For all the other wanderers out there....

I mean it.
It's OK. You are going to be OK. 
Society is going to tell you that you are not on track. And your family is going to worry. And people may give you funny looks and shake their heads and wonder what the heck you're doing. 
And you are going to start to worry too.
You will worry that maybe there is something fundamentally wrong with you. You will wonder desperately why you can't get things figured out. You may feel guilty, like somehow you have failed. And you will search frantically for a plan, something to cling to, something to make you feel as if you might have an idea where you are headed. Eventually, you will resort to drastic measures. Maybe you'll quit your job, maybe you'll spend a spring planting trees in Canada, maybe you'll move to a foreign country, maybe you'll become a wandering hippie or run away and join the circus.
You will meditate. You will read everything. You will travel. You will try yoga. You will do things that scare you. You will be poor. 
And eventually, somewhere in your search, you will realize, you are in love with your life. You are in love with every second of every minute of every day of it. You are in love with the challenges, with the new experiences, with learning new things, and you could not imagine settling for a life or a career that does not bring you the happiness you feel now. You won't have it all figured out yet, but you'll know what your life could be like. 
And you will realize that it's ok that you're life isn't following the plan you laid out when you were 18, because it's going to be better than that plan, way better. 
And you might not know exactly how, but things will work out in the end. 
Society is going to tell you that you need a 401K and should find a spouse before 30. People are going to say that  you that you need to start thinking about benefits and a retirement plan. Your family may wonder when you are going to settle down and start a family of your own. Your levels of "responsibility" may be questioned. 
But don't worry. 
Your success in life does not depend on those things. 
When has it ever been a good idea to measure anything by society's standards?
Live by your own standards. 
Follow your heart.
Don't settle for anything less than the best for your life.
And if it takes a while for you to find where you are truly meant to be, don't worry. Keep growing, keep learning, keep loving. Those are the measures of true success. 

Alright folks, I'm rewinding a bit here with an old post that I never put up. Back in April I started taking a salsa class. I loved it, and I learned a lot, but my attendance only lasted a month. The schedule for the class didn't mesh very well with my own, the class ended close to 10 at night, and the studio was located half way across town. Anyways, for various reasons, I dropped out of the class but hoped that I could pick it back up later in the year, and in turn,  finish writing this post. 
Welp, life happened and I never made it back to salsa class....but...I decided I'd go ahead and finish the post anyways. If nothing else, you get a nice little salsa recipe out of it, and you get to chuckle at my attempts at some fancy footwork. 
Que disfruten!

Salsa for a crowd
Ingredients:
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed.
1 can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed (alternatively, you could use fresh sweet corn roasted on the grill, which would probably be fantastic)
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic (more or less to taste)
1 large avocado
7-8 roma tomatoes
1-2 limes
1 bunch cilantro
pinch of salt

1. Dice up your tomatoes and onions and toss them in a large bowl with your rinsed and drained corn and beans. 
2. Finely chop the garlic and toss it in. 

3. Grab a big bunch of cilantro, give it a rough chop, and toss it in the bowl.
4. Dice up your avocado. 

5. Squeeze the lime all over the mixture and stir it together gently. At this point you can add a pinch of salt, but generally there is enough salt in the canned beans that I don't add it when I'm eating this myself. If you do add the salt,  make sure you serve the salsa that day, as salt will draw out the liquid in the tomatoes as it sits in the fridge, making your salsa a bit watery. It still tastes good, but doesn't make for the nicest presentation.
P.S. I also really like to add chopped mango to this salsa when its in season. That salty sweet combo just can't be beat!

Voila!! Perfecto!

And now for a different kind of salsa. 

Ok so I'm dancing with Jake here.  He and Fabian (dancing in the video below with our female salsa istructor) introduced me to the class, which is called La Escuela de Salsa Golden Boy (yes, our male salsa instructor calls himself Golden Boy....I don't think I actually ever learned his first name, haha). In any case, they are much better than I am. I am just trying to keep up!!

