Visitor from California, Celebrating End of School Year with Students, and a Weekend with Good Friends

Shauna, my long awaited visitor from California, arrived Monday, May 12! We spent the evening in my home and the following day in the Colonial Zone.

Tuesday morning, before going to the Colonial Zone, we met with my good friend Julie Freehill for fruit juice on the Malecón (Boardwalk)! Shauna really liked being on the Caribbean ocean.

Here we're at one of the better known museums in the Colonial Zone, the Museo Alcázar de Colón. We traveled via carro público and moto concho that day, too. 

Early Wednesday we left on a Caribe Tour bus for Cabarete. The map below will give an idea of the route we took on our trip, which included two-night stays in three towns--Cabarete, Rio San Juan (between Cabarete and Nagua), and Las Terrenas (on the northern part of the Samana Peninsula).

Not only did we have a lot of fun and meet a lot of people (all of whom were amazingly helpful) on public transportation, our costs for the week were low. We spent about $25 each total for the whole week! Our costs included Caribe Tours ($8 for a 3 hour trip across the country to Cabarete), guaguas (averaging about $1.20 each) and motos (varying from .75 to $3.50 each ride). Our hotel costs ($25 each per evening in Cabarete, $15 each per night in Rio San Juan, and $37.50 each per night in Las Terrenas) were also inexpensive. Meals varied from $8 to $15 each and we generally ate twice daily. We bought food in Cabarete and prepared some of our own meals, because our room had a kitchenette. The total cost of our week's vacation was about $500 each.

Shauna told me her plane fare from NYC via JetBlue cost $450, so her 9 day tour of the Dominican Republic was very reasonably priced. She also spent 3 nights with me, at no cost! Taxi fare to and from the airport is a little more costly, at $35 each way. And Shauna put about $25 on her charge card for gas to repay the couple who gave us a ride home from Las Terrenas.  In summary, I am saying that anyone (it helps that I speak Spanish at the intermediate level, if not fluently) can have a very outstanding and inexpensive time in the Dominican Republic.

We had breakfast one day at the French-owned Friends Cafe. Our hotel was the Casa Blanca. The gracious Canadian proprietor of the hotel, Dorothy, photographed us standing poolside in front of the gardens she's so lovingly cultivated.  That day we left for Rio San Juan.

The guagua ride from Cabarete to Rio San took less than two hours. We enjoyed some of the most beautiful views in the Dominican Republic.

Here we're having lunch at Estrella's Restaurant in Rio San Juan. Below Shauna is with one of the moto taxi drivers who took us to Playa Caletón.

I had a fabulous swim at the Playa Caletón and Shauna valued her walk. Next is a photograph  of the beach at Playa Caletón.

The following morning we are back at Estrella's for breakfast.

That day I went to my favorite beach, Playa Grande, and Shauna stayed at the lovely Bahia Blanca where she treasured her time painting the panoramic vistas from the hotel.

If there was ever a destination beach, Playa Grande would be it. The four kilometers expanse of sand is wide, deep, and visually stunning. Although not far from Rio San Juan, Playa Grande feels isolated. It is consistently rated among the top five beaches of the country. Since it was a Saturday, several families were on the beach that day. I enjoyed watching this child bring a plate of food to her chair.

The day swimming at Playa Grande was among my favorite days of our trip. And Shauna loved the views from the hotel Bahia Blanca.

Late afternoon we had lunch at the table of another French Restaurant in town, Café de Paris, where a couple had been married earlier in the same day.

We walked around Rio San Juan, and these men playing dominos waved at us.

We liked this mural, too. Rio San Juan is a quiet country town with few amenities for tourists, and a  wonderful contrast to Cabarete.

 We came back to the hotel and walked on the beach.

That evening nature treated us to the most beautiful sunset.

The following day we took the guagua to Las Terrenas. The views as we climbed the Samana peninsula were breathtaking. I hadn't been to Las Terrenas previously, and Shauna wanted to try out the Hotel La Tortuga,  recommended by a friend. So that's where we decided to stay. While the shift from peaceful Rio San Juan to more tourist oriented Las Terrenas was jarring, we enjoyed our time there. We found the hotel conveniently located, and I enjoyed the swimming pool.

