On Thursday we decided to go horseback riding and let me tell you, it was the best decision we have made yet! We showed up the morning of and were soon greeted by a lady named Joyce. She was thrilled to have us there and so excited to tell us all about the trip and just get to know us. She is originally from Manhattan but now lives in Puerto plata and runs this horse place. The funny thing is that she isn't a horse person and she doesn't speak Spanish. We got all set up, paid for the trip and she made sure we got a great picture before we headed out! The ride was amazing! We went through the village and up the mountain through beautiful farm land. Farmers were out hand farming the fields and greeted us with a warm smile. The overlook point was beautiful! After taking some pictures at the overlook we made our way down through a rain forest like trail down to the river. We stopped at a beautiful blue lagoon and went for a swim. We even convinced one of our guides to swim with us despite the fact that "cowboys don't swim".
After our swimming we kept on riding up to a cute little place for lunch. The food was Amazing! They also had a guy there selling jewelry and other trinkets for what he said was the best price around. He was a very good salesman and talked us into some beautiful things. After we ate and bought our trinkets we were given a tour of the kitchen. They cook with a wood fire stove and pots and pans that could be straight out of an old western. I loved it! The ride back to the ranch was just as beautiful as the way up. We ran into a few mud puddles and hanging tree branches, but a little mud and a few scratches just adds to the adventure! All in all that horseback trip has been the best thing I've done with my free time. I would recommend it to anyone.
Friday: Sosua
After our horse trip we stayed in a hotel a lovely hotel right on the coast of Sosua. The hotel wasn't the best, but it was perfect for us. The AC was amazing! We had a working shower, wifi, and some TV channels in English. We were living large. The pool was a refreshing change from the salt water we are used to. Friday we just stayed around Sosua. We wandered around town and found this cute little café for breakfast. I noticed right off that Sosua is a big tourist destination. So many people spoke English enough to try and sell you things. The beach was fairly crowded, but it was beautiful. We did a glass bottom boat tour over a beautiful coral reef. Somehow I made it through a full day on the beach without getting sunburned.
Saturday: Cabarete
On Saturday, the last day of our vacation we decided to go to Cabarete. We hopped in a taxi and went flying down the road and made it there just before lunch. We found a path down to the beach and were immediately bombarded with people trying to sell us their chair spot or jewelry. By some lucky chance we found a spot we could sit for free and get some food. We pretty much say in that same spot all day long. After the first few people tried to sell us things we decided to keep track of the number of people that stopped by. It was exhausting trying to hoard them off. Apparently three American girls draw a lot of vender attention. By the time we left, over 40 people had tried to sell us something. Somehow we made it out of there without spending way too much money. I bought some beautiful jewelry from a guy named little Richy. He talked to us multiple times and found out what we were doing here. He decided that since we were here to help the Dominicans and were poor teachers he would give us a good deal. He wasn't kidding either! He certainly didn't make money off of my purchase. In the DR they have this stone that is native to only this island, it's called Larimar. It comes in a variety of light blue colors similar to that of the ocean here. The jewelry I was talked into buying consists of the Larimar stone and another beautiful flower stone. Luckily we didn't bring a lot of money with us so I couldn't bring myself to buy anymore. Though one guy was selling really cool wood carved animals. The beach at Cabarete is beautiful and the water there seems more clean and refreshing than anywhere else. So far I think Cabarete is my favorite beach.
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