So remember last post when I said "dinner was quite the experience?" Well let me tell you all about it.
I was wondering around the beach front in the evening, looking for a cheap dinner and a nice view to people watch and see the sea. I perused through several menus and finally settled on La Perlita, which seemed to be a pretty happening little outdoor restaurant owned by a Spainiard (Spain will always have my heart when it comes to my stomach). In any case, I found myself a cozy little table and took a seat. Not too long afterwards, a gentleman from the next table called over to me, "Are you American?"
"Yep," I smiled back, partly at the question, partly at his Southern drawl.  I hadn´t heard one of those in a long time.
"See," he said proudly to his companions, three fair-haired chaps and brunette girl who all chuckled good-naturedly at their friend´s obvious delight. "We were debating, but I bet that you were American. Would you like to come join us?"
I paused for a mili-sec....don´t get into cars with strangers!...but the pre-school advice drilled into my brain didn´t seem seem to apply. 
"Sure, I´d love to."

Best decision ever.

We chatted and dined, and come to find out, what I had originally assumed to be a family on vacation was actually the crew for a private yacht that had sailed down from Florida. Get out of town!  The crew themselves came from all over the southern U.S. (meaning they all had beautiful southern accents) They were hired full time by the owners of Caterpillar (the machine company), and when they weren´t sailing around the world, which they spent 3-5 months out of the year doing, they maintained the fleet, yes fleet, of boats that the CAT owners docked in Florida. In fact, currently, they didn´t just sail down with a yacht, they had also brought down a large sport fishing boat and a smaller "fountain" boat. All of these crewed by just 5 people. Currently, all of their boats were docked at Casa de Campo, the ritzy country club/resort in la Romana, but they had driven over to Bayahibe for dinner tonight to get some local flavor. Needless to say, I thought this was the coolest thing ever. 
At the end of the night they kindly payed for my dinner and asked if I would like to go sailing with them in the next couple days. In my mind, my jaw was doing the cartoon equivalent of dropping to the floor while fireworks exploded in the background and my feet began to dance an Irish jig. In real life I thanked them all and replied that I would love to. I walked home with a smile as wide as the Florida panhandle on my face and a number to call in my pocket. 

The next day I called and it was decided they would come pick me up the following morning on their "little" boat and we would sail out to Catalina island.  So the following morning I donned my finest swimsuit (haha) and flip flops and strolled around the beach front lazily in the morning while waiting for my ship to arrive and carry me away.

The crew arrived shortly to sweep me off into the wild blue yonder....but not before treating me to a seafood and pizza lunch. Southern gentlemen really know how to treat a girl right. Fueled up, we were ready to hoist in the anchor and set sail. 

John, the yacht captain, had some electrical wiring to do back on the yacht, so Jason (driving the boat currently) piloted us back to Casa de Campo to drop him off and then when we were on our way. 

We cruised up to the shore of Catalina island, but as the water was shallow, we couldn´t pull up to the beach. Instead, Jason dropped anchor and pulled out the fancy snorkel gear. Then we threw ourselves overboard to swim to the island. (I had to depart with the camera at this point.)
Except I totally Tom Hanksed it, like in Castaway, and crashed into some coral. 
Checkout minute 55-56 of the link below....it happened just like that:
http://megashare.info/watch-cast-away-online-TWpFNU5BPT0

For real. Not even kidding. That´s what happened. 
Ok, maybe I´m being a bit over dramatic. The real story is that we ended up snorkeling up to a rocky/coral-y part of the beach.  I was trying to take my flipper off when a nice little wave washed me backwards against the coral where I managed to scrape up my lower back and elbows and tear a nice little gash in my finger. To make matters worse, it was extremely difficult to stand up since the waves kept knocking me back over and I was flopping around like a beached whale with my flippers on. 
How embarrassing.
Luckily Jason was there to rescue me.
Unluckily, I was bleeding profusely. Jason quickly offered to swim back to the ship for the medical equipment.
Not too far down the beach was a crowd of people, tourists, partying under a large tiki hut. It looked like a gathering of multiple tour groups, so while Jason snorkeling back, I decided to make my way over there to see if I could get a band-aid, since I was getting tired of holding pressure on my finger.
Although my injuries were very minor, by the time I made it to the tiki hut, blood was streaming down my arms and legs from the scrapes on my elbows and back and my finger was leaking blood everywhere. Judging by the worried faces of the staff when I arrived, I probably looked like a multiple stab wound victim or possibly like I´d just had a battle with a shark, since they hurriedly shuffled me to the back of the hut away from the partying tourists. 
Then they kindly poured stinging alcohol into my wounds (ouch)and bandaged me up good as new. 
I arrived back to the beach just as Jason was making his way to shore. 
We walked the length of the beach and back, just to check out the surroundings; layed in the sun for a smidge; and then, feeling parched, snorkeled back to the boat.  It really was a lovely little island...just not so good for swimming. 

