Day 3

Another beach day was in order.  With our tablet, Kindle and bottles of water, we were armed and ready.  After the end of six hours in shade or partial sun, I still wasn’t looking too brown.  The sunblock was an SPF of 30-maybe a bit too much!

We decided to meet with our “Hola Tours” friend to book an excursion.  “Outback Safari” seemed like a full day to “Experience the real Dominican Republic!  Taste home-grown organic coffee and chocolate, meet the people, visit a typical home and see a local school and village.  Cool down at secluded Macao beach and try boogie boarding!”  So we paid for our excursion, ready to leave at 8 am and be back by 4:45 pm .  When we got back to the room, I prepared a bag and a backpack and Walter set an alarm.  This was going to be fun!

Day 4

6:45 am –we groaned as the alarm went off!  What were we thinking?  We pulled back the curtain and it was just beginning to get light outside.  We dressed and headed down for a quick breakfast.  I tried the oatmeal-it was creamy and sweetened.  Downing a small cup of coffee, we slipped back to our room to grab our bags and hats and water bottles.  We were there and waiting for the “Outback Safari” vehicle which was an open air converted school bus.  Ruddi greeted us with his safari hat, t-shirt and khaki shorts.  The driver, Leo, helped me up the steps and we were off. No one else from our resort was going that day.  But we had a route of other hotels so away we went!

The morning was nice and warm, but the breeze as we drove was just right.  We questioned Ruddi about the area, the economy, and a little about himself. Other passengers came on and he began to put on his entertainer personae!  We drove at least an hour before we got off the main highway and began to see the “real” Dominican.  Let me tell you, our teeth and bones were rattled pretty good as we drove to the village. 

First stop:  the village school.  It was a small, yellow concrete building, behind a chain-link fence.  About a dozen of us tourists crowded into the one room school house, where about 14 students aged 5 to 11 or 12 sat at simple desks.  They were adorable brown children, dressed in light blue shirts, tan skirts or slacks, blue socks and dark shoes.  They smiled shyly.  The teacher, a man about 40ish, stood at a desk in the corner.  We said “Ola” and they greeted us!  We took a few pictures with a couple boys and I managed to ask them their names and told them ours, en espanol!  The school room was bright and cool, open spaces near the top of the concrete walls to let in light and air.  The walls were simply decorated with a few pictures the children made, some crafts and an “eye chart”. 

As we drove away, we could hear the children singing.  I can’t imagine they got much  school work done that day – they have tourists come through once a week and then the tours visit four other schools, rotating on the weekdays.  We saw several kids waiting around the bus, waving and smiling at us.  We were told not to give money or candy at all – it wasn’t a help to the kids or their village if tourists gave stuff to them and it would only produce jealousy and dependency. 

We could have brought school supplies.  If not, we could give a donation.  Or we could purchase hats, t-shirts or bags where the proceeds would go to the schools.  So we gave some American money and also bought a couple shirts.

We bounced our way back out of the village on rutted, somewhat wet narrow roads.  We saw the small, colourful houses, pigs, donkeys and some skinny Brahma cattle in fenced pastures.  A few small trucks or motorcycles were parked in yards.  Within a few minutes we were heading uphill, apparently to a place where we’d have lunch.  We reached the open air restaurant early, so we did the tour around with Ruddi showing us iguanas, goats, alligators and some of the local flora. 

Two artisans were at work under thatch-roof shelters:  one rolled authentic Dominican cigars and the other was carving soft local stone.  Behind me, a rooster was crowing and making quite a fuss!  We couldn't hear Ruddi giving his explanations; so Ruddi made a show of shooing the noisy bantam away from our group!  Then I saw behind a pile of wood a hen was clucking over three eggs.  I wondered what we would be having for lunch!

We were summoned for our lunch of Dominican rice & beans, fried chicken and BBQ chicken & pork chops.  Plus, a small buffet of salads and fruit was included.  It was nice to sit awhile and visit with others in the tour group.  We were mostly English-speaking folks; one couple and their son were Spanish-speaking.  Ruddi spoke 3 or 4 languages so could easily translate from one to another.

Fortunately, we had a visit to the gift shop, so our tummies had time to settle before we hit that bumpy trail again.  Walter haggled a deal for a carved statue of a couple that the vendor etched “25 yrs” into a heart.  Very sweet!

Only a few minutes down the hill, we reached the authentic country home and toured the house.  There were four rooms: a sitting room, two bedrooms and a kitchen.  But the kitchen had only a sink and counter and a table and chairs.  When we exited that house, we crossed over to the outdoor kitchen, which was equipped with electric fridge, water cooler, stove and in the back, two small fires burning for cooking.  It was a strange mixture of old and new.  Then I recalled the house had a tv, modern backpacks hanging by the door and a CD player. 

We were led to the back yard to see the “resident man of the house” demonstrate how coffee beans and cocoa beans are processed.  That was fun!  Of course, there was another opportunity to spend money on coffee, cocoa butter and even some rum or “MamaJuana”, some wine concoction.  We did get free samples of hot cocoa and fruit. 

Last chance for the bathroom (outdoor facilities that flushed!) before we headed to Macao Beach-we changed into our beach garb and then boarded the bus.  Down the hill we bounced, and within a half hour we were driving past a bigger centre with various businesses, shops and nicer concrete homes with satellite dishes on their roofs.  We crossed the main highway behind a string of ten dune buggies, heading towards the beach.  Another tourist option!  The beach was lovely.  Ruddie gave us some boogie boards and we learned to “ride the waves” . Well, sort of!  It was fun!  The water was refreshing and when I forgot to close my mouth, I remembered it was an ocean and got a taste of salt, as well! 

Tired, damp and very happy, we piled into the safari vehicle.  Leo drove along and Ruddie had offered the last free drinks, including rum.  Then we found out Walter & I could catch a ride with another vehicle and go directly home rather than make the multiple stops. So we hopped into an open back of a truck, yes bench seats with buckles, but nothing to stop the wind.  We arrived quickly but quite windblown at Natura Park by 5 pm. 

Needless to say, we skipped the resort entertainment, but that night there were various vendors selling jewelry, artwork and various other souvenirs.  We wandered through them after supper, but it was a bit much after a long day and we retired to the solitude of our room.  

What an amazing day!