Last week I traveled to the Dominican Republic with my husband and parents. We had never been before and so, outside of some insight from friends, didn’t really know what to expect. We spent a week there, narrowly missing any flight delays caused by the winter weather on the East Coast, and even a window in which public notice was given for a measles exposure in our home airport! That didn’t stop us from having to race to our last flight home, though, since security was short-staffed and very slow at Newark. All was well that ended well.
Overall, our trip was lovely. The “downsides” were minor—it rained heavily for a few days. We shifted our planned outdoor activities to indoor activities on those days instead. One of these included a tour of the La Aurora Cigar Factory in Santiago de los Caballeros. While I am not a smoker myself, it was a really interesting experience. We happened to be on a tour with about eight other guys, all of whom were in a motorcycle group together and decked out in their leather and denim riding gear. They were mostly local to the island and were great fun throughout the tour with their banter and questions. We enjoyed chatting with them throughout the experience.
We also found lots of good dining spots in our exploration of Puerto Plata. I always seek out fresh fish when I get the chance in the Caribbean since we are landlocked at home. I had fish almost every day that I was there, and even sushi at a Japanese restaurant (Mikasa) we came across. It was excellent and was a sweet experience because the owner was in while we were dining. She came to sit with us and ended up staying for most of the meal because our conversation as a group came organically and was so enjoyable.
We did get to do some quick scuba diving in Sosua, which featured the most and biggest sea fans I have ever seen thus far! Sea life was pretty abundant, although we didn’t see any turtles like we’d been hoping. I did end up having to call my final dive short because of not feeling well all of a sudden, but it resolved and we continued the rest of our trip. If this had been a scuba-dedicated trip, we would have tried to dive much more there and on the other sides of the island. My primary focus, however, was to ensure my parents were comfortable and having a good time. They don’t dive anymore, and so we found other things to keep us busy like lots of beach time, exploring local sites, and rest time at the condo with chatting and so much laughter.
Other notable things about our time in the Dominican Republic are our adventures into town. If you have never driven in a foreign country before and/or are a timid driver, this is not the place for you to try driving in a new setting. We have experienced far crazier in other places, but it was energy-consuming to drive to and from places due to high volume and different etiquette. There are just as many motorcyclists on the roads as there are cars, if not more sometimes. There are also random horses and carriages throughout different areas and stray animals to be wary of sporadically. Those on motorbikes pass on the left (into oncoming traffic) frequently and get very close to cars both moving and stopped. We didn’t mind once we got used to it, and everyone is generally trying to watch out for each other; it just required constant vigilance from the driver. Horns are used a lot, not always as indicators of displeasure but as indicators to other vehicles that they are there.
My husband and I were the primary drivers and so switched off on having the passenger help watch surroundings on every trip. It was, however, incredibly useful and fun to have a car because it allowed us the opportunity to go where we wanted whenever we wanted. We got to see parts of both the cities and the country. We drove passes that gave us views of the island out to the sea, lush green countryside with grazing cows and flowers, and found local places for food and drinks. We had originally planned to day-trip to Santo Domingo, but decided against it based on my parents wanting to spend more time hanging out in more relaxed situations than in the car all day. We also avoided Punta Cana. Despite it being the tourist destination hot spot, we don’t usually seek out areas with big resorts and so much commercialism. We just prefer, when able, to get a little bit closer insight into local culture when we can and have felt from previous experiences that hyper-tourist-oriented areas sometimes sanitize the experience into uniformity. This is not always the case, but we decided against Punta Cana this time around. I do wish we’d gotten to go to Santo Domingo, though, and it will be a future trip’s note for sure.
It was definitely different to be an adult traveling with my parents for the first time. My previous travel with them was so long ago that my recollection is in the frame of a child relying on my parents for everything while traveling. It was a good feeling to be able to provide treats and assistance to them in return now, but also stressful because I wanted to make the trip really nice for them. I imagine, in many ways, they probably felt the same traveling with me as a kid and hoping for my innocent wonder about new things to be unspoiled by stressors. We had not ever traveled internationally together. I appreciated the ability to do so finally and look back on it with fondness already—what a precious gift and privilege to spend so much uninterrupted time with both of my parents and husband in a beautiful place. The single most valuable thing to me from this trip was time with my family, which I hold very dear and do not take for granted. It seems that time is moving faster now all of the sudden. Since there is nothing I can do to slow it, I am trying very hard to take note of it and to truly see when looking, truly hear when listening, and accept that the passing of time can be scary but is still ultimately a gift. I hope I get many more opportunities in adulthood to try to spoil them, as they have given so much in their life for me. This blog entry is not as in depth with all of the many things we did because I did not take notes like I usually do when traveling- I was focused on being in the moment. I honestly didn’t even take many pictures because of this posture. I also won’t post any pictures of my parents on here out of respect for their privacy.
Ultimately, the roads were crazy but led us to new and exciting experiences, the reefs were beautiful, and the rest stops were good for our souls and bodies. Until next time, DR!