Anchor´s away!

Farewell Catalina! 

P.S. here are some pics of the offending coral cuts o my back and finger....snapped later in the day. 

After sailing through some mildly rough seas, we were soon docking next to the rest of the Bluewater Cat ships. 

We hopped off and I got the full tour, from bow to stern, through the multiple bedrooms, the galley (kitchen), salon (living room), and even the engine room of both the multimillion dollar yacht and equally impressive sport fishing boat. 

They also let me sit in the Captain´s Seat.....

And drive the boat!!

Honestly, I don´t know what they were thinking. 
Next up, I was getting a golf court tour of Casa de Campo and Los Altos de Chavon.
Los Altos de Chavon is a small village built in the 1970s in the style of an ancient Roman town. Sitting on a cliff overlooking the Chavon river, this picturesque little site is now home to ritzy art vendors and a smattering of high class restaurants. 

The village even boasts an old Roman ampitheatre that to this day hosts famous artists from around this word for live concerts. 

See that building hanging off the cliff there in the picture below. That's where the crew decided to take me to eat later in the evening. Truly, they spoiled me rotten. 

We headed back to the ships to wash up (for me this included brushing my hair and throwing on a swipe of chapstick) and then it was back to one of the fanciest  restaurants I've ever been in, "The Club",  for dinner. 

Look at those handsome faces. True southern gentleman every one of them.

For a sea-faring crew from Florida and LA (lower Alabama!), I quickly discovered that they were all land lovers when it came to food.  Steaks all around. 

The night ended with a mooonlight boat ride back to Bayahibe, and although I insisted I could take a taxi back no problem, they woudn't hear of it: "I don't know how they do things over here, but in the South, we make sure our ladies get home safely."  I was even escorted to my hotel door. 

I crawled  into bed and almost had to pinch myself to make sure the whole day hadn't been a dream. Turns out, everything you've ever heard about Southern hospitality is true and chivalrous gentleman still do exist. Thank you so much to the Bluewater Cat crew for an incredible day. 

I arrived in Bayahibe late Sunday afternoon. The guagua dumped me in the middle of town and  I wondered around the winding streets (only mildly lost), until I found my hotel. 

Bayahibe really is quite small and it didn't take me long.
The hotel, much to my happiness,  is more like a set of apartments than it is a hotel (hence the name Aparta-Hotel Villa Baya), each room coming complete with a kitchenette, free wifi, cable tv, nice stone floors, and the cremé de la cremé? a beautiful balcony. By far the best hotel of my trip, and the most economical to boot at $30 USD a night. 

I ditched the suitcase and headed off to scout out the town and the beach as I like to get my bearings on a place right off the bat. 

After sufficient perusal (you can traipse through the whole town in less than 20 minutes) I stopped for a nice little treat of fresh lambí....

....and grabbed a Presidente to take back to my balcony. Might as well put it to good use after all!

Alarmed by the grumbling of my tummy later in the evening, I made my way back towards the beach in search of some dinner. 
There´s just something beautiful about anchored boats sleeping at night time. 
Dinner actually turned out to be quite the experience...but I´m not going to tell you what happened. Not yet anyways. I´ll save that surprise for next post.  

In the meantime, I´ll allay you with my adventures the following day. As always, I rolled out of bed with the sunshine and headed to the beach. Bayahibe is actually more of a bay than a beach, used primarily for anchoring fishing boats and launching katamarans full of tourists to the nearby islands of Saona and Catalina.

Turns out, mornings are all hustle and bustle on this beach, so my original plan of a nice long rung in the sand was thwarted. I don´t much like running when there are lots of people about. 

I just whipped out my book instead (never leave home without one!), and caught some rays as I enjoyed the goings on around me. 
I spent most of the day just taking it easy, but by mid afternoon I was jonesing for a new adventure. A quick google search of things to do in the area and I was off on the first motoconcho I could find for la cueva Padre Nuestro. 

A little background info here: La cueva Padre Nuestro is located in El Parque Nacional del Este. Before going there you have to get a wristband and entrance pass (200 pesos) from the park tourist center (a little building located where all the big tourist buses park near the beach). Then grab a motoconcho to take you to the park for 100 pesos. You could have him drop you off at the park entrance if you want (its about a half mile hike from the park entrance to the cave), or you can have him drop you off right at the cave entrance. 

The entrance of the cave is actually a bit intimidating, staring up at you lie a giant black mouth waiting to swallow you up. But it´s also a bit daring, promising adventures and hidden treasures. Maybe buried pirate gold or the Lost Ark of the Covenant, just  like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.

