This past weekend was amazing! We took our longest trip to Barahona and Pedernales which included time at in Haiti. So let me tell you a little bit more specifically what all we did…
On Thursday we left for Barahona in the south (west i think) of the country and drove a long while until we got to an awesome mountain of dried up coral and we climbed up those rocks to see some Taino art that was on the walls of the caves. After that we went to the Lago Enriquillo and saw some massive iguanas, that was pretty cool. Then we made a trip across the border to go to a market in Haiti. It is amazing to see the culture differences in such a tiny island and just right on the other side of the boarder.
On Friday we got up and drove to Pedernales where we stopped at a Larimar beach. for those of you who don’t know Larimar is a type of stone or rock that is only found in the DR (they are really proud of it) So we stopped at a beach where this awesome stuff just washes up from the ocean and we had a chance to look for some and collect our own. That was really fun. After that we drove to a different beach and spent the day there, relaxing and swimming in the amazing Caribbean Sea (I’m not complaining!)
The next day we went to Haiti again but this time to an actual town/city. It was an amazing difference. The people are so much poorer in Haiti then in the DR but it was amazing how much more at ease and comfortable i felt around them in comparison to how i feel around the tigres in the DR sometimes. It was a great experience for the Haitians to show us their homes.
Then we went to Bahia see las Aguilas and i have been told that this is the worlds 7th best beach. And i would believe it. We had to take boats to get there because it is completely remote and untouched. it was AMAZING! unfortunately about 2/3 of the group got sick and were running for the bushes through out the day. But even in spite of illness we had a great time. The water was so clear and perfect for snorkeling (for people who like that sort of thing) and they even found large star fish!!!
The next day we left for home, but first we stopped in San Rafeal to do a river hike. A river hike is exactly how it sounds, we hiked up and down a river. it was so much fun going up, unfortunately the river was a little strong and i was a little cocky and i slipped on a rock going into a spot deeper than i expected and got my feet taken out from under me and landed HARD on my knee and came out with a sprained knee and HUGE bruises to remember my time there. luckily there were some awesome girls in my group who helped me down the river.
It was a great weekend overall!! i am having a great time here, we leave for service in about a week, and i still don’t know exactly where i will be but i will keep you updated! thank you so much for your emails and letters!!! keep them up they make me so happy to receive!!! blessings and love to all!!