February 15, 2025 - Arriving in the DR


We’re a bit slow sharing our trip with you, so we will do a quick start with Friday and bring you up-to-date with Saturday.


Friday, the bus left on time! We all found food at the airport!  The plane left on time!  And we all had seats! The plane was overbooked, but none of us offered to give up our seats.


Some of us slept on the plane, some of us watched movies. But the time went quickly and we arrived on time in Santo Domingo around 5 AM.  Getting through their customs was easy but interesting. They were curious about our big bags that held T-shirts wrapped around toothpaste and toothbrushes. So they pulled those over; were we bringing something in to sell? But as soon as we explained, everything was fine.


We were met curbside by our wonderful hosts who were there to greet us with smiles and hugs.






We piled our suitcases - all 26 of them! - Into the back of the shuttle bus and drove through the dark to our hostal Sana-  El Jardin Secreto (The Secret Garden), where we quickly found our bunk rooms and happily got into bed.




So wonderful to wake up in the morning and go outside to sun and blue sky, coffee, and a beautiful garden!  We spent time exploring and waking up, before we were served a delicious brunch with chicken, rice, beans, queso (cheese), fresh bread, and some tamarind juice!


Time to pack up and head for Cotui. Our interpreter Luis explained what we were seeing as we made our way on the highway. The area around Cotui is known for growing rice, and we passed miles of rice fields.







We arrived at our Cotui hotel in the late afternoon and were very happy to find our rooms with comfy beds and hot showers.




Written by Susan Mullens


Comments

  1. shelties11February 19, 2025 at 4:20 PM

    It's so fun and exciting to be able to follow your trip! The pictures are beautiful! I feel like I'm beginning this adventure with you.

    ReplyDelete

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