After carefully picking your way down steep stone steps into the dark pit.,  you will  hear strange squeaking sounds and catch glimpses of movement flapping rapidly in a blur past your eyes. Throw your arms up wildly and shield your head! You´re about to be attacked by a swarm (flock? pack?) of murderous vampire bats!
Wait. False alarm. 
It´s actually just swallows. You know, the bird. Turns out they like caves about as much as bats do and make their nests in the rocky crevices in the cave roof. 
Anyways, by now your eye sight should be adjusting, and what was once a dim black hole is slowly evolving into something beautiful. You probably aren´t going to find any pirate booty here, but what you will find is something just as precious: deep blue waters smooth as glass, reflecting the cave back up at you like a mirror. 

As the fuzzy black edges around the corners of your vision further clear away,  you´ll realize that this little underground pond is actually much bigger than you first imagined...extending far back into deep, shadowy corners and eerie bends. 

Once you´ve absorbed the silence for long enough , it´s time to head back to the light. 

I opted to walk back through the National Park and take in the naturaleza.

I made it out to the high way and bummed a bola (ride) off a kid on a moto heading back for Bayahibe. (only about a mile or so away)

In the evening I headed off to one of the beachfront bars to enjoy a drink and some free wifi. 

I didn´t realize I was going to get a light show as well....

Honestly. Just breathtaking. 

But I was one tired puppy and headed to bed shortly after the sun did. 

After a scrumptious fresh caught fish lunch, I packed up my meager belongings and headed to the bus stop to catch a guagua to Samana. One leaves every 15 minutes and I happened to catch one just as it was pulling out of the "station."  I was the only passenger on the bus. 
This did't completely shock me, since I knew the chofe (chauffer/driver) would stop and pick up more passengers along the route. 
What did shock me though, was that he stopped to buy shoes.
Not even joking. 
A Haitian vendor was situated on the outskirts of town, and since I was still the only passenger, he thought it was cool to do a little shopping on the job. 
"Mometito," he called to me in the back, and then went to peruse the selection and haggle over prices.
5 minutes later we were on the road again.
My first inclination was to be perturbed by this personal errand, (after all I'd prefer to spend as little time in transport between destinations as possible) but then I decided I'd rather be amused. 
My amusement was not to stop there though. 
On our next stop out of town we picked up a gentleman outside of a colmado drinking a litro of beer. He brought the litro and 2 styrofoam cups along with him and hopped into the front seat, promptly pouring himself a cup and then pouring one for the driver. 
Amidst our other stops on the way to Samaná, the driver pulled over twice more and all the passengers had to wait while he picked up more litros of beer for himself and the front seat passengers to share. 
Just wish he would have passed some along to the back :)
Only in the Dominican Republic, haha. 

In Samaná I caught a bus to Las Terrenas, and another hour and fifteen minute bus trip later,  I was smiling next to Sydney and David and Sydney´s mom at our hostal, Casas del Mar y Neptunia. I have stayed there once before, but it bears repeating that the hostal is made up of some pretty darn cute little bungalows. 

Fast forward a little bit and we were all four walking to dinner at La Yuca Caliente...a classy little restaurante brushing up against the sea. 

We cheersed to the good fortune of being together in such a beautiful place, and then we got down to the business of eating. 

I mopped up every last bite of my clams marinera and sipped cool wine as the sunset. 
There is nothing better on a sultry seaside Dominican evening than good company, good food, and a beautiful view.

(My overall thoughts on La Yuca Caliente...nice atmosphere and very reasonably priced, especially compared to the other seafront restaurants. Just be sure to bring your own water since they charge 90 pesos for a bottle that you can find at a  colmado for 15)

The next morning, after a nice beach jog, Sydney and I headed back to enjoy our hostal´s free breakfast. Having nothing to do but enjoy the beautiful weather, I decided to just sip on my coffee and lounge with my computer most of the morning to get caught up on some blogging. Maybe you´ve noticed the increased number of posts lately?
In any case, it was glorious. The breakfast. The coffee. The weather. The relaxing. Everything. A perfectly beautiful way to spend a Saturday morning. 
But you know me, I can´t sit still for too long. And soon I was throwing on a swimsuit and headed to the beach. 

After some light reading, I took a little stroll, and who should I run into but Rolexis and their cousin Boli!
Boli and Rolando were having a ball with a stray beach pup. 
Im not sure who was having more fun, the pup or the boys. 

