Strolling Santo Domingo...

When we say we are going to wing it…we mean it. We had been wanting to visit the Dominican Republic this past year, but somehow we just never made it happen. And then in true T’Aimee fashion, we realized we had a window of opportunity and we took it!

On the way to the bus station, our Jeep battery suddenly died.  So, we walked the last few minutes with all of our luggage down a muddy road. We knew our adventure was off to a good start!

We bought bus tickets and before we knew it, we were on a bus handing over our passports to enter another country…aka the other side of the island. In reality, its only 200 miles to Santo Domingo. 

However, when there is traffic, no major highway system, markets, dirt roads, countless speed bumps and who knows what else, it ends up being about 7 hours.  

I actually enjoyed most of the ride and seeing the scenery change as we passed through the country, plantain fields, little towns, around a lake, mountains and then all of the sudden a city appeared seemingly out of no where!

We literally went with no plan.  Thankfully we are both able to function quite well with this mindset.  We are not the type who need a minute-by-minute itinerary, map and schedule. We actually really enjoy just seeing what happens. It is safe to say that we would drive the 'other type of traveler” insane. We can pretty much take our backpacks, a loaded Nook, a peanut butter & jelly, a bottle of water and be happy for a good long while.

We didn’t go to a beach resort like you might think one would do in the DR. We visited an area of Santo Domingo that was geared towards tourists, which was good because that is what we planned to be.

Bright colors everywhere!

We literally woke up and figured out each day.  We had 3 full days in Santo Domingo. Days 1 & 5 were bus days which were adventurous in their own “driving down the middle of a narrow road around corners towards oncoming trucks” sort of way.

As we wandered, we saw BEAUTIFUL sites.  The colors were amazing everywhere we looked.

We also walked in an area where you could see the ocean, also beautiful.  We were not in an area where there were resorts and public beaches. Sadly, most of the coast had a lot of trash and was pretty sad.  We stood and watched the waves crashing here for a while and it was fun to watch the waves come. Definitely too strong for a swim in this area.

In the evenings we strolled around some of the sites and enjoyed the coolness of the night. A very welcomed break from the 100+ degree heat we've been experiencing lately. Our first night we had dinner at a great place and the food was yummy but the dessert was definitely the highlight. Chocolate nutella fondant with ice cream and fruit. It was the best dessert I've ever had and believe me, I've had a lot of dessert. There was something about the chocolate that I can't quite pinpoint, but it was amazing.

We may have gone back on the last night and ordered it again.

We spent one whole day touring the Colonial Zone and enjoyed the sites, freedom to walk around and of course some delicious chocolate & coffee.  There are tour guides everywhere and before we knew it, we had one of our very own showing us the highlights. They are sneaky!

The cathedral, the ruins of a hospital, a life size nativity scene, a Washington monument and other sites we saw as we explored the city...

I loved wandering the city and seeing all of the old architecture, buildings, churches, public squares, restaurants and beauty.

I loved how people strolled the streets and park areas, eating ice cream, playing music and enjoying the evenings. 

ghostlike instagrames...oooooooo

The 2^nd day we visited a beautiful botanical garden. It was amazingly hot and humid, but as we rode a little train into the garden and grounds, the shade was a nice relief. The tour guide who speaks English in the museum wasn't there that day and the lights were also out, so I took weird, ghostlike instagrams instead and really enjoyed the outside portion of the tour...in the light ;)

so humid my train ticket could stick to my arm!

On the way home, we stopped at a mall and ate food...in a cone...we had a vague idea of what it was, but I summarize the experience as "confused till the last bite." Cheese, fried plantain cone, sweet plantains inside, sauce and chicken. It was good...I think.

The last day we went to Three Eyes...amazing caves right beneath the city...crazy!

 Seeing these caves made me wonder what other beauty lies beneath the surfaces of the world we walk around every day...and then to think how beautiful and unthinkable heaven must be. Wow! We took a little boat ride to the other side of the cave to a bigger basin and the water was the lovely tropical teal/blue/green that might be my new favorite color. 

inside the cave looking back

We had a lot of great time to talk, process and just enjoy each other’s company.  Yes, we do spend every day together, but it was different to get away, out of our element and not be in “work/ministry/routine” mode. It is amazing how you can physically be together for countless days and somehow not make a point to have quality time together.

We had time to step back and look at this past year in Haiti and think through some of the fears we both have about moving back to the U.S. in just one week.  

Ultimately we know that this year has been a gift in so many ways and we are beyond grateful that we have had this opportunity.  What we have learned, seen and experienced will continue to change us and impact our lives in ways we’ll never fully know. 

As we transition home, we feel a weight and responsibility to the question “now what?”  So we are praying that God would continue to make His plan clear to us and that we would faithfully serve Him wherever we go.

It was a great few days and wonderful memories as we finish up our time here in Haiti and enter back into life in D.C. next week.