn’t do too bad though, woo but got a pretty dece tan) and rode the bus back to Santiago. Mis padres were so excited that we liked it so much.. we didn’t even know what to say besides “que increible, y que bella, y me gusta muchooo”. We’ll work on that. Ma made a dessert that was creamy and almost the texture of smooth oatmeal but tasted like a mix between peanut butter and apple jacks. As usual I forgot what it’s called five second after she told me, but I really like trying all the new things she makes. I have class at 10 tomorrow, a little nervous but excited to be a real person. I’m exhausted from the day but will write about my classes and anything I forgot tomorrow. Sorry about the long post, but wayy too much to write about that I can't forget because it was just too good, you'll see from the pictures! LES AMO.