Alexis and I, having already soaked up a little too much sun, opted for the slightly cooler option of hanging out under the palms with piña coladas. 

We also had the pleasure of a serenade from a traveling musician. 
Note that weird ball strapped to his foot.....its actually a maraca! Perfect for tapping time while strumming out old Spanish love ballads. 

We sipped and sang until sunset, and then I meandered home to wash up and find something with a little more sustenance than pineapples and rum. 

After strolling up and down the beachfront, I finally settled on a little pizza joint with an open kitchen where you could see the pizzas being rolled and thrown into the fire. 

Although sorely tempted, I opted for a salad to stay on the healthy side.

To round out the evening, Alexis ditched her tuckered out man at the hotel and we headed out for gelato and a little girl time. What´s the fun in being too healthy after all?

The next morning, Sydney and I were up with the sunshine for a brisk stroll through town and lots of yoga. 
God bless that girl for always wanting to work out bright and early with me. 

We got to see the sleepy town come to life on our stroll as shop keepers began brushing off the sidewalks and the smell of fresh-baked French bread wafted through the air. . 

A good stretch is just what I needed before the next leg of my journey: a long bus trip to Bayahibe on the next guagua out of town. 

I rolled out of bed with the sunshine and made a hop-skip-and-a-jump to the beach. The early morning sun was already warming up the sand between my toes and causing the tops of the rippling waves to glitter like diamonds. 
But I was on a mission. I was determined to make my way to Playa Frontón. 

The beach in Las Galeras is fine. The water is nice and shallow and great for a dip, but the shoreline is a bit rocky and the sandy parts are mostly covered in washed up seaweed. The real attraction of Las Galeras are the surrounding beaches: Playa Rincon, Playa Fronton, Playa Madam, Playa de Amantes, among others. Many of these surrounding beaches, like Playa Fronton, are virtually virgin. Unlike the other beaches throughout the D.R., you won´t find any beach-side restaurants, lounge chairs, piña coladas, or vendors disturbing your peace to sell you sea shell bracelets and massages. Nope, these beaches are relatively untouched. In the case of Playa Fronton, you can´t even get there by car, you must rent a lancha (small boat) or hike your way through the jungla (jungle). 
After chatting with some of the locals at the boat launch (there is always a gang of 8-10 guys hanging out at the beachfront waiting to take you wherever your heart desires), I was told that the next boat for Frontón would be leaving soon and it would cost me 800 pesos (20 dollars). 
Do NOT pay that much.
I bargained down to 600 pesos, although a sharper bargainer than I (and maybe one that doesn´t look quite so American) could probably get the price even lower. 
While waiting for the other passengers to arrive, I struck up a conversation with one of the boat guides to find out what was what at Playa Fronton. I asked him if I should be bringing along any food and water since I hadn´t packed any and hadn´t had breakfast. 
The next thing I knew he was leading me through town and back behind a row of shacks to an abandoned lot with a mata de mangos. We scoured the ground for the good fruit and then climbed up on top of the roof of the decrepit cement building to pick even more. By the time we were finished I had a bag full of mangos to make it through the day and plenty to share.  

I rinsed two of the mangos in the sea and ate them right there, the juice sopping all down my chin and fingers. There´s just no way to eat a fresh mango without getting a little messy, but that´s the beauty of it.  
Soon enough I was hopping into a boat and headed off for a jostling little ride on turquoise waves. 

And this is where I ended up. 

What I loved most about this beach is how the mountains meet the shoreline. Simply stunning. 
If you wander around behind the palm trees a little bit, you´ll find some stony ruins built alongside the cliffs. 

I was particularly lucky on this day because I found even more than that! I found a cliff-climbing couple from Spain scaling a vertical wall of rock with ropes and hooks. They were professional mountain climbers and took their gear with them wherever they went on vacation. 
And they let me strap up and give it a go!!
Regretfully, I don´t have any pictures to document this little escapade....so since there´s no photographic evidence, you´ll have to trust me when I say I climbed to a frightening height. Once I couldn´t feel my arms any more from clinging to the cliffside like a terrified spider, I decided it was time to let go. I unpried my fingers from their death grip and rappelled down the mountain to safety, wondering the whole time what I had been so scared about. 

After thanking my new friends for the adventure, I made my way back to the beach to cool off in the crystal water (mountain climbing is hard work!) and soak up the sun. 