We toured the town yet found it rather overwhelming.

Shauna wanted to go into the stores in Las Terrenas, as she was hoping to buy gifts for family members. However, shopping yielded little satisfaction, and she didn't have any luck at the esteemed (and expensive) Haitian Caraibes Arts Gallery, either.

On the other hand, the restaurants nearby the hotel along the beach were quiet. The food (and service) was excellent.

The woman who waited on us was especially beautiful.

I hired a moto driver, Santiago, to take me to some of the most gorgeous beaches in the Dominican Republic, Playa Bonita and Playa Cosón, west of Las Terrenas. Playa Cosón (below) is certified as a Blue Flag Beach for its quality of water and environmental protection standards. Next time I go to Las Terrenas I'll spend all of my time on Playa Cosón, swimming in the ocean.

We met a beautiful young couple, Kate and Bartik from Poland, who were also staying at the Hotel La Tortuga. Shauna asked if we might return to Santo Domingo with them. They said yes! And they said they may visit Shauna when they tour California. Our group is seen here all together and also with our photographer, a helpful hotel employee.

We stopped at the Taino Museum, which I thought was over-priced.

We had lunch at the most delightful local eatery in Sanchez. Below is the cook and proprietor:

We arrived back to Santo Domingo at about 6 pm. The next morning, Wednesday May 21, we left early for the airport so Shauna could catch her plane to New York, then to Sacramento. Below is our stellar driver, René, with Shauna.

Next, Shauna and I are together one last time, at the airport:

And finally, Shauna on her way through immigration:

All's well that ends well and Shauna emailed a week later to say she had not become ill (as she feared she might) and was feeling fine after her trip to the Caribbean.

Now on to the month's other activities. First of all, I met for the last day with the English students I have been meeting with all year long. We exchanged gifts, sang songs, and shared sweets during our celebration. Here I am with my students, Yamily Inoa Gil, Milagros Consuelo Lopez Utate, Bianca Maribel Rosado Marte, and Romadelin Polanco Jimenez:

 Next is Yamily Inoa Gil:

 Below is Milagros Consuelo Lopez Utate:

Above is Bianca Maribel Rosado Marte, and next is Romadelin Polanco Jimenez:

Last Saturday, my friend Nidia Uceta Hernandez invited me to almuerzo at her home off of Churchill and 27 de Frebrero. I greatly valued being with her, her daughters, her sisters and her nieces that day.

Above is Nida Uceta Hernandez with her younger daughter, Pamela. Below is Nidia's sister, Yosie, who cooked the superb meal we shared on Saturday.

And next is the beautiful Carolina, Yosie's daughter (and Nidia's niece):

Here is the dining room table and part of the fabulous meal that was served up that day:

Friends came over to my house for Sunday dinner the following day. We stopped to visit with my next door neighbors after eating. Laura is in the middle, and her husband, José Luis, is standing next to her. Elpidia, my neighbor, is to the right. Blausita, Elpidia's sister, is at the left end.

Both Laura (she's lived in this country eight years) and her husband speak Spanish fluently (he is Dominican) and were able to translate some of the things my neighbors talked about which I did not understand. I do pretty well on my own yet it means so much to have help with translation! My neighbor, Batista (married to Elpidia) was a world class musician (he played trumpet) before his stroke. José Luis, as it turns out, had seen him perform with his group several years previous to his illness. They talked at length about Son, the type of music Batista is known for. Batista can be seen wtih Elpidia below:

I'll end with a photo of Laura and her husband at my house. We enjoyed one of my year's most memorable days.

That's all for now, and thank you for taking the time to view my most recent blog update. I'll keep you posted as I pull up stakes here in the Dominican Republic and prepare to move to South America. I am confident that the way to my next adventure will be revealed as the summer progresses. In the meanwhile, I continue my volunteer work with the local elementary school and am savoring the last months of my life in the Caribbean.