Spring Break, Puerto Plata

Okay. Here goes. I will attempt to recount my adventures of spring break to you, but please be advised that it will be utterly impossible for me to remember and include everything. What a week.

On Friday we arrived in NYC ready to begin our vacation. We checked our baggage at a place called Schwartz Travel, which actually got pretty mediocre reviews but was our saving grace for this afternoon and evening since our hotel was so far away. After dropping them off, we had lunch at a sandwich place nearby and made our way over to the Fashion Avenue area to walk around, hang out at this cool little wine bar, and plan our evening. Lauren had the fantastic spur of the moment idea to go to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill for dinner, which was amazing. After making our reservation (surprisingly easily) we realized that we were dressed very casually and no clothes with us, so we did some shopping and managed to buy dressier shirts just in time for dinner. The food was awesome, no doubt the best of our trip, and a great start to the vacation.

The next morning we woke up and got ourselves to the airport, very early and easily thanks to Dad's hotel room right at the airport. The flight was only slightly delayed on the runway, but we were asleep anyway and ended up getting to our resort at exactly check in time. We grabbed some lunch and immediately retreated to the beach. The beach was very nice, clean and not too crowded, although heavily populated by vendors offering hair braiding, coco-locos, and souvenirs.We had dinner at the Mexican place and spent the evening at the disco club on the beach.

On Sunday we took it easy, enjoying the beach and booking our excursions for the week. I had my in-pool scuba lesson and we both began our sunburns.

On Monday we woke up early to go on our first excursion, scuba diving. Lauren is certified and a pro, so we split off into groups by skill. I was really nervous at first, but they say that as long as you're calm, your breathing is regular and it's extremely safe. It was and I'd totally go again if I found myself in another tropical place.

On Tuesday we went out to Paradise Island, which is more of a really large sandbar than island out in the middle of the ocean where there's great snorkeling. We swam around and saw all kinds of reefs and fish (which Mom has assured me were not trout). Exhausted, I fell asleep on the beach after and burned my back some more - the true sign of a good vacation. On the way back to the resort, we stopped at this little cigar factory and watched the locals make cigars. They even handed out samples and gave us tastes of the local drink Mamajuana, which is this cool beverage made by fermenting rum and red wine together in a bottle of herbs and tree bark, then sweetened with honey. Yum.

Wednesday was by far my favorite excursion and is what I continued to recommend to everyone we met. Damajaqua Cascades are a series of 27 waterfalls just outside Puerto Plata. We hiked partially up the mountain to a group of 7 or 8 that we'd tackle. Some were like cliffs that you jump off of (maybe 30 feet high), and some were smooth descending rocks you'd slide down through the water. We were equipped with helmets and life jackets and felt totally safe, but it was certainly one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. On the way back we stopped the bus and were treated to fresh sugarcane from the side of the road. If I ever went back here, I'd seriously consider getting in great shape just to be able to hike up and do all 27. So awesome.

Thursday was our day off, or at least mine. Lauren is hardcore and decided to try kite boarding, so I followed her out to the beach to take some pictures, but this day was primarily spent relaxing, recuperating, and socializing at the resort. For the most part, we met Canadians and French. It was weird not to find many Americans on vacations, but handling the language barrier with those who didn't speak English was actually really cool. It was lucky that Lauren is pretty good at Spanish and could communicate with ease, but I was also surprised at how much of mine came back. I think if I traveled more I'd pick it right back up.

Friday we got back on the horse. Literally. We went horseback riding. This was another activity that Lauren is more experienced at than I am, so we had two guides, one who allowed her to ride faster and one who hung back with me, giving tips and teaching. The first part of the ride was sunny and beautiful. It was awesome to just ride along and enjoy the scenery and countryside. After we pit-stopped and began to ride through the forest, it started down-pouring. This was so much fun! The rain gave me the adrenaline boost I needed to throw caution to the wind and start galloping. Probably not what most people would feel comfortable doing their first time on a horse, but it was such a rush. We enjoyed this afternoon so much that we booked a shorter tour for the next morning.

Saturday we woke up, expecting to get the nice one hour private ride we had arranged, and ended up getting a full half-day tour after making friends with the guide. Score. After getting back to the resort, we spent our last afternoon beaching it, relaxing. Lauren got her hair braided which was hilarious given that she has a mo-hawk. Just wait for the pictures.

Sunday morning we decided that the best way to end the vacation was to get massages on the beach, clearing away any injuries from our adventures. Definitely the right call. We were so relaxed we thought we'd miss the airplane, but we arrived with time to spare and got back to the U.S. safe and sound. That night we stumbled upon this fantastic Greek restaurant just around the corner from the Port Authority while waiting for our bus back. Intensely recommend Dafni Greek Taverna if you're ever in the area. Great service, good wine, best moussaka of my life. It was a perfect end to the trip.

If you made it through all of that, I applaud you. As you can see I left my brain in the D.R. and it's taken me far too long to get this out, and it would take longer to try to summarize or pick highlights. Stay tuned for pictures to follow, and the unfortunate return of boring posts about my classes and what I'm eating.