One can only do so much soaking though, and soon I was ready for another adventure. One of the boat guides, Daniel, mentioned he was going to hike back to Las Galeras on foot. Seeing a chance for a little exercise and a nice trek through the jungla, I opted to join him. 

I´m glad I did! It was a sweaty up and down climb, and Daniel wasn´t one to wait up for slackers, but it was fun trying to keep up. He really was an excellent guide though, and every time we passed a mango tree, which was a lot, he stopped to tell me the variety and point out the differences between one type of mango and another. And I tried them all! Big ones, little ones, round golf ball sized ones, flat football shaped ones, greenish blue, greenish pink, yellow, and sunset colored. The forest floor was littered with them. Each and every one delicious. 

Is there anything more beautiful than a mata de mangos?
I ate nothing but mangos the entire day and have never been so happy in my life. 

After about an hour the path diverged into two, and we had the option of heading up to the top of one of the tallest mountains in the area, or down to Las Galeras. 
Of course I chose to go up. 

The view was worth every step. 

I made it back to Las Galeras, tired to the bone and happy to the soul, just in time to see the sun sink beneath the sea. 
Soon, I myself was also doing some sinking...into the soft sheets of my bed, where visions of mango juice danced in my head. 

The next morning I sprung out of bed like a grasshopper at 6:30 a.m. I had spent part of my long trek home the day before arranging the details for my next quest.....

Harpoon fishing!!!

After rounding up the gear and ironing out some details (like going to the house of our sleeping harpooner to wake him up), I found myself  in a pair of flippers walking backwards into the sea through the shallow coral and trying not to step on any sea urchins. 
Jónaton (pronounced Joan-ah-tone), my guide, and I spent nearly 3 hours snorkeling and navigating our way through the coral reefs hidden below the glassy surface of el mar. 
Jonaton probably took me farther than a half mile from the shore line and we covered at least several miles of water in our journey. Surprisingly enough, I never got tired as the sea water was salty enough to keep me bouyant on the surface without too much effort. 
I wish I could put into words how absolutely amazing this experience was. I felt like the Little Mermaid. Except I was a little mermaid on a mission: to find and kill Nemo. Ok, that sounds pretty gruesome, but in all fairness, harpoon fishing is a pretty fair sport. The fishies have as much chance to escape capture as the harpooner has to catch them...knowing where they are and anticipating their movements is a practiced skill. Which is why I didn´t actually do any harpooning myself; I wanted to avoid any possible scenario in which I had to explain to my parents that I had accidentally harpooned my own leg. Maybe the next trip. For now, I left the tough stuff to Jonaton, who was an expert. Shy and sweet on land, he turned into a barracuda under the water. I trailed behind him, taking in the scenery and keeping a lookout for sharks (I don´t actually think there are any sharks in that water...but when you are in the middle of the ocean you can´t help thinking about it). The scenery, by the way, was breathtaking and I learned a few new vocab words along the way too. For example, the two giant sting rays sailing beneath me like kites I came to find out are called Manta Rayas...or in slang Cholos. The striped eel was appropriately nicknamed a pez machete. I also saw an inky black octopus, a blue crab the size of my hand feeding himself with his crabby claws, a vibrant orange star fish bigger than my head, tons of tiny jellyfish which lit up like they had live wires for veins and which I vigorously tried to avoid, and fish in every color imaginable, including the bright red pez cotorra (parrot fish) that Jonaton was stalking through the deep. 
In the end we ended up with 5 nice little red fish, a giant conch shell, and a lobster. Not a bad little catch. 

"Pero tu ´sta peligroso!"
"Wow, you´re dangerous!" That´s what the onlookers said to Jonaton as as we walked back along the beach to the boat launch with our prizes. Sweet, shy Jonaton just smiled, and I couldn´t stop smiling either.  

Look closely, you can still the scuba mask outline on my forehead. I know this because a little Dominican boy made fun of me for it when I was coming out of the water. 

One of Jonaton´s friends at the boat launch cleaned the conch shell for me as a souvenir and removed the critter (lambí in Spanish) still inside so we could cook him up with the rest of the catch.

We gave the catch to the señoras at Restaurante Modesta, an authentic little thatch-roofed Dominican joint right on the beach, and run by a smiling, wrinkly Señora Modesta herself. They had everything cooked up in a matter of minutes and served it with tostones, arroz, and ensalada. Since Jonaton and I clearly did not need 5 fish to ourselves, we shared with the rest of the boys on the beach and made sure nothing went to waste. 

