BUT the school decided to give us an early Christmas present and give us Friday off as well! They decided this that Monday morning, so immediately all of us American teachers were on our phones trying to see what sweet deal we could scout out. The end result: Bavaro! My roommate Caitlin and I decided to stop for the night in La Romana on our way there, a pretty enough city but lacking anything to make it worth more than an overnight. The real pull was this place called Altos de Chavon-"an artistic center that was constructed in the 1970s in the style of a 16th century Mediterranean village". It's supposed to be absolutely gorgeous, but wouldn't you know for a 1hr visit they charge you $30??
One thing I can say in a show of support for the city is that they have some great restaurants there. When there's nothing else to do, you can always eat! :)
Bavaro itself was fantastic, though my experience was definitely marred by the "losing of my camera" incident... (ergo no pictures)
Beautiful beaches, just like the ones you see on the postcards, tourists crawling all over the place, the all-inclusive waaay too sugary alcoholic drinks flowing freely, blinding sunshine, and trained monkeys climbing on beach bathers wanting that cliche tourist pic (and willing to shell out for it).
The perfect place to relax and forget any troubles.
Just watch out though, because the only way to get there other than flying in is through some treacherous guagua (bus) rides. According to Caitlin, a New Jersey girl herself, they all learned to drive in the North. I stopped looking out the front window because I would start shaking as our very adept, skillful driver dodged around cars as if lanes didn't matter. And tail gating 18 wheelers? In what country is that ever a good idea?!
We came back rested and not looking forward to a 5-day week back. But duty calls :P
No comments:
Post a Comment