We had a really nice tuesday in the Dominican Republic. We got up early to get to the dive shop but once we got there we realized it cost more than we had thought and I ran by an atm to get the extra. The dives were great as we went to Catalina Island to a place called the wall and the aquarium. We got 4 lionfish on the dives and 2 of then were big enough to eat. The lionfish was pretty tasty as it wasn’t fishy and was very light. I would love to get some more lionfish fillet. We played some volleyball and had lunch on the island as the dive master Igor told us how he ended up being in the Dominican Republic. He wad s really relaxed guy as was the whole staff. During the dives we saw some rays some eels lots of corals and sponges and fish of all kinds. When boating back to shore we had a fun ride with a few flying fish jumping out of our way. When we got back to shore the others were just driving up and we went to a restaurant for a apetizer that carlos liked which was starch stuffed with meat and fried. We went back to the house and relaxed had dinner and played Settlers.
We were hoping to go to the caves today but they are closed on Mondays. We also couldn’t go to the private beach because there was construction. It seems that Monday is a great day to be closed in the Dominican Republic. We went back to the gated houses and hung out at the pool. We got drinks at the swim up bar even though the actual swim up bar area wasn’t functional the wait staff brought it out to us at the swim up bar.
We played 500 which was fun. The pina coladas were delicious. We stopped by a truck stop for lunch and got some of the local food. It gave all of us a sleepy attitude and we went back to the house and got a couple hours of sleep. When we woke up we brought out the chips and played a game of Settlers. Since scuba was the next morning we decided to call it early.
we left early for the city. At the city we had a great breakfast at a little diner. I got a delicious orange juice and eggs. With breakfast I had mashed plantains which were goos and tasted like mashed potatoes with a little more sweet. The mashed plantain was called Mangu. I didn’t think plantains could be that savory. we then headed to the mall to go to a bank. Steph took out a good bit of money for the both of us. After that we went to a butchers shop to pick up some tasty meat. We then stopped by carlos house and met with his parents and 3 dogs. Amber was so much bigger than I remember. his parents gave us each a mango from their tree which were very sweet and messy. If mangos were always that good I’d get them more often. We stopped by the grocery store and picked up a ton of food and drink. Then we stopped by a place that served ham pulled pork and cheese sandwiches.
We went back to the house and hung out in the pool for a bit. Steph was really tired and couldn’t get to sleep so we switched rooms with Brian and Brittany. We had an underwater swimming competition and I almost got to four lengths of the pool. We then played a card game called Oh Hell.
Carlos started making burgers and brittany made some baked potatoes. After dinner everyone was ready to crash so we went to sleep decently early. I slept mostly well but tonight I’m going to have a glass of water ready amd ill leave the ac on all night.
We slept in today and got going close to 10. We went to the Cave of Wonders this morning and it was certainly wonderous. No pictures were allowed in the cave to preserve the cave paintings, but I took a picture of the front of the pamphlet.
The cave itself was huge and we only saw about a third of it. The cave was at least 40 feet high and the caverns were 100 feet across or so. There were a group of tree roots coming in from outside. the roots combined with the cave formations to make fantastic patterns.
After exiting the caves through an elevator we hung out with some iguanas. They got to be rather large and we were able to get into the pen with them. Only steph Brittany and myself got into the pen.
We went into the city and got lunch at a great cafeteria style restaurant. We let steph do her women in engineering thing and went to old town afterwards. In old town we went to the cathedral, the fort, and the hiuse owned by Christopher Columbus.
When we got home and settled down we played some poker. I was the first out and I was kind of glad about that.
We didn’t do much this morning. Around noon we went to the beach and everyone else had lunch there.
I took a good long walk and got to talk to Derick about a good many things. I really liked the walk because I’ve been feeling restless from inactivity. A quick rain storm came up and we all ran under the big roof. Carlos ordered lunch then so we waited around. Steph took a coconut from a l ocal for free and then took another for me that he later said was not free. I thought it was tricky but he didn’t get the 100 he wanted just the 65 I had. We went back to the house and played a game of settlers. I did terribly and even failed in king making to get Brittany to win.
We had a good dinner of mangu and kabobs. The kabobs were really good and brittanys mangu was also fantastic. The mangu is something that I might want to try making at some point.
After diner we had a bit of hookah and played dominican dominoes. Jack and angel won the first game but steph and I got the second.
We slept in that morning and had a good swim in the pool behind the house. After the swim Steph and I went on a walk and saw all the really nice houses in the area. For lunch we went to a really nice beachside restaurant and got to sit on a nice couch. It was a supremely relaxing lunch.
We went into the city to see the tres ojos caves. They were more like giant open holes but impressive. There was a fourth thay had completeky caved in and was still impressive as it was the largest. We got to take a small raft across one of the lakes and it was exciting to ride it into the darkness.
Stephanie got sick on the way to the cigar store so we stopped by carlos aunts house for something for stephanie. She and jack went to carlos house to wait for us. She still wasn’t feeling good after we got done with the cigar store.
We then went to the old square near the Columbus house at a place called the Wooden Leg. It was a really nice dinner and a great way to end the vacation. We were there a lot later than expected, but it was still really nice.
We got up at 4 and met Stephs Dad in the ihop parking lot. He drove us to the airport which was really nice of him. The kiosk want working. I slept the first half of the flight and Steph said the I slept through the worst of the baby screaming. I got a lot of audible in on both flights. When we got to Miami we walked around a bit and then met up with Brian and Britney at the gate. Derrick was a little late but made it rihht as we started boarding. I sat next to an anthropologist who studies the interaction between the Hatian refugees and the Dominicans. She gave me a few pointers on what we should go see.
Once we got close we realized that we didn’t have the address of the house where we were staying making it hard to fill out immigration forms and rental car forms. We got everything squared away and met up with jack stephanie and carlos. He and his mom drove us to the rental house from the airport. Steph and I opted to take the floor for the first night. Carlos’ family was still there partying and we got some really tasty oreo cheesecake.
Carlos took us down by one of the developments his company has been working on for dinner. We ate at a place called Cafe Bistro. I got the fish fillet because the waiter suggested it and I was not dissapointed in the least. Driving so far has not been as crazy as Carlos had claimed but I have only been here late at night on a weekend so far.
We had dinner at the Creamery and Brewpub in Klymath Falls, OR. All the beer there was delicious and the food was satisfactory. After a long day of caving anything would have tasted fantastic. Nick got the beer tasting and shared it around since he was driving.
After dinner we went to a Minimart where Nick’s Dad works. He seems like a man that could never retire. From the sound of it he has plenty of money just not enough to keep him busy. He seems like an incredibly active man, and I hope to be as active as that when I am his age.
We spent the night at Nick’s mom’s house and drove up to his Dad’s place the next morning. We stopped by the grocery to get some eggs and berries. When we got there Nick’s dad made us some pancakes and eggs.
As it was father’s day I called to say hi, and ended up waking them up since they were still in Hawaii. I was surprised to have woken them since it was already 6:30 where they were.
We got on the road shortly after breakfast, only stopping once around lunchtime. We took a walk around the sundial bridge, which was pretty accurate as we were only 6 days off from when it is calibrated for.
We then stopped for lunch at a place called Grilla Bites, which was really healthy food. They also had a Ruth Goldberg Machine that we had to play with. It had 2 big panels, but also went across the ceiling.
It's an Exciting World 