Finishing Strong in the DR

After our big trip to Paradise, our family slept in the next morning.  While our AirBnB had plenty of seating, Annika decided she wanted to try breakfast in the high chair.  Looks a little squishy, baby girl!

The best part of our rental was the concierge's adorable puppy, Rey.  He certainly was the King of Cute.

After some debate, we decided to head out for a chocolate making adventure Kah Kow.  You know a place is serious about their chocolate when the front desk is shaped like a cacao pod!

Brooklyn sadly couldn't join us.  Having already missed the initial deadline, she absolutely had to get her Extended Essay turned in for her IB Diploma.  We missed her but are so proud of how hard she worked to get it finished.

Here's our tour guide explaining the intricacies of the chocolate making process, all the way from harvesting the pod to fermenting the beans to separating out the cocoa butter.  So fascinating!

Naturally the highlight of the tour was when we all got to make chocolate bars of our own.  The dried cranberries were a popular mix-in with our crew, although Annika opted for colorful sprinkles.

Samples, anyone?

Tasty enough to kiss.

Checking out some of the old town after.

Sweet Talia still wasn't feeling her best so we brought her home to rest.  (Not via motorcycle.  I feel like I'm pretty lenient but have my limits.)

Meanwhile, Jason, Annika, Eli, and myself ventured out again to explore the public transit system.  Even though we weren't really going anywhere, we'd heard that the gondolas were fun.  In order to get to there, we rode the metro.  I was totally impressed!  The subway was affordable, efficient, and super clean.

 

Each car had a worker that kept order and made sure that people could get on and off, even when crowded.  When the worker announced that there were kids on the car, someone immediately gave up their seat.  And when it was time to get off, we had a dozen Dominican mamas all watching out for our kids to make sure they got off with us.

Boarding the gondolas was just as orderly.  While I heard crowds can get crazy during rush hour, this was an awesome way to explore Santo Domingo for practically free.  Highly recommend.

I'll let the photos tell the story.  The aerial view of the city provided such a unique perspective.  We saw everything from the river to kids flying kites on the roof to a garbage mound with horses to a repurposed IKEA sign.

Oh, can't forget the baseball.  Apparently it's a really big deal in the DR.  With such perfect weather, it's a great place to train year round.

All in all, our gondola escapades cost around a dollar a person.  We just wish Brooklyn and Talia had been able to join us!  Ah well--next time.  Here we are walking past some government buildings to get back to our place.

Fortunately, Brooklyn and Talia were caught up enough on school work to join us that evening for a trip to the Santo Domingo Temple.  The temple was remarkable!  The beautiful grounds felt so sacred in contrast with the litter we'd encountered for much of our trip.  Even though I didn't go in, simply being there felt like a holy refuge.

"Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord."

These beautiful folks all performed proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors.  The kids enjoyed participating in the work in Spanish, and were able to serve a lot of people.

Meanwhile, Annika and I explored the rest of the temple grounds.

Afterward we found a brilliant city park directly across the street, el Parque Iberoamérica.  Lovely any time of day, I'm sure, but extra magical with the golden light.

I was particularly fond of the trumpet serenades.  Annie naturally gravitated to the pigeons.

Just be careful what you touch!

Finally motivated to learn Spanish, Annika perfected the phrase, "Me gusta su perro!"

The rest of the family met up with us just as the final light faded.

You know, when I lived in Perú for a summer in my early twenties, I didn't speak Spanish and felt quite homesick and lost at first.  Visiting the Lima Temple was a core experience for me, helping to ground me when overwhelmed by a completely new language and culture.  Visiting the temple in Santo Domingo felt similar--kind of like coming home.  Perhaps this is because all temples are built to remind us of our divine heritage and bring us back to our heavenly home.

I should end the post right there, but instead I'll move onto nacho night.  It was also a taste of home, just better from the roof! 

The dawning of our last day in the DR.  

Here's our AirBnB from street level.

We stayed just long enough for me to get past some of the culture shock and genuinely look forward to coming back some day.  It would be really great to come back with Justin and Brianna to explore the north coast.  They met in the DR on a study abroad there.

Besides, after driving in the Dominican Republic, I-15 feels so calm!

Our last supper, eaten at a restaurant just outside the Punta Cana airport.  I might fantasize about my fish dish for the rest of my life.

Rumor has it that the pizza was pretty good too.

Checking into the airport.

Our flight was delayed and delayed, but eventually we made it into the air.  Oh by the way, that reminds me.  Many of our flights were sooooo turbulent!  No idea why, but I'd checked out a fiction book from the library that was set in the Dominican Republic.  The major event propelling the plot forward was a plane crash between the US and the DR.  Totally unnerving.

By the time we made it to the US, we'd missed our connection from Miami to Los Angeles.  Fortunately, the airline gave us vouchers for dinner and put us up in a hotel that was nicer than the one we had reserved in California anyway.  Definitely a win, especially since our Los Angeles hotel was willing to refund our reservation.

Good morning Miami!  I guess that's one way to experience Florida.

The flight from one coast to the other was long, plus we still had to catch our flight to Utah.  True to form it was also delayed.  Such weary travelers!

The craziest part was when we went to touchdown but the aircraft pulled back up--twice!  We were caught in a storm and the crosswinds were too strong to land.  We ended up making an emergency landing in Grand Junction, Colorado to refuel.  Then, and I'm totally not kidding here, I actually saw lightning either hit our aircraft or come within feet of doing so.  I'd question my memory, but there were news reporters hanging around the baggage claim to interview passengers about the lightning strike.  So yeah.  That book about the airplane crash?  NOT recommended.

Home at last.  The luggage may have been pokey, but it all arrived.  After an incredible week, we were grateful to sleep soundly in our own beds and take a much needed vacation from adventure.