This was my first time trying real lobster! And nothing tastes better than the lobster you caught yourself. 
Ok, I didn´t actually "catch" it myself, don´t get so technical on me, mister. But I did make sure no sharks ate Jonaton while he was harpooning and that was an important job. Definitely worthy of a lobster

I would love to tell you exaclty how to go about finding your own harpooning expedition at Las Galeras, but all you really have to do is ask around. Find Jonaton if you can. The whole 3 hour excursion, including full rights to whatever we caught, only cost me 700 pesos. (plus I gave 200 to the ladies at El Restaurante Modesta for cooking the catch). If you went out to any restaurant and ordered lobster, it would probably cost you about that much, and you wouldn´t get the 3 hours of fun and the extra 5 fish and conch shell souvenir to boot). 
Best experience ever!

The Dominican transportation system can only be described as a blessing and a curse. On the blessing side, you can generally get to wherever you need to go for rather cheap. On the curse side, you will travel at snail pace. Case in point: I left at 9:30 in the morning from the Transporte Pepe bus stop in Santiago. I switched buses at Samana, and made it to my destination, the sleepy fishing village of Las Galeras, at 2:20 p.m. That's 4 hours and 50 minutes my friends. On the other hand, my traveling companions for this first leg of the trip, Rolexis (Alexis and Rolando! Rolexis is their celebrity status name. I just made it up. They don't know I'm calling them that yet.), left by car a little after 11 a.m. and ended up in Las Galeras just minutes before I did. 
Hrrrmmph
Moral of the story. Rent a car.
However, if that's not a viable option (you don't have enough money, you don't want the hassle of actually renting a car, you're just plain scared to drive in the crazy free-for-all that is the D.R.), a guagua is really your only choice.
So with that in mind, I've put together a few survival tips for you in case you find yourself dealing with the Dominican transportation system.
1. Don't expect to find bus times posted online. Or even bus services. Virtually the only way to find a bus stop is to ask a local, then you need to head to the station yourself to find out when the buses leave and where they go. 
2. Find a seat next to a window or door in the front, some place with air flow. Do NOT sit in the back. It looks like a nice spacious back seat, but it's a trap! The bus will definitely pick up more luggage and passengers than its capacity and the back is where most people will be squished. 
3. You will leave each city at a snail's pace. This is because the driver will pick up (or try to) more riders along the way. He must drive slowly so that anybody mildly considering jumping on the bus has the opportunity to do so. This will drive you crazy. Grin and bear it. 
4. If you are sitting next to a window or door for an extended period of time, make sure to cover yourself properly. You will get sunburned.
5. You are going to be mildly uncomfortable, accept that fact and focus on something more positive. The scenery is beautiful. The people are friendly. If you are willing and open, you can always have an interesting conversation. (my most entertaining conversations have taken place on buses) If not, there's always bachata or merengue on the radio to listen to. Or you can work on developing your ability to sleep in any position. This will serve you well for future trips. 
6. When you arrive in your destination town, you will begin dropping people off one by one randomly along the route. You can simply signal the driver wherever you want to be let off, and he will do so. Once again you will move at a snail's pace and once again, this will drive you crazy. Take a deep breath and smile though, you're almost there. 

And if you are lucky, you're final destination will look something like this...

A little slice of heaven. 
The last bus stop at Las Galeras almost literally drops you off in the sand on the beach. Which was quite lucky for me because that is exactly where Rolexis had decided to park their car minutes before my arrival. I flagged them down and we went to look for accomodations for the night. 
Since our first choice, El Cabito, was closed for the month of July (bummer!), we ended up staying at La Plantacion, which was where I stayed on my last visit. The major draw for this place being its close proximity to the beach and its beautiful pool, which I dove into first thing. 
Rolando and Alexis opted for a picture instead of a swim. 

Adorable

Soon it was time to eat, and we stumbled upon a stylish little restaurant/bar just steps from our hotel. 

The place had pizazz, with a carved wooden monkey guarding the entrance, a funky little parrot-filled lounge, and a bamboo trimmed bar. 

Free focaccia and veggies with dip tied us over until the main event. 

Alexis and I split a big garden salad. 

She ordered a pizza for one, which probably could have fed two...although that was perfect for the mama-to-be. 

Rolando and I both went for grilled fish.
I was trying to be healthy, but I'm pretty sure my orange sauce and mashed potatoes were high in butter content. Oh well, I tried, lol. 
Tummies full we headed back to the hotel to rest up. We each had big plans for the morning!

The big hill. Not to be confused with "la lomita," the little hill, or "la loma," the normal-sized hill. No sir, this was "La Lomota." And it had to be conquered. As with all of our adventures, we started off not really sure what we were getting ourselves into. All we knew was that there was a big hill and that we were going to climb it. We took a 20 minute bus ride outside of town to get to the starting point.
Except when we got there and started taking the road upward, we weren't really sure if we were at the starting point or merely on the road that would lead us to the start of the starting point.
All would be revealed in due time. 

For now, all we knew was that we were climbing uphill, and it was steep. But it was also beautiful, with lots to keep our minds and eyes busy along the way. 

Above, I'm standing with a coffee plant, ad below are cocoa beans laid out to dry in the sun.  We also came across plenty of matas (trees) de mangos, avocado, and chinola. 
It's hard not to wander what it would be like to live up in this relatively isolated rocky jungle. Tranquilo o aburrido? One thing's for sure, it would be una vida aparte. 

We hiked uphill for a good 5 miles before finally coming across an area that leveled out with a nice little colmado nearby. We bought water and gatorade and recuperated our strength while deciding what to do next. Turns out, we had made it to the top of a hill, but not the right one. The actual lomota remained further down the path.  We'd come in from the wrong direction.  

Too tired to trek further, we decided to rent some motoconchos for the rest of the journey, which took us on a windy, uphill-downhill road past La Lomota and on into the town of Navarrete. 
Regardless of whether or not we ended up in the right place, we still ended up with a lovely hike and nice workout. Once again proving that its not the destination, its the journey. 

It was Friday night and I made my way to Vinoabeber. As per my usual Friday night tradition, I was meeting up with Alexis and Sydney for dinner and drinks. This time, I got to choose the venue, and I selected my favorite watering hole since I´ve never really had the chance to try out the food menu.
I was looking forward to sharing some tasty tapas and a nice drink selection, but what I got was even better. 
I crossed through the restaurant and turned out onto the back patio, only to find all my dearest friends waiting for me with a big "Surprise!", complete with a flaming sparkler, balloons, a whole cake with my name on it, and huge smiles on their faces. 
In the whole wide world, I could not think of anything better. 

The balloons kept trying to escape! They did't want to hold still for a photo with me. 

After my heart finally stopped fluttering and I had hugged every one of my friends, we got down to the business of eating. We ordered rounds of beer and naughty little tapas...patatas bravas, arepas venezolanos, spicy sausages, fried calamari, and to assuage our consciences a little...some tomato-basil-mozarella pinchos...just to have something mildly healthy. 

Josh, the foot model here, coudn't resist sneaking his new suede shoes into the pic. Pretty snazzy! Whadya think?

Mira esas caras bonitas! I think they really enjoyed the tapas. 

Next up, a round of photos with all my favorite people.

I have such photogenic friends. Beautiful every one. 

Finally it was time to cut into the cake. 

We clinked our spoons for a final cheers and then dug in, with gusto!

This picture just makes me laugh. Look at their faces-- the exact same expression! haha

 They say that everyone comes into your life for a reason, some as a blessing, some as a lesson. But for me, my friends have been both. They have been my wisdom when I needed it, my shoulder to lean on, my wild adventures, and my fellow wandering spirits. I will carry a piece of each of them always in my heart. They make it really hard to say goodbye!

I’m not a sentimental person.  Feelings? Bleh, those are things I don’t generally talk about unless absolutely forced to. So without getting too mushy gushy on you all, I have to say this: I have loved, with my whole heart, every single breath of every single moment of every single day I have lived in this tropical wonderland. Even when I have hated it I have loved it.  And it breaks my heart to leave. Living here has made me come alive.  Alive in the fact that I have loved waking up each morning. Alive in that each day is a new adventure. Alive in that every single moment is an opportunity to learn.  Alive in that the mere act of walking to school always leaves me thinking, "Wow, this place is beautiful." I know that sounds sappy and I'm almost embarrassed to write it here, but it's true. Sometimes I look out across the city or past the mountains, and I wander, who could have even dreamed up a place so beautiful?  

Part of me wishes I could stay living this semi-gypsy lifestyle forever. Part of me knows I still have more world to discover, more truths to learn, more roads not taken to travel.  If there is one thing in life that is certain, it is change. So now it's on to the next big adventure.

I've got two weeks left on the island. Time to make